Patrick Johnston: Pre-season report cards for Cootes, D-Petey, Mancini, Willander, Lekkerimäki

Patrick Johnston: Pre-season report cards for Cootes, D-Petey, Mancini, Willander, Lekkerimäki

Here’s Patrick Johnson of the Province and Post Media covering the Vancouver Conucks. He joins us on Thursdays. Nice shirt. I do my best, you know. Doing my I’m trying to imagine you in a Prius, Matt. That would be uh comfortably. No, comfortably. Really? Yeah. Yes. All right. Because that’s the first thing I do when I size up a vehicle is like, “Okay, how am I going to fit in this thing? How far back do I have to put my chair?” Well, that was the thing. Hey, I was so Blake drove. He was in the back seat. Uh Blake drove I at one point I was in the back seat. Yeah. Uh but the uh passenger seat reclined so much like I it was more than enough leg room. Like we we’ve leased a new Corolla Cross. We’re waiting for the call on when we’re Okay. Um there are no positions left on the Vancouver Conucks. Uh they’re going to appeal to the NHL for a 30man roster because everybody just deserves to play on this team. I like it. Uh parade will go down Robson and then take a right on Granville after an 8-1 preseason win right through the art gallery. Yeah, absolutely. It was fun. I mean that that’s one way to to make people stay through to the end of a preseason game. Oh man. I mean I found myself thinking like I mean every every preseason someone ends up with a game like this and I was just like man those Calgary Flames fans they’ve been through a lot lately. Do they really need this? Yeah. Um I I didn’t even know what to think. It just once this sort of ball got rolling and the Conucks just started scoring at will and I’m like I mean I’m flipping back and forth just to be clear and we thought it was going to be a score at will situation over at BC Place. Right. Right. I’m flipping back and forth. It’s just every time I change oh there’s another goal. Um, listen, I was, it was good to see, you know, Leas Peterson started slow, but found his way. Absolutely hammered that goal, which is good. I had a good chat with him last week. Um, talked about his he’s got a stiffer stick, guys. He’s feeling that’s how strong he feels. So, that’s a good sign. Um, plain stiffer stick. Well, he went to very whippy stick last year, but we talked a lot. And, you know, turns out he really feels that he doesn’t quite shoot like everyone else. He’s a bit more of the oldfashioned sweep because now they teach you to just, you know, you torque it at the front as I demonstrate on video for everybody listening. Um, he’s goes back and has a little more sweep to it. Anyway, he’s he’s got the John Dailyaly swing as opposed to the John Rom swing if you’re a golfer. But beautiful. Yes, even I understand that. Beautiful. Um, and you know, good to see Atu Ratu get some results because certainly he’s had a pretty poor preseason otherwise, but an 81. Why do you say that? So, well, what’s been poor about I just haven’t seen anything like I, you know, we at the game on especially, you know, the difference always is when you’re in person, right? So, there I am. I up on Friday night. And uh the way we’re covering games this year to deal with the disaster of Google AI and trying to get people just to come to our website uh is we’re doing report cards, guys. Postgame report cards assessing all the players how everybody did. So, and I actually quite player for every game. Oh, baby. We’re doing great for every player of It’s possible. Listen, it’s possible. You just got to challenge yourself a little. Um And sometime some nights like it’s just a pass like they’ll get a C++. They were there. They didn’t do anything good or bad. And like Ratu was kind of that and he’s just and that’s fine. His two goals are nice. Like he scored two goals and they’re both pretty good rips. I’m glad he got some goals because we finally got to talk about something because otherwise it’s been like it was a little bit of the old Ferraro line. The moment you they start asking you they stop asking you to do more, they start asking you to do less. And the moment they start asking you to do less, that’s the end. And Ratu hasn’t reached that point because that line was about Jake for Tannon at one point. But it had been a very quiet preseason. Now admittedly, a guy coming back from an injury uh that caused them a lot of problems uh obviously in playoffs, but this is a guy they need. And um so like I said, it was good to have him as a talking point at all. last night and it was a pretty decent one even though like I said the overall context of the game was kind of like okay I I want to go rapid fire round here I am going to give you a name oh so now you want his grades you were maligning his grades and now you want his grades I’m not asking for his grades I’m asking for his verdict okay yes or no final report card on the opening night roster if not lineup up talking roster here. 23, not 12. We’ll test here. Okay. Uh, we’ll go name by name. I want a yes or no. And then I will come back with any follow-ups. Are you filling in the sheet for me or do I have to do this as well to make sure I don’t like No, no, I’ve got the sheet. I’ve got the sheet. Okay. Lena Lenus Carlson. Uh, yes. Uh, Jonathan Lcramaki. Yes. Whoa. Braden Coots. I really want to say yes, but now I know that means I got to cut somebody, but I think yes. Whoa. We’ll come back. Vitali Crafts off. No. Max Sassin. No. Victor Mancini. He’s still waiverss eligible, right? Right. No. Yeah. He does not require waiverss. He can go down within PNC. Exactly. That’s the word I’m looking for. Thank you. Yes. Wavers. Exactly. Yes. Thank So you’re no on him. Okay. I’m a no just because they can they can up and down. Pier Olivier Joseph. Yes. Tom Vander. Valander. Valander. Yes. Whoa. But but the No, I’m saying no. I’m saying no. No. Yes. Thank you. That’s the correct answer. No. Say no. No. I was going to say no. I was just I really was like way to stick to I was going to say is there I want it to be a yes, but it it’s not thing you love about Patrick. He’s just so resolute. Uh okay. So then you have them keeping just the seven defenseman. Yes. As I can. Yeah. So I I heard Shorty say yesterday on the broadcast he thought they would keep the eight for the early uh season roadie. It’s possible that they’re on. But but here’s the other thing is like they do play those two home games uh prior to right. They they got Calgary here a week from Thursday then they’re just a simple fly away to Edmonton and then back home for the uh Thanksgiving matinea against St. Louis. So you can do the eight defenseman after you get through those three games. Well, that’s it. If you’re going to do like if you’re going to have Coots and Ler Macki to start, you can only have seven defense. Like that’s the thing. Um and I I just think there’s enough there. I I’m not like I’ve said I think I’ve laid it out. I I’m not convinced Coops is here for the whole season, but I think there’s enough there that they you know, he’s a guy that you would like to have in the AHL, but you can’t. So, you what’s the next best thing? You have him practice with you for a while, get him in a couple games, and then you send him send him home, right? Do you think um let me just follow up here, Blake. Uh, do you think they’re going to put Hoglander on LTIR and account for him that way where you get the roster spot and the salary unless something has changed, right? Uh, or just the regular IR where you have to account for him both salary and roster in that concoction. Yeah. If you leave him on regular IR. Yeah. So, the thing is if you go in LTI, you don’t acrew cap space. Correct. Right. So, I mean that is a question now that is certainly a different because they are now using these new rules for the playoffs. I mean that it still lets you acquire guys later in the season. Um so I don’t think there’s any reason to think that teams will not carry on as they have because it gives you more roster flexibility simply having more guys. Um and and as has been laid out, having two well-paid goalies means you can put Nikita Toapila as your backup for a playoff game and save the money that you would be spending on Kevin Lank or whoever. But I’m more concerned about Monday’s deadline and whether or not I understand do something with Hoglander to keep more of these young guys as Blake was saying. I mean, well, no, I they don’t they 20ome guys. It’s only roster numbers. So, if you put Hogan on IR, you have his roster spot. That’s all you need. They’re not they’re not running into a into the problem of years past. The Jim Benning problem is no longer there. Okay. We didn’t ask you about Arshie Baines and I was Oh my god, I forgot Arshie. I heard Thomas Dance like waxing poetic about him that he’s on the team. He’s on the team. I mean, he’s been fine, but I I don’t know that he’s won the job because he he would have had to have come from the back of the pack. I think I think it’s more you look at, you know, the waiverss thing is driving him will drive most of this. Yeah. Um I I I like Arch Deep. I think he’s a fine enough fourthliner. I am not as high on him as Dance is. I will say that much. Yeah. So, yes or no? Yes or no? Well, can I have him if I have a Yeah, I believe you can. I I I believe you can. Yeah, like because coming into season because that way you say let’s say let’s say we have Okay, let’s say Drew O’ Connor bumps up and then your fourth line wingers are some combination of Lenus Carlson, Archie Baines, Jonathan Leaki with one of them and Coots in reserve. There’s your 14 forwards. You told me you’re keeping Joseph as your seventh defenseman forward lineup. Yeah, exactly right. Sorry, I didn’t I didn’t bring up Baines cuz I you know I figured Okay, he was my so ironclad in your I like I am in a different reality I think than I’m not I’m not ironclad on him. I’m not I just I just didn’t compare to the alternatives that that that he is more useful. I’m trying to be positive, you know, that there’s he he he has more of a spot than a crapov. I just haven’t seen it. I literally wrote on certainly for that will see crap skate at Rogers Arena in a Conucks uniform ever again, which perhaps was harsh, but I don’t know that he was here at all. He was to blame for both goals on Friday night. Like he was just an absolute if you go and look at the you know the animation the goal animations they do like the player tracking. Yeah. If you go and look at the second goal, like he is just like all the way in the wrong spot and then oh and he’s just spinning and like it was just you didn’t even need to if you watched it live it was atrocious. And just to watch the positioning part of it, it wasn’t good. KHL stats just do not tell you the full picture, right? Because they just do not play defense in the KHL. Well, no. And you know, in the end, it’s it’s a league that is not the best in the world. you know, it’s it’s a step up from the Swedish League and a step up, I think, from the AHL, but like look at the AHL and how loose that game is, right? Like it’s not that different from there. And it’s wider ice, so you gain the zone every time. And um he just Yeah, it’s it’s it’s too bad. Nice kid. like you could see, you know, when he was in other leagues, as we saw in the last two years in the KHL, um you can see that this is a guy that has some skills, but it’s just doesn’t translate to the toughest league in the world. At least has not yet. Mancini is a penalty killer. Is that what cinches the deal for you? Um he had Mancini off. I have off right now. Wow. Wild. I mean, I’m just have him off, but I’m just that’s so I can have C, you know, Leer Mackey, right? Like if one of those guys and then obviously Lance is on on the roster, but like is he playing guys? Is he playing over Elias Patterson? Junior Person. So DPD is on the team. Mancini is not. Is that correct? Yeah. I mean, I’m just going DPD. Like I just like DPD more. I think he does more. I think he’s a smarter player. Does this affect uh anything? Uh, our friend Hart Lavine at Puck Pedia has uh sent me, “The NHL recently provided teams with a clarification on the new no paper loans rule that requires a player sent down to play one AHL game before being recalled. The news is the rule is not in effect until October 10th. This means teams can send players down for the opening rosters and then call them up prior to October 10th even if they have not yet played an AHL game. So you’re still allowed to do your season opening LTI set up. Yes, they continue. Puckedia continues. The biggest impact is for teams that want to set their LTIR pool by being under the cap. They can now send players down, submit a roster, add a player to LTIR, and then immediately call the players up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean if the Canucks make a trade here, right? Like I mean it’s not impossible. It’s certainly like they could add someone. Do you think the performance of the likes of Arteep and Leaki and Coots and others has dissuaded them from the like Nick Robertson, Jack Roslavic, uh Lucas Reichel, uh uh tier of player here, either by trade or by signing. I mean, certainly having poked around a little bit, I mean, there’s certainly they’re not saying no on anything. Um, I don’t get a sense of I mean, I don’t get a sense of urgency to add any of those guys right now. Um, I mean, Lucas Reichel, like it’s funny, I went and looked at it some like it’s really hard to judge a player if you go just look at the numbers on when they’re on such a bad team. And so, you know, I go and look, oh, look who’s right. Oh, wow. on ice shooting percentage is really low. He the second lowest on ice shooting shooting percentage of any regular forward on the Blackhawks last year which meant you know the Blackhawks were a bit unlucky when he was in the ice and then you turn around you realize he had the highest on ice save percentage of any Chicago Blackhawks player regular last. So like you know no goals were going in on one end on the other end and then you’re left with I don’t know I you know like he’s performed well in the AHL. Um, he’s speedy. Like, they like speed, but they’ve already like it’s not clear to me that this is a guy that is something you move mountains for. He’s worth taking a coin flip on, I guess. But yeah, I mean, I like Nick Robertson. I think Nick Robertson would make this team better. Um, I just think I think he’s better than our Steve Baines. Like, I like the player. Uh, but you know, are they how aggressive? I mean, how aggressive they made a move every year in training camp if I’m not mistaken, right? Or or the very early start of the season. Um, so I just I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a move. I just I just don’t know. I don’t know how uh there there’s not the sort of obvious bits like we’ve heard in past seasons like they needed Casey to Smith, you know, they needed um they needed to find defense. They would have got Riley Stillman, you know, like like Oh, I think that was more about Jason Rob. I think that was more about Jason Dickinson. But yeah, sure. But I’m just saying like they also did need a guy, right? like there’s not as as desperate as sort of they need to find a seventh defenseman compared to what they already have uh within the confines of a cap problem like they they got rid of Tucker Pullman like like getting rid of Tucker Pullman’s contract last year kind of ended that whole era and now we’re they’re in an era right now they’re like $3 million in the cap depending on how they juggle things around. Um they have room to add a guy. There’s no doubt about it. But every team is looking to add guys that will make your team better, not just guys that will fill out your roster. just keep acrewing until you find the guy that you need or don’t spend money just because you have it would be my advice. Um, one way for this to that’s the one thing just just on that point, Blake, that is the one thing the these rules are really going to mess with the trade market, right? like the the the way you have to think a lot more intensely about what your playoff roster is going to look like in terms of how the cap adds up does change how you look at this and then the lack of second retention right like that makes it harder because you if you are going to do that you have to hold on to the guy for you know what 90 days or what I can’t remember what it is like you have like you can’t just turn around and flip the guy so so so the trademark is going to be very different and I don’t know that said if teams are going to operate like the kox and be smart about this and not spend the cap and allow themselves some flexibility which would be smart but it’s hard to believe will actually happen um that could change this dynamic. Well, gosh, I sure hope I sure hope the playoff cap and um no secondary retention like I I I hope that doesn’t lock the trade market. I mean, I was when I first read about them, I was worried that it was going to lock the trade market, but when you sit back and you look and realize that most teams right now are actually sitting reasonably puck pedi, right? Like most there are currently three teams over the cap. There’s a couple, you know, the Oilers are right up at the cap. The Blues and Islanders are and Rangers are all less than a contract away from the cap. We talked about everybody was very modest during the summer, right? So, I I don’t know that it’s shaping up for that. Yeah. So, right now, like like I don’t think it’s going to lock this year, but it could lock in years to come as players chase raises, right? Like which is they’re right. I mean, the consistently it’s been who has made up the gap. it’s always been the players because they’ve consistently put pressure on teams to sign them from for more which they should um and and so but yeah like those two rules in the long run I think do lock trades uh or run the risk of locking trades but if teams keep giving themsel leaving themselves some wiggle room then that won’t necessarily be the case for this team to overachieve special teams could uh float their boat in a lot of ways and it’s set up nicely for them and that they’ve got goalending obviously on the penalty kill side. The penalty killers that have left while there’s been guys given auditions so far that have in preseason action which is all we’ve got to go on right now looked okay and last night they you know scoring power play goals too. Um what’s what’s your feeling on the on the special teams with one game left to practice? Well, I mean, you’re absolutely right. Like, like elite special teams make a massive difference, right? You like being in the top five in power play and top five in penalty kill will take you a long way towards being a not just in the playoffs, but a team that could do something. Um, even if your overall isn’t that exciting, and the Conucks are a fine looking NHL team, but I don’t think anybody says they’re a contender. The the PK question, like, yeah, I I I’m never as worried about it, you know? I mean, look at the guys who who, you know, JT Miller was a terrible penalty killer, right? Like, he was good on faceoffs, but couldn’t do the rest. Um, Bo Horbat was the same story, right? Like, the penalty killers in the end are guys you should throw it constantly throwing darts at everybody because you don’t always know. I commend Adam Foot for having talked about Brock Besser. Like, I’ve gone I’ve been talking about Brock Besser having potential as penalty killer. I’m going to say it for years. I may not have yelled it loudly enough, but I’ve long believed that there was a player there that could figure this out. And he uh played him a fair bit on the PK last night and Connor Garland as well, which was a thing we started to see late last season and and carried over. I’m 100% with you. We’re going to hold you to Baines, Leaki, Coots, Carlson, and Joseph for Monday. Let’s go. Look forward to next week already, partner. I can’t wait.

Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston stops by to review the entirety of the preseason and give us his yays and nays on who makes the team for Monday. PJ has hot takes on the likes of D-Petey, Mancini and Willander, plus whether the Canucks will continue their tradition of a smaller trade before the roster deadline.

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