Post by Vancouver Canucks GM (Cooper) on Jun 21, 2024 22:58:45 GMT -8
TopShelf Gazette
2024 Offeason Edition
Pt.2
June 21, 2024
Part-2 of Topshelf Gazette's: Offseason Edition, will continue with an in-depth look into the recent trades around TSDHL.
TRADES, TRADES, AND MORE TRADES
With a couple new owners joining the league, and teams gearing up for the upcoming TSDHL Rookie Draft, we have seen a recent influx of trades being made.
Newly appointed Minnesota GM, Clint, has been working around the clock lately, leading the way with three completed trades.
Teams involved include: Minnesota Wild (Clint), Dallas Stars (Andrew), Anaheim Ducks (Holden), and Vancouver Canucks (Cooper).
Without further ado, here are your Trade Breakdowns.
MINNESOTA / VANCOUVER
| G, Juuse Saros RW, Gustav Nyquist D, Tristian Luneau | C, Leo Carlsson RW, Matiev Michkov | |
GOALIE TALK
Minnesota GM, Clint, took no time at all to put his stamp on the team, in a big way. Wild struggled to get much of any goalie starts last season as they only had two goalies in the entire organization, neither being NHL regulars.
One of those goalie is Franchise Tag player and top prospect, Jesper Wallstadt. The Swedish born net minder was a 1st Round selection by the Wild back in the 2021 NHL Draft, #20. His potential is sky-high, with some believing that he could be the best goalie to come out of Sweden since future hall-of-famer, Henrik Lundqvist.
Last season, Wallstadt played majorly for Iowa Wild in the AHL, playing in 45 games and posting a .910SV%. He did get a couple starts in at the NHL level, looking sharp, picking up a 24SV shutout vs Blackhawks, followed by a 27SV, 6-2 win over San Jose.
Wallstadt could see more NHL time this coming season, but with Marc-Andre Fluery and Filip Gustavsson still in the fold, his impact will most likely be limited. Fluery has already signed a 1yr contract extension with Wild, for what is expected to be his final season. Gustavsson has 2yrs remaining on his deal.
With Wallstadt's impact limited, for now, the gaping hole remained in net and needed immediate addressing. And that is exactly what Clint did, going all-in on goaltender, Juuse Saros.
TRADE BREAKDOWN: WILD
| Gustav Nyquist | 81GP | 23G | 52A | 75PTS |
| Tristan Luneau | 7GP | 1G | 2A | 3PTS |
| Juuse Saros | 64GP | 35WINS | 2.86GAA | .906SV% |
Saros, 29yr, has been nothing but consistent, if not spectacular at times, since being passed down the starting job by longtime Predator-great, Pekka Rinne.
GM Clint just improved his goaltending situation by miles with the addition of Saros, as he has averaged 35 wins per season, over the last three years.
Something to note, Saros is coming off a season in which he played not quite at his normal level. last year, he posted his lowest GAA (2.86) and SV% (.906%) of his career. Will we see a bounce back to 'Elite' status this Fall?
Nyquist was drafted all the way back in the 28th Round (546th overall) of the Inaugural Draft, by Utah GM, Joel. And man, did he find a diamond in the rough. Nyquist was coming off a season in which he registered just 27pts, albeit he did have an injury-shortened season, playing in 51 games.
Now 34yr, his previous career high in points was 60, but that was six years ago, back in the 2018-19 season, it seemed as though father time was catching up. However, ee exceeded all expectations and finished the season with a career-high, 52A and 75pts. To set career highs at his age is a rare feat.
He may be the later rounds steal-of-the-draft, as far as offensive production goes. Good drafting, GM Joel.
Soon to turn 35yr, what would be a realistic point expectation afar as points next season. Will he match 75pts? Unlikely, but even if he drops down to the 55-60pt range, that’s still great value. Nyquist will be due for a contract extension this offseason, with the pay raise set at 1.5M. Last season, his salary was 1.65M.
Tristian Luneau is no throw-in either. The young, Ducks defenseman had 3pts in 7gp last year with the big club.
TRADE BREAKDOWN: VANCOUVER
| Leo Carlsson | 2nd Overall (23') | NHL | 56GP | 12G | 17A | 29PTS |
| Matiev Michkov | 7th Ovrerall (23') | KHL | 47GP | 19G | 22A | 41PTS |
Thats a lot to give up from a Vancouver team that last year was very finished the regular season with the leagues best record, and thought they had all the pieces necessary to win a championship.
But, things don't always go as planned, as they were upset quickly in the First Round by Dallas GM, Andrew and his young, budding Stars.
So why did GM Cooper, and the Canucks make the deal? “We needed a shakeup”, said GM Cooper, “last year ended in big disappointment, we not only lost in the first round, but also managed to trade away all draft picks and many prospects in the process, trying to force a championship. It simply didn’t work”. He continued, “We were then completely depleted of prospects, but the addition of exciting players like Carlsson and Michkov, is a great starting point in building back up our minor system.”
When asked about what the loss of Saros means for his team, he responded, “You know, Nashville has a great goaltending prospect themselves in Yaroslav Askarov. He got his feet wet in the NHL last year (2GP with Preds) and did not disappoint. My question back to you would be, ‘how much longer until Askarov takes over the starting role? By the end of next season? 2 years out? He’s close, real close. An eventual 50/50 split between the two would greatly limit his (Saros) fantasy potential. We are trying to stay ahead of the curve”
Leo Carlsson, drafted 2nd Overall in 2023 by Anaheim Ducks, made the jump to the NHL right away. He showed flashes of brilliance throughout the year, accumulating 29pts in 59gp. Carlsson is the future of the Ducks and as such, he should continue to build off of last years production.
He had a bit of an injury-riddled season, missing time with an MCL and later, a concussion. Vancouver GM, Cooper, hopes to see a 55pts+ season out of Carlsson this upcoming year.
Possibly the most intriguing player in the entire deal, is Russian youngster Matiev Michkov. Many anticipate big things from Michkov, some going as far as saying he is the most talented prospect the Flyer have had since the Eric Lindros days.
Michkov has not yet made the jump to North America. However, there are rumors out there that insist Michkov could be coming to Philadelphia sooner than expected. As of now, Michkov is locked into a contract until 2026, with KHL club Sochi HC.
He finished the season with a very impressive 41pts in 47gp, numbers that are almost unheard of for a young player playing in KHL. A couple Russian comparisons show just how well Matiev Michkov has been producing in the KHL, as a young player.
| Ilya Kovalchuk | KHL | 2004-05' (21yr) | 53GP | 19G | 22A |
| Kirill Kaprizov | KHL | 2016-17' (19yr) | 49GP | 20G | 22A |
| Matiev Michkov | KHL | 2023-24' (19yr) | 47GP | 19G | 22A |
Those are quite the comparisons to be keeping pace with. Michkov has a chance to come in and take the NHL by storm, the same as when Kiril Kaprizov moved to Minnesota in 2020 season.
Both Michkov and Carlsson are on 2-Way, rookie contracts for another 2yrs, giving Vancouver extra cap flexibility.
In other news, it is said that, Gm Cooper, and the Canucks have interest in goaltender, Askarov, themselves, as a possible trade candidate. GM Cooper also mentioned they’re eying Semyon Varlamov from Colorado, and Thatcher Demo from New Jersey. It is believed he will be reaching out to those GM’s soon.
More trade recaps to come, including MIN/DAL and MIN/ANH