Wow, it's busy out there today!
I'll run down today's trade activity in a minute but first—Matt Sekeres set off some shockwaves on TSN1040 this morning with his suggestion that there will be big changes coming to the Vancouver Canucks front office once the dust has settled after the draft.
The key point here seems to be that we've got some serious differences of opinion among team management and the scouting staff, which have now reached a breaking point. Sekeres suggests that the scouting department will be overhauled once the draft and free agency are complete, and that management changes could include the dismissal of assistant GM John Weisbrod and the promotion of Ryan Johnson, who's currently the director of player development.
As I try to read between the lines, my interpretation here is that there's a fundamental difference between what Jim Benning the Scout wants to see happen and what his scouting department is telling him. Of course, it's worrisome that this is coming to light on draft day, but it's probably not surprising. As we discussed often when we debated whether or not Willie Desjardins would be let go, the target moves to the general manager once the coach is fired.
Benning has to be aware that the noose is starting to tighten around his neck; I presume this news means that he'll double down on what he wants to do at the draft today and we'll see where that takes us.
One thing's almost certain—he still seems determined to bring Ryan Miller back next season.
A one-year deal isn't the end of the world, but I'm a bit nervous that an 'incentive-laden' contract for Miller could include a payout for games played, which could lead to him being the main man in net once again. I guess if the threshold for the payout was, say, 30 games, that would be OK.
Meanwhile,
Jason Botchford reports that it's unlikely that Chris Tanev will get moved.
“There hasn’t been a lot of interest in him, quite honestly,” Benning told Botchford. “Maybe not like we would think. For whatever reason that is."
“We did talk to some teams about Chris, he’s conceivably our best defenceman,” he added, “but we don’t have the depth on our defence now to start moving any other pieces unless we get a good young defenceman back.”
Assuming Tanev stays, here's the plan to shore up the blue line:
“(In free agency), we’ll be looking for a quick transition defenceman.”
Benning also tells Botchford that it appears to be "near impossible" to move up in the draft. He says he likes what should be available at five, but is also willing to consider trading down, depending on how the draft board unfurls.
Trevor Linden doesn't rule out any possibilities in his conversation with Joey Kenward. He also emphasizes that the team's main focus with the fifth pick will be to draft the best available player regardless of position, because team needs can change over time.
There's talk that defenseman Cale Makar could move way up—maybe even into the top two—but let's assume that the top two ends up being Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, as we've expected for awhile.
These are the players listed from three through nine in Bob McKenzie's final draft ranking on TSN. Not all of them will be available when the Canucks pick at five, but who's your preference?
online survey
As I said a couple of days ago, I'd be happy with either Gabe Vilardi or Cody Glass. I'm stunned that the Makar hype train has gotten so powerful for a guy who's playing in Junior A.
I will be doing a live blog of the draft for Bleacher Report—both the first round, which starts tonight at 4 p.m. and the later rounds, which kick off Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Hop over to their site or app if you want to follow along.
Elsewhere in the league, we saw another trade flurry this morning. Arizona was active after parting ways with Dave Tippett late last night. In addition to being the team's coach, he also held the title of executive vice-president of hockey operations. It was said that the move was sparked by "philosophical differences" between Tippett and owner Andrew Barroway, who recently assumed full control of the team.
I'm assuming that Tippett was not on board with the moves we saw today, which have the Coyotes acquiring defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson from Chicago in exchange for Connor Murphy and also acquiring goaltender Antti Raanta and center Derek Stepan from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh pick in this year's draft.
Combined with the decision earlier this week not to bring back Shane Doan, this is a big shift in direction for the Coyotes—Murphy was also part of their leadership group, so that leaves alternate captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson as the only remaining player with a letter. They've got a rich supply of young talent—I'm really high on Clayton Keller in particular. These moves might help solidify their roster a bit going forward.
The Blackhawks made another deal today as well, bringing back Brandon Saad from Columbus and parting ways with their 2016 Calder Trophy winner, Artemi Panarin.
Finally (so far), former Canucks first-round draft pick Jordan Schroeder is on the move from his home state of Minnesota. He has been dealt to Columbus in exchange for Dante Salituro, an undersized undrafted 20-year-old who spent last season in the OHL with the London Knights.
I'm expecting we'll see lots more trade action on the draft floor tonight. This should be fun!
One final Canucks note before I sign off for the day:
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