NHL 2025 Offseason

[Psyblast]

Majingir, I'm stealing your thunder this year. Call it the privilege of having your team in the playoffs while mine has been golfing by this time for a decade now.

Two items of note jump out at me from the non-playoff table:

1. Something I never thought I'd hear from an NHL captain:

https://x.com/spittinchiclets/status...26810130620616

The idea that the Red Wings were disheartened by the lack of deadline moves to the point where their season totally unraveled as a result is almost too incredulous to believe. That the captain of the team felt comfortable enough to say something this soft out loud to the media is...something else.

2. Of note for Doc:



Two thoughts: One, this feels pretty close to tampering. I'm sure the NHL has slapped wrists for less.

Two...is the groundwork being laid already for some sort of move? Are the Canucks going to pre-emptively move Hughes the way the Flames pre-emptively moved Tkachuk?

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by Psyblast

Majingir, I'm stealing your thunder this year. Call it the privilege of having your team in the playoffs while mine has been golfing by this time for a decade now. Two items of note jump out at me from the non-playoff table: 1. Something I never thought I'd hear from an NHL captain: https://x.com/spittinchiclets/status...26810130620616 The idea that the Red Wings were disheartened by the lack of deadline moves to the point where their season totally unraveled as a result is almost too incredulous to believe. That the captain of the team felt comfortable enough to say something this soft out loud to the media is...something else. 2. Of note for Doc: Two thoughts: One, this feels pretty close to tampering. I'm sure the NHL has slapped wrists for less. Two...is the groundwork being laid already for some sort of move? Are the Canucks going to pre-emptively move Hughes the way the Flames pre-emptively moved Tkachuk?

It is tampering, but in sports we always see the league just look away. It's like how guys suddenly sign at 12:01pm on free agency day.

If Canucks are going to trade him, this would be the maximum value they'll get with 2 years left on his deal.

Although the Devils don't have their first this year so if a deal happened it'd have to be something like both 2nds this year, 1st next 2 years and something else. Or do Canucks manage to get a guy like Nemec in the deal.

[DrJones]

Oh, I'm well aware of Rutherford's inability to shut the f*** up.

And everything - EVERYTHING - he and Allvin says is some variation of the same excuse: "It's all the players' fault, none of it is ours (or Tocchet's)." Dunno if you watched the entire press conference, but they're dicking around with their top/only prospect now (Willander). It's a loser of a franchise with bottom-5 ownership - Hughes should flee and never look back. So should I.

[Majingir]

Canucks firing Tocchet too.

That's 5 vacant coaching jobs right now from non playoff teams, with 3 other teams currently having interim coaches, and who knows what playoff teams could fire guys depending on how their team does.

When its all said and done we could very well have over a quarter of the teams looking for new coaches.

If Avs fire Bednar, Martin St.Louis would then become the 3rd longest tenured coach in the league at 2.5 seasons, with only 3 coaches in the league being on their current team before the 22-23 season!

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

Canucks firing Tocchet too.

Incorrect. Tocchet is no longer under contract and is leaving of his own accord; the Canucks wanted to re-sign him.

[DrJones]

Rick Tocchet pros with the Canucks:

- Defensive structure (the Canucks were colossally deficient under Willie, Green, and Bruce)
- Work ethic, resilience, emotion, most players appeared to want to play for him
- Appeared to be a good mix of old-school/new-school mentality
- Media friendly

Rick Tocchet cons with the Canucks:

- too stubbornly defensive-minded for long-term success in this era (the Canucks' hot stretch in late 22/23 and most of 23/24 was bolstered by unsustainably high shooting percentages); Vancouver was consistently in the bottom 5 of shots/chances generated - as soon as conditions were no longer perfect, they had to outwork/out-defend the opposition every game to win, which is an unworkable formula
- how much of the locker room issues can be laid at his feet, as opposed to Miller/Pettersson and management? Don't know, maybe he's relatively blameless and nobody could've done better, but locker room dynamics are still a big part of the job!

Overall, I think all of this can be true:

- Tocchet's legacy with the Canucks is mostly a positive one (this market has a very low bar!)
- his offensive limitations and Vancouver's roster issues means that he's likely taken this team as far as he can
- given the weird vibes the Canucks continue to give off (Why isn't Willander signed? Why is Vancouver the only team in the league without a practice facility (despite the owner being a real estate guy)? Why must Rutherford continually (and very publicly) pour gasoline on every fire?) and all the high-profile Eastern jobs available (Rangers/Flyers/Pens), I can't blame him for bailing
- unless he lands in an absolutely PERFECT situation, I don't think you will ever win a Cup with Tocchet, but he is a floor raiser (personally, I think his best fit is with the Rangers, although he's more likely to end up in Philly or Pittsburgh)

[DrJones]

And yes, this is a pretty clear sign that Hughes will be gone in two years or less.

Which is very bad, because:

a.) You'll be losing an irreplaceable HOF talent at age 26/27, duh!
b.) You'll be trading from a position of weakness (as the Canucks always do), which means a king's ransom return is unlikely
c.) Ownership and the current management group both find the idea of a full rebuild unacceptable and will attempt a half-assed "retool" which will almost certainly result in being a bad team bereft of quality prospects
d.) I've wasted 45 of my 52 years on this nonsense

[Psyblast]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

And yes, this is a pretty clear sign that Hughes will be gone in two years or less. Which is very bad, because: a.) You'll be losing an irreplaceable HOF talent at age 26/27, duh! b.) You'll be trading from a position of weakness (as the Canucks always do), which means a king's ransom return is unlikely c.) Ownership and the current management group both find the idea of a full rebuild unacceptable and will attempt a half-assed "retool" which will almost certainly result in being a bad team bereft of quality prospects d.) I've wasted 45 of my 52 years on this nonsense

Is there a hypothetical trade package from New Jersey that would send Quinn east and

a) be realistic/plausible, considering the aforementioned position of weakness, and

b) not cause you to hunger strike outside Rogers Arena?