The Canucks signed a couple of bottom-six players on Monday. They inked 24-year-old, UFA, Jayce Hawryluk to a one-year contract for $750K and then re-signed Adam Gaudette to a one-year deal worth $950K.

Here's the thing, one or even both of them could see time in Vancouver's top six.

Gaudette is the most obvious one. He played at a 46-point pace as a 23-year-old sophomore in 2019-20. It was something of a break out for the former Hobey Baker winner. Unfortunately, the production did not follow him into the playoffs.

Gaudette was in the 10.2(c) RFA black-hole where leverage goes to die. Meaning he had no arbitration or offer sheet rights. He had no leverage whatsoever. I posited that the Canucks may have missed out on a chance to lock down a burgeoning player to, say, a three-year contract at 1.3M. You bet on him taking another step offensively, or better yet, as a two-way player and locking down the third-line centre position.

However, I understand this avenue as well. The club used their position to keep his number low and it will surely provide Gaudette with ample motivation to have a big year. This is likely due to the fact that Travis Green sheltered him in a major way and his luck-based metrics were healthy.

Gaudette was something of a blessing for the Canucks second power-play unit last season. He has a nice release from the left circle – a spot he consistently haunted NCAA netminders during his days at Northeastern. Some even argued he'd be a better fit than a struggling Brock Boeser at times during last season. However, he saw 60% of his 5v5 starts in the offensive end and still managed to be a serious drag in play-driving. 

With Tyler Toffoli moving on to Montreal, there is a gaping hole on the right-side in the team's top six. Gaudette, Jake Virtanen and Loui Eriksson appear to be the options to fill it. Which isn't exactly a glowing indication of the club's depth at the moment. But if Gaudette lands the gig, a push in the 50-point zone is doable.

Meanwhile, Hawryluk may have some hidden value. He was a prolific scorer in junior scoring 46 goals and 106 points in 58 games during his 19-year-old season. He also recorded 101 penalty minutes making him one of just five players to accomplish the triple-digit feat in both categories over the past 20 years.

Those PIMs are an indication of the style he enjoys to play: That of the pest. But the pest has shown flashes of production at the NHL level as well. Most recently in his 11-game stint with the Senators to wrap up 2019-20 where he recorded seven points – all coming in the final nine games. He's also an above-average defensive player which should earn him some quick favours with the Vancouver coaching staff.

He's a player you could see ending up as Vancouver's 13th forward. He could also be a quick ladder climber in the event of injury or inconsistency. Something to monitor.

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Speaking of Toffoli, I definitely don’t like him as much in Montreal as I did in Vancouver. With the Canucks, there was a better than decent chance he’d see a solid amount of even-strength ice next to Elias Pettersson. Ditto for snaking that juicy spot on the left wall as the triggerman.

A career-season was within grasp.

With the Habs, there are a lot of righties in that top six. Does he play on his off-wing opposite Josh Anderson with Nick Suzuki as the pivot? That could be swell, but it’s not ideal having three righties on one line. And let’s not forget the team just re-upped Brendan Gallagher – another righty.

On that top PP unit, he’s not taking Gallagher’s net-front. Tomas Tatar as the lefty works the right shooter’s role. Drouin usually works the point. Suzuki is the burgeoning QB. It’s not looking good for the former LA King to find a home. Thus, it’s middle six and PP2 deployment.

Pass.

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Questions for Mailbag column

Rick Roos is searching for a few more questions for next week's mailbag column. To get a question to him, you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.

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It's time. Rasmus Dahlin needs to be completely unleashed in Buffalo. We all understood; the teenager has played incredibly well in his first two NHL seasons, and a big reason for that has been the sheltered deployment. He's been kept on a leash. The 59 percent offensive zone start times through his first 141 career games is a testament to that. 

He saw his power-play minutes spike 75 seconds from 2018-19 to last season. And he was worth every penny of the production he manifested. Just look at this impact: 

However, there is no longer an excuse to be limiting him to just 16 minutes of even-strength ice per game. The 20-year-old, former first-overall selection is ripe and ready to swallow up the kingmaker minutes. Yes, there will be hiccups defensively. The Sabres are plenty used to that with Rasmus Ristonlainen being the de facto number one defender for the last few seasons. Now is the time to give Dahlin 20 at 5v5 and ratchet up the PP time even further. You spent the greatest of draft capital on this young man and you need him to achieve the lofty two-way potential that he possesses.

And here's the thing, I believe coach Ralph Kreuger will give it to him. When he does, coupled with the growth of the surrounded young talent in Buffalo and the addition of Taylor Hall, things should get fun.

We're nearing the two year anniversary of this tweet. And while it was too hot to type without oven mitts on, I'm not backing away from it just yet. 

If any of you have the opportunity to scoop Dahlin in a trade, now is the time. If you're drafting in a new keep/dynasty setup, bump him right up near the top of the defender ranking. Yes, ahead of established studs. His long term value dwarfs pretty much any defender over the age of 26. 

Buy now or forever hold your peace. 

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I understand why organizations put out these statements. It's mostly to stem the tide of harassment and dismay when competent players are shown the door. But in the case of the Blackhawks, this is a team that's been sitting on the fence for some time.

I mean, was it justifiable to take a 26-year-old Artemi Panarin who was coming off of a point-per-game sophomore season and flip him for Brandon Saad? No, probably not. But it was justified nonetheless. All to watch Saad underperform for a couple of years and deal him for a middle of the lineup defensive defenseman in Nikita Zadorov? 

It's the Benjamin Button version of that guy who started with a paper clip and traded his way up to a house.

This is a team with 30M tied up in over-30's for next season. Almost all of them with term. Yes, they have Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, and Adam Boqvist. Those three should form a nice nucleus moving forward. But this is an organization with one of the poorest prospect pools in the game. 

If you're going to rebuild, it's going to be a long haul at this point. May as well dish Patty Kane, right? Well, crazier things could happen. And if I'm a Kane owner (which I am) then I'm looking forward to that potentially coming to fruition.

Get him out of dodge and off to a contender for the next few seasons. He remains magic and has that rare triple-digit upside. He could still manifest it in Chicago while they turn the page, but it'll be a lot more difficult.
On the flip side, if the GM's words trickle down to the coach's brain, then we should see those previously mentioned youngsters witnessing their deployment ramp up. That's great news for owners.

Moral of the story: Chicago will be an interesting, albeit poor, team next season. 

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@Hockey_Robinson