Greetings from the departure lounge at YVR!
It's that time. I'm on my way to Paris, once again covering Team Canada for the Canadian Press at the IIHF World Championship.
Click here to check out the initial rosters for all teams, on the IIHF website. The Canadians could add up to three more players—and have just six defensemen currently listed.
The Canadians beat Switzerland 4-1 in a warmup game on Tuesday.
Interestingly, the first Canadian goal was scored by 36-year-old defenseman Chris Lee, who has been plying his trade for Magnitogorsk in the KHL for the last four seasons. It's not clear, at this point, whether Lee's officially on the team, or if he was just helping out during the training camp.
Mike Card, a 31-year-old defenseman who has played in Germany for the last two years, was also part of the group.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic did not take part in the training camp; he's joining the team in Paris.
Our Canuck content at this year's worlds got a little sparser on Tuesday, when prospect Rodrigo Abols was released from the Latvian roster.
Our old pal Ronalds Kenins is still on the list, though, representing for Latvia.
After watching Chris Tanev make a great impression last year—and Ben Hutton mostly watch from the sidelines—it's disappointing that the only Canucks player in this year's tournament is Alex Edler with Sweden. They're playing in the other bracket, in Cologne, Germany, so I won't see him live until the later stages of the tournament.
So—for the next three weeks, my posts will probably be a little more erratic than usual as a result of the time difference and my other obligations. I'll be offering tidbits from the tournament and, hopefully, some quality Paris sightseeing content, as well as keeping you up to date on all things Canucks.
If you have any tips or suggestions for must-do items in Paris, I'm all ears. Please let me know in the comments.
For today, the main focus of attention in Canucks-land is Jason Botchford's provocative article in
The Province, suggesting that if the Canucks are serious about moving into rebuild mode, they should think about trading Chris Tanev.
An undrafted free agent, Tanev was initially signed to an entry-level contract by Mike Gillis in June of 2010, after one college season at R.I.T. Tanev split his first pro season between the Manitoba Moose and the Canucks, playing 29 regular-season games—I was impressed by the fact that he didn't take a single penalty in his rookie season.
Tanev also got into five playoff games during the 2011 run to the Stanley Cup Final—two games against the in the Western Conference Final and three against the Boston Bruins in the Cup Final.
Tanev signed two inexpensive "show-me" contracts after his entry-level deal expired, then signed his current deal in March of 2015. He's now through two years of a five-year contract that carries a cap hit of $4.45 million per season. Right now, he has no trade restrictions but next season, a limited no-trade clause kicks in. He'll be able to specify eight teams to which he cannot be traded.
Certainly, quality right-shot defensemen are in high demand around the NHL—though the Canucks' defensive depth is not what it was a couple of weeks ago, now that Nikita Tryamkin has decamped for Russia. At 27, Tanev's basically in his prime, and with three years left before unrestricted free agency, his market value will probably never be higher.
I'd hate to see him go, but I can understand the thinking that goes along with the idea of exploring trade options.
Botchford identifies Tampa Bay as a plausible trade partner—and Jonathan Drouin as a potential target. The Lightning are under cap pressure as their good young players continue to need new contracts. This summer, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Drouin are among their restricted free agents.
After making a trade demand during 2015-16, Drouin put his issues aside last season and went on to finish second on the team with 21 goals and third in overall scoring with 53 points. Now 22 years old, he might be tough for Steve Yzerman to re-sign, though the Lightning's GM has been successful in tough situations before—most notably re-upping with Steven Stamkos and persuading Nikita Kucherov to sign a very reasonable contract. Don't assume he won't be able to come to terms with Drouin.
To make a Tanev trade more appealing for the Lightning, Botchford suggests that the Canucks also offer to acquire Ryan Callahan. The 32-year-old has three years remaining on a contract with a cap hit of $5.8 million per season—and also has a no-movement clause.
But Callahan has been on the shelf since January after hip surgery. According to
Tasha St. Pierre at
Bolts by the Bay, Callahan's hip problems date back to the midpoint of the 2015-16 season. He had surgery at the end of the year, but played only 17 games last year before being sidelined once again.
When the setback was announced in February, Yzerman said that Callahan might have been available if the Lightning had gotten into the playoffs, so it's too soon to assume that these chronic issues will spell the end of his playing days.
Something to watch. For now, a poll:
online survey
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