Canucks News: Trading D-Man Inevitable, Adam Gaudette Succeeding
The Vancouver Canucks may be in the playoff hunt, but they must start planning for the future as well. That future could include Adam Gaudette and a big-ish ‘D’ trade.
It seems like it was just yesterday that Matt Bartkowski was a top-four defenceman for the Vancouver Canucks. Today, however, defence is the club’s deepest position. Who would have seen that coming?
Ben Hutton, Nikita Tryamkin and Troy Stecher have emerged as serviceable NHL players. Even Luca Sbisa looks like a reliable option on the blue line. Veterans Alex Edler, Chris Tanev and Erik Gudbranson complete the group, with Alex Biega as a depth option. (Well, Philip Larsen is also there but, you know…) Plus, the Canucks have prospects Olli Juolevi, Andrey Pedan and Jordan Subban looking to make the jump in the near future.
Because of that, Daily Hive writer Rob Williams believes the Canucks have no options other than trading one of those D-men soon. He may be right, but it certainly won’t be easy.
One thing we don’t need to worry about is the development of NCAA centre Adam Gaudette. The 2015 fifth-round pick is starting to look extremely promising, as he creeps his way into the top five of Canucks Army’s top prospect list.
Trading D-Men
Rob Williams (Daily Hive) — Trading a defenceman seems inevitable for Canucks
While Benning’s hands aren’t completely handcuffed in this situation, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the move to make is defenceman for forward. He’ll need to read the market well because big decisions lie ahead.
The Canucks certainly have some difficult decisions ahead of them. First, the expansion draft will force them to leave two of Tanev, Edler, Sbisa, Gudbranson and Biega exposed (if Biega plays two more games this year). It will probably be Sbisa and Biega, but right now, that looks like a tough decision to make.
More from The Canuck Way
Now, assuming the Vegas Golden Knights (seriously, that name sucks) take Sbisa and Larsen is let go in free agency, the Canucks will still be left with seven of their current NHL defencemen. In addition, they could have Juolevi coming in, as another year in junior seems counterproductive.
Okay, I am honestly not seeing an issue here. Juolevi is no “sure thing” and depth is always a good thing.
What might be worth worrying about is a scenario in which the Knights (can I just call them that?) pick a forward instead of Sbisa. In that case, the Canucks would have eight of their current NHL defencemen plus (maybe) Juolevi and/or Subban and/or Pedan.
But even then, I am unsure whether there is an issue. Right now, the Canucks also have 10 D-men on their roster. Over the past couple of seasons, the team has experienced plenty of injuries — that could happen again.
Honestly, I would rather see the Canucks holding on to the players they have. They may be forced to waive Biega and Pedan to start the year and have Juolevi sit in the press box for a little, but is that really an issue?
Bright Future
Ryan Biech (Canucks Army) — Canucks Army Midterm Prospect Rankings #5: Adam Gaudette
A centre playing his second year for the Northeastern University Huskies, Adam Gaudette checks in as the fifth-ranked prospect in Canucks Army’s Midterm Prospect Rankings.
When we last checked in with Gaudette, he was the 13th best prospect after a sensational second half to last season vaulted him to the front of the Canucks prospect depth chart. We ranked him there with a certain amount of concern regarding his ability to continue that pace, but so far this season, he’s picked up right where he left off.
A hard-working forward with strong two-way ability and some scoring touch, Gaudette looked like a solid late-round pick in the 2015 draft. He only had 13 goals and 30 points in 50 USHL games that season, but there was zero risk attached in the fifth round.
Two seasons later, Gaudette is tied for eighth in NCAA scoring with 13 goals and 34 points in 23 games at Northeastern University. With that, Gaudette has a 100 percent probability of success according to Canucks Army’s pGPS model. That has to be taken with a grain of salt, obviously, but is still great to see.
At this point, Gaudette looks like the Canucks’ second-most promising pick of the 2015 draft, behind top prospect Brock Boeser.
In a draft that saw the Canucks picking just once in the first two rounds, getting two NHL regulars would be a decent turnout.
