I was able to listen to the full two hours of Trevor Linden's interview with Matt Sekeres yesterday on TSN1040.
Nothing earth-shattering, but he did provide some insight into the team's philosophy and operations, as well as their goals for the future.
The conversation began with an acknowledgement that the idea of trading for a player like Evander Kane couldn't be discussed specifically, so Sekeres quizzed Linden on whether or not the Canucks would hypothetically consider acquiring a player who had been in legal trouble.
Linden certainly didn't rule it out. If he wanted to kibosh the rumour, he could have done so but instead, he said that every situation needed to be handled on a case-by-case basis and that what we hear doesn't always reflect what has actually happened.
He also admitted that the Canucks can use a bit more bad attitude in the dressing room, players whose on-ice nastiness means that they're not necessarily the nicest guys in town in their everyday lives. He emphasized that doesn't mean they should be lawbreakers, but said that type of edge is an intrinsic part of a player's character that can't be turned on and off.
I'm not sure that missing practice because you were late getting back from the NBA All-Star Game shows grit—
here's that story, from Sportsnet. But my interpretation of Linden's comments is that the door is open for the Canucks to possibly look at acquiring Kane.
That being said, Linden also suggested that most teams basically have their rosters set for next season and will be looking to see how things work on the ice before they make more deals. This comment came during a different portion of the interview, but it was mentioned that a lot of general managers go on holiday in August.
The Sabres will still be in the mix of teams looking to sign Jimmy Vesey, who seems to have expanded the "short list" of teams he wants to speak with. Boston and Toronto were originally on the list; there's now talk that Chicago and Pittsburgh are also being considered. Those teams offer winning environments but might not be able to match the money that'd be offered by a team like the Sabres, so it'll be interesting to see what Vesey decides once he has his options laid out.
It has also been mentioned that Buffalo's 2016 first rounder, Alex Nylander, also plays left wing, the same position as Kane. There has been talk that the 18-year-old might crack the Sabres lineup this fall, but I would think that general manager Tim Murray would want to see whether or not that's a realistic possibility before he ships Kane out of town.
When questioned about the structure of the Canucks management group, Trevor Linden emphasized a number of times that Jim Benning is pretty autonomous when it comes to player personnel decisions—that he's the man with 25 years of experience in that area, who was part of the groups that rebuilt the Sabres franchise in the '90s, then the Boston Bruins club in the mid-2000s.
Linden also mentioned that he acts as the liaison between management and ownership, and that he talks to owner Francesco Aquilini "daily."
That came up as Linden was shooting down the idea of moving Vancouver's AHL affiliate out west, as many of the other Western Conference teams have done. In addition to the strong community and fan support that the Utica Comets receive in their current home, Linden also emphasized that as things currently stand, the Comets' travel is easier than it would be out west, generally a two-hour bus ride to their away games. That leaves the players more time to work on their skills and fitness.
Now, onto some of the player details that came up:
• Linden says he expects that Ryan Miller will still start the majority of games next season, but that the split will be closer to even. Last year, Miller started 51 games, Jacob Markstrom started 30 and Richard Bachman started one. But those numbers were skewed by the heavy workload that Miller took on over the first month of the season, when Markstrom was sidelined by his hamstring injury.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out—especially in conjunction with Linden's desire for the team to be competitive and for players to earn ice time.
• On Jake Virtanen:
Linden also mentioned that Virtanen's skill-set is something that the Canucks need and can't get elsewhere—his combination of size and speed. I think Virtanen will get every chance to show that he has done the work during the offseason that will enable him to stick around, but his AHL-eligibility makes him an easy player to send down to Utica if a roster spot is needed for someone else.
• I found Linden's comments on Nikita Tryamkin interesting. When the big Russian signed his NHL deal last year, his contract included a clause saying that he can go back to Russia if he doesn't stick with the Canucks, rather than being sent down to the AHL.
Linden acknowledged the clause, but also said that he felt Tryamkin had his eyes opened when he came to North America last spring. Linden didn't come right out and say it, but I got the feeling that there could be a scenario where, if necessary, management might try to convince Tryamkin that some time in the AHL might be the best thing for his long-term development and future possibilities.
Like Virtanen, Tryamkin could be assigned to the Comets without needing to clear waivers if he agreed to be sent down.
• Also talking about defense, Linden said that he believes Erik Gudbranson's presence will help make the team tougher to play against. He acknowledged that Gudbranson's advanced stats aren't great, and spoke a bit about the team's advanced-stats department. He said the data is collected by a contractor, then analyzed in house.
When asked which defenseman had the best advanced stats last season, he acknowledged that Dan Hamhuis came out on top.
Despite those numbers:
• And finally, on the defense side, Linden says he's not concerned about fifth-overall draft pick Olli Juolevi remaining unsigned, and says he expects a contract to be completed in the next few weeks.
"Olli won't like me saying this," he prefaced, before saying that the team's plan is for Juolevi to get another year of seasoning in the OHL with the London Knights in 2016-17.
Jason Botchford of
The Province got in touch with Juolevi's agent, Markus Lehto, who said "There have been discussions, but I don’t negotiate through the media."
Lehto does acknowledge that there has been interest in Juolevi's services from European clubs in both the Swedish and Finnish leagues—but it sounds to me like that's more about the clubs being interested in acquiring a good defenseman than Juolevi or his agent wanting the player to return to Europe—or even using the possibility as a bargaining chip. "What I’ve said all along, (Juolevi’s) priority is to make the Vancouver Canucks," Lehto told Botchford.
The article does contain some good detail on how the bonus structure works for entry-level contracts:
In signing entry-level deals, player agents can negotiate two types of bonuses, Schedule A and Schedule B. The maximum is US$850,000 per year for Schedule-A bonuses and every player in the top 10 signed for the max. That’s a lock for Juolevi.
The Schedule B maximum is $2 million in bonuses per year and only one player, Auston Matthews, got that. But every player in the top four had significant Schedule-B bonuses worked into their contracts.
Here's the list of achievements that can be included in the Schedule B list, to a maximum of $2 million per year:
1. Finishing in the top five for Hart, Norris, Selke and Richard.
2. Finishing in the top three for Calder and Lady Byng.
3. Making the first- or second-team all-star group.
4. Winning the Conn Smythe.
5. Finishing in the top 10 among defencemen in goals, assists or points.
6. Finishing in the top 10 in points-per-game (must play 42 games).
7. Finishing in the top 10 in average time-on-ice (must play 42 games).
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