Less than a week after inking goaltending prospect Thatcher Demko to his entry-level contract, the Vancouver Canucks took care of another piece of business on Tuesday, re-signing restricted free agent centre Markus Granlund to a two-year deal.
The deal is completed with Granlund already in Russia, preparing to play with Team Finland at the World Championships.
At
The Province,
Jason Botchford suggests that the Canucks' goal is to have Granlund follow in the footsteps of his fellow ex-Calgary Flame, Sven Baertschi, who took a nice step forward in his first full season with the Canucks this year.
The areas for improvement are different, but Jim Benning hopes Granlund can show similar growth:
“He’s a player who has an undervalued skill set which is going to come out in the next year,” Vancouver GM Jim Benning said.
“Off the ice, in the weight room, he’s a really strong kid. The thing we’re going to work on with him this summer is his first-step quickness, getting him the power to get up to speed as fast as he can.”
There is one big difference between the two players' situtations, though: Baertschi was pencilled in for a top-six role with the Canucks from the day he was acquired, while Granlund is expected to start next season as the team's fourth-line center.
It's not all bad for him. That basically means he already has a leg up on Jared McCann and Linden Vey. But if everybody stays healthy, there won't be a lot of room for advancement behind Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter.
Baertschi and Vey are also restricted free agents who will need new contracts this summer, as is Emerson Etem. On defense, the only RFA is Andrey Pedan, who's currently back in Utica as the Comets try to extend their postseason.
Mission accomplished on Tuesday. Alex Grenier was the hero when his game-winner at 9:13 of overtime gave the Comets a 2-1 win over the Albany Devils, who now lead the best-of-five series 2-1.
Because the Comets are the Canucks' baby brothers, a goaltending dilemma is now unfurling. Travis Green did elect to go with soon-to-be UFA Joe Cannata in net over veteran Richard Bachman, and Cannata was outstanding. He earned second star honours, stopping 27 shots, and generated instant conversation about whether or not he should be re-signed for next season.
Bachman's signed for one more year, but he's on a one-way contract at $575,000. That might make him tough to trade if he's expected to play at the AHL level again next season.
It sounds like the wild atmosphere in Utica's Aud helped fuel the win. Unlike the first two games in Albany, the Comets dominated play at times, especially in OT, when they outshot the Devils 7-3.
Check out these comments from the new members of the Comets, experiencing Utica playoffs for the first time:
That community support manifests in other ways, too. As a business, the Comets are thriving in Utica.
That, my friends, is why it's virtually impossible for the Aquilinis to follow the current trend and move their AHL team closer to home.
By the way, Jordan Subban scored Utica's other goal. That's his second of the playoffs.
Three More Sleeps
As the draft lottery draws ever nearer,
Bob McKenzie has posted his updated Top 15 draft rankings at TSN.
McKenzie adds his voice to the growing group that's suggesting that Patrik Laine could have a shot at overtaking Auston Matthews as the No. 1 pick in the draft. Laine's MVP performance in the Finnish League playoffs certainly outshines the first-round sweep that Auston Matthews' Zurich Lions endured in the Swiss League. While Laine has been scoring highlight-reel goals for the last month or so, Matthews has been idle since March 10.
I'm so pleased that both players will be in the same bracket as Team Canada at the World Championships. We'll have a chance to see the two go head-to-head on Monday, May 9.
Also worth noting in Bob's rankings—upward movement from Team USA's Clayton Keller and Logan Brown after their excellent showings at the U18 tournament, downward movement for Canada's Michael McLeod, and no defenseman in the top six.
McKenzie ranks Finland's Olli Juolevi as the best of the blueliners at No. 7, with Mikhail Sergachev at No. 8 and Jacob Chychrun at No. 9. Chrychrun's stock certainly didn't improve at the U18s, especially not with Canada's 10-3 annihilation at the hands of the U.S. in the bronze medal game—although he finished that game with not-bad-considering minus-one rating. Chychrun finished the tournament 1-3-4 and plus-five in seven games.
Finally, a playoff round ends tonight, while another begins. So strange!
Best-case scenario for me: the Ducks avoid another one of their patented Game 7 collapses to let me go five-for-eight in my first round picks. Thanks a lot, L.A., Chicago and Florida!
For Round 2, I've picked Pittsburgh over Washington in seven in
this Bleacher Report preview and gone with the underdog in tonight's series, taking
the Islanders in seven. The Isles made a believer out of me with those three overtime wins in the first round.
As for Dallas/St. Louis—I think I have to go with the Blues in six. They were really terrific against Chicago to win their series on Monday night.
Who you got?
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