The fear of the Cap.

Hi everyone,

I hope that everyone is safe…..calm…sitting. The Canucks neighborhood has been very rowdy as they try and get ready for the conclusion of the season (unless the season is concluded).

If I had to explain the last couple days of the Canucks media and Twitter to my wife, who doesn’t give a flying skate about hockey, it would go like this.

“Matt Sekeres threw a grenade out on Twitter saying that Boeser was being dangled to other teams. Other reporters threw Sekeres’s quote out there. Canucks Twitter then went bat-shit crazy.”

Now after so many years of listening to reporters and listening to management, I find myself in the position of not believing either one of them. And on Twitter it seems that you always have to pick a side and then fight to the death.

Other guys on NM have podcasts that have covered their opinions and brought in others to have their say. The overall consensus is that all answers are wrong and right. (I know…it confuses me as well.)

There are some things I agree with.

1) Boeser has value on the market.

2) The Canucks don’t have cap problems, unless you want a better team.

3) The Canucks need better defensemen.

You will have to forgive me when it comes to certain aspects of this as I don’t listen to Vancouver sports radio. They have a job to do, trying to get people to listen and sometimes they go overboard with exaggerating stories.

I’m not calling Sekeres a liar. I think over the past year the Canucks have looked at their strength and weaknesses and having Boeser signed to that contract is a plus when it comes to being able to trade someone for a better defenseman. I just don’t think the timing of Sekeres announcement was right. It gets people to call into the station, but at what cost? If I was GMJB, and I had to answer questions about that tweet, I would have said, “It a fucking joke.” …..even if it was tue.

$81.5 million cap for the next two years. People want Loui, Sutter, Sven, Beagle and Roussel gone because of the cost. Me too. But to trade them would be next to impossible unless draft picks or prospects are included. (You can trade “x” because they will be great in the future!)

So, let’s deal with the trade aspect first. If you were another teams GM, would you trade for any one of these guys, straight up? No? Me neither. So, don’t believe GMJB will be able to do it either. Who will you be willing to give up along with one of those dead weights.

Next area is buyouts. I have seen lots of people say “just buyout Loui and Sven…and Sutter!”. Now put yourself in Aquilini’s position. He is still paying for a retired Lu and Ryan Spooner. The revenue for this year and possibly next year will be reduced. I don’t want to buy players out if I don’t have guaranteed revenue. (I’m an owner that likes money)

The long term (3 years) has a lot of questions when it comes to contracts. The fanbase is split when it comes to when they think the window for consistent winning begins and ends. But let’s agree that it’s when Petey and Quinn are 23 or 24. I don’t think it starts earlier with the defensive core we have now.

Having said all that, I have a different view of what should happen. If winning starts 2 years from now, maybe you walk away from Marky right now and go with Demko and see if he can develop into the player he is supposed to be. I would buyout Loui. (Aquilini won’t) I would let Tanev walk and try and sign Tyson Barrie. (Stop yelling at me.) I would keep Boeser and let Toffoli go.

The year after there are four contracts that disappear….Edler, Benn, Sutter and Pearson, so there will be more leeway to sign Petey, Demko and Hughes to respectable 2^nd contracts.

Now I know some want this team to win now. I don’t think they are there yet. I think the cap will make it hard to sign the one or two players the crowd wants to have.

Patience is not a trait of Canucks Twitter. Actually, patience has disappeared since the invention of the internet. COVID and the new CBA has changed the playing field again.

Like Jeff Paterson said on “Power of the Towel”, the playoffs will add another dimension to how everyone looks at the players on the team. Some decisions may be easier. (Like MacEwen over Jake)

Some people want to keep pointing out how bad some of the contracts are under GMJB, (I agree with some of those) but that’s done. Let it go. Let’s move ahead through next 3 years and hope the team we have can improve.

The chart below shows the opening day. Cap = $79,400,000 Bonus potential $4,632,000

capfriendly.com