July 1 felt really weird to me this year.
As I was taking advantage of Vancouver's cloudy skies and cooler temperatures to do some errands on Thursday morning, I kept thinking about how, in a normal year, I'd be glued to the TV, watching and analyzing the free-agent frenzy.
This year, of course, that day is still four weeks away: July 28. And while I'm anxious to get on with things and see how this summer's player movement shakes out, it was kind of nice to be able to enjoy a relatively relaxing statutory holiday instead of a heavy work day.
But even as the provincial state of emergency related to Covid-19 is lifted, it feels like there's plenty to worry about with the record-setting heat and now the wildfires. Please stay safe and look out for your loved ones!
Of course, we didn't have free agency last year at this time, either. But in early July, there was excitement in the hockey world, as teams were beginning to reconvene ahead of the summer restart. And we probably should have been even more excited if we'd known that the Canucks' month-and-a-bit in the Edmonton bubble would represent a blink-and-you'll-miss-it high-water mark for the franchise.
Maybe that's the whole issue? The Canucks are somehow programmed to play their best hockey in August?
One player who will be back on the ice starting later this month is Brock Boeser — returning for more four-on-four action with Da Beauty League, which is set to get rolling on July 14.
Other minor scuttlebutt from the last couple of days:
• While Elliotte Friedman has reported that Duncan Keith is looking for a trade that will allow him to be closer to his young son in Penticton, it sounds like the Canucks aren't really in that conversation. That's cool by me. Keith led his team in average ice time last season, at 23:25 per game, and was in the top 25 league-wide, and is owed just $3.6 million in real dollars over the last two seasons of the 13-year contract he signed back in 2009. But he turns 38 on July 16 — one day before expansion draft lists need to be submitted.
And I can't imagine Daniel Sedin signing off on this idea. Can you?
Keith has a full no-move clause. With Friedman mentioning the Pacific Northwest as a possible destination, this certainly opens the door for Keith to waive that no-move for the expansion draft — like Marc-Andre Fleury did when he was in Pittsburgh. Whether Vegas claims Keith or not, it would free up one more protected slot for the Blackhawks.
Edmonton media seems excited about the prospect of acquiring Keith. Maybe Chicago can get him traded before the expansion draft?
• Earlier this week, Rick Dhaliwal mentioned that Brogan Rafferty's time with the Canucks might be coming to an end.
That's no surprise to me. As much as Rafferty was a point machine in the AHL, it seemed like the Canucks didn't trust his defensive chops at the NHL level. He spent most of last season on the taxi squad but got into just one game — early in the season, when the defense was decimated by injuries, for what turned out to be one of the Canucks' worst defensive outings of the year, their 7-3 loss to Montreal.
The Canucks definitely need some bodies to fill out their Abbotsford farm team next season. And Rafferty's high-octane playing style would be fun to watch. But I guess the bottom line comes down to money and opportunity — at 26, I can't blame him for wanting to see if there's a better fit available for him in free agency.
Now, on to Part 3 of the Canucks-Habs-Lightning draft analysis, featuring the 2018 and 2019 draft years.
2018
Only six picks for the Canucks in 2018. The fourth-rounder had been dealt to Pittsburgh at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, when the Canucks acquired Derrick Pouliot in exchange for Andrey Pedan.
Pouliot spent last season on the Philadelphia Flyers' taxi squad and on their AHL roster. Pedan has spent the last three years in the KHL.
Of the Canucks' six picks, the only one to play in the NHL so far is Quinn Hughes, chosen at No. 7. Hughes spent an additional year at the University of Michigan after being drafted, but his 97 points still rank him fourth in his draft class, even though the three players above him — Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk and Rasmus Dahlin — all jumped straight into the NHL, as did fifth-ranked Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
A number of other defensemen who were selected in the first round enjoyed coming-out parties this season, including Ty Smith in New Jersey (No. 17), Noah Dobson with the Islanders (No. 12) and K'Andre Miller with the Rangers (No. 22).
As for the Canucks' other picks from 2018? Second-rounder Jett Woo played his first pro season with Utica this year, putting up five points and 18 penalty minutes in 28 games, but finishing with a team-high plus-7.
Woo's a Western Canada boy, and he was a late birthday when he was drafted — he's just turning 21 at the end of this month. He's still waiver exempt for another two seasons or 147 NHL games, so we'll certainly see him on the right side of the defense in Abbotsford this fall.
Vancouver's 2018 third-rounder, Tyler Madden, was traded to Los Angeles as part of the Tyler Toffoli deal. He bounced back and forth between the taxi squad and the Ontario Reign this season, getting 5 points in 14 regular-season AHL games. He was pointless and shotless in the Reign's 5-4 overtime loss to the Colorado Eagles in the one-game play-in that kicked off this year's AHL PAcific Division playoffs.
Vancouver's 2018 fifth-rounder, defenseman Toni Utunen, has switched teams in Finland's Liiga for next season, signing a two-year deal with the Pelicans. So we won't be seeing him on this side of the pond anytime soon.
I'm not seeing an update at this point on sixth-rounder Artem Manukyan.
Elite Prospects is typically up to date on European signings and transfers, but they've got nothing on Manukyan beyond the fact that he played 17 games last season for Metallurg in Russia's second-tier VHL, putting up two goals and four points.
Finally, goalie Matthew Thiessen was selected in the seventh round. After a decent 2018-19 season in the USHL, he got into just one game for the University of Maine in 2019-20, and eight games last year.
The Black Bears had a rough season, with plenty of Covid interruptions, going 3-11-2 overall. With just five starts, Thiessen was clearly the backup to freshman Victor Ostman. Both are expected back next season.
Montreal: Missing the playoffs in 2018, the Montreal Canadiens loaded up for the draft, finishing with 11 picks. They also picked up a draft lottery win, climbing one spot from fourth to third.
And while it was a defense-heavy draft, the Habs were desperate to improve their depth at centre. They were side-eyed in a big way when they used that third-overall pick to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who'd been ranked sixth among European skaters by
NHL Central Scouting.
But even though Canucks fans might still hold a grudge against Kotkaniemi from when he injured Elias Pettersson in both of their rookie seasons, the pick has worked out pretty well. Kotkaniemi was able to jump straight into the NHL, although he did spend some time in the AHL in his second season. And while his regular-season offensive numbers aren't overly impressive, with 62 points in 171 games, he has been good for Montreal in this year's playoffs. His five goals tie him for second on the team and he scored the overtime game-winner to keep the Canadiens alive in Game 6 against Toronto.
He also had four goals in 10 playoff games last year, so he's already up to 28 games of postseason experience, even though he doesn't turn 21 until next Tuesday.
Two of Montreal's three second-rounders from 2018 have also made their NHL debuts. Defenseman Alexander Romanov appeared in 54 regular-season games, picking up six points, but has dressed for only two playoff games so far. And Finnish winger Jesse Ylonen made his North American debut this season, recording a solid 17 points in 29 games with the Laval Rocket and getting into one game with the Habs near the end of the regular season.
Montreal's third 2018 second-rounder, Swedish centre Jacob Olofsson, is set to return for another season with newly promoted Timra in the SHL next year.
Tampa Bay: With their roster as star-studded as it is, the Lightning are in no rush to bring along their young prospects. They took two forwards, three defensemen and two goalies with their seven picks in the 2018 draft, but didn't have a first rounder after sending the pick to the New York Rangers as part of that Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller deal (the Rangers took defenseman Nils Lundkvist with the pick, at No. 27).
2019
The Canucks had a whopping nine picks in the 2019 draft — which I believe is the most, not just in the Benning era, but dating all the way back to Brian Burke's 10 picks in 2003.
And while Ryan Kesler was the only Vancouver pick from that 'greatest draft ever' to play more than 50 games, 2019 is shaping up to be much more promising.
We've already seen second-rounder Nils Hoglander show that he can be an everyday top-six player in the NHL, playing all 56 games, and finishing with a solid 27 points. Tenth-overall pick Vasily Podkolzin is signed and on his way to Vancouver — following a summer of wedding celebrations for the just-turned-20-year-old.
Vancouver's third-round pick in the 2019 draft was dealt to the Lightning in the J.T. Miller trade. Tampa Bay took Swedish goalie Hugo Alnefelt.
Fourth-rounder Ethan Keppen is now out of the organization, after the Canucks chose not to sign him to an entry-level contract.
Fifth-rounder Carson Focht did get an ELC, and put up 12 points in 28 games with Utica in his first pro season last year. He'll probably play a very prominent role down the middle in Abbotsford next season.
I imagine goaltender Arturs Silovs will be in Abbotsford with Mikey DiPietro next season, as well. The sixth-rounder saw his last year of junior hockey evaporate in a puff of Covid-19 smoke, but got to spend a good chunk of last season on Vancouver's taxi squad, and even dressed as backup for one game near the end of the season.
The second of three sixth-rounders, Czech forward Karel Plasek, signed his ELC a month ago. So he should also be in Abbotsford this fall.
With the Ivy League season shuttered, winger Jack Malone went back to the USHL last season. He led the Youngstown Phantoms in scoring with 41 points in 44 games but was a minus-17 on a Youngstown team that won just 12 games and finished last in the league by a good margin.
Of Vancouver's two seventh-rounders, winger Aidan Mcdonough will be wearing an "A" for his junior season at Northeastern, after putting up a solid 20 points in 21 games last year. And Swedish centre Arvid Costmar, after a strong showing on a Covid-depleted Swedish team at World Juniors, is set to return for another year with Linkoping of the SHL next season.
Montreal: The Canadiens made 10 picks in the 2019 draft. And it looks like they hit big with pint-sized Cole Caufield, whose exuberance and sharp-shooting skills have invigorated the Habs during their playoff run. In 10 regular-season games, Caufield had four goals and five points. He has added another nine points in 17 playoff games.
The rest of Montreal's 2019 draft was heavy on blueliners. Marc Bergevin selected five defensemen to go along with three other forwards and one goalie.
Tampa Bay: The Lightning had seven picks in the 2019 draft. Their top prospect is now the aforementioned goaltender, Hugo Alnefelt, after they dealt No. 27 pick Nolan Foote to New Jersey as part of the Blake Coleman trade. Their second rounder was — you guessed it — part of the Ryan McDonagh / J.T. Miller package. The Rangers used it to select Swedish centre Karl Henriksson.
With their other five picks, the Lightning took three forwards and two defensemen. And as is typical for them, the emphasis was on players from the QMJHL, the WHL, the USHL and Russia. The Lightning went three years without taking a single player from the OHL before selecting two with their nine picks in the 2020 draft.
I'm not going to dig into 2020, since only four players from the draft class have appeared in NHL games so far — none of them with the three teams in question here.
That's a conversation for another day...
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