Trying to Value Thomas Vanek

[Darren_Kennedy]

Some of my quick thoughts on Vanek going to MTL....and what his value could be net year

For this year he is going from the Islanders (17th in team scoring) to Montreal (20th in scoring) which makes me think his production will remain relatively similar. Of course there will be no John Tavares, which will surely have an impact, but he’ll get a chance to play with guys like Subban and Pacioretty on the power play.

Looking forward to the offseason, he’ll be a 30-year-old unrestricted free agent in search of a long-term deal. Rumours have indicated Minnesota as a possible destination, not an exciting one for poolies – historically they don’t produce offence. But Vanek has found a way to be effective on less than ideal Buffalo teams, so it’s hard for me to write him off regardless of where he lands. Over the next three seasons I would expect the same unexpected (if that’s possible) results we’ve seen throughout his career.

2 years of approximately: 28 goals, 35 assists, 63 points, 225 shots
1 year of: 40 goals, 32 assists, 72 points, 240 shots.

The trick for all of us will be identifying when that one season of elite production is likely to happen sooner than our fellow managers. If there was an easy way to do that I’d probably have more league championship trophies on my mantle than there currently is. My advice is to always keep a lookout for him in the mid rounds (6-8), but never pay the price of a 40 goal scorer, either at the draft table, or via trade.

[mister_mcgoo]

It will be interesting to see if the Habs sign him to a longer deal after this season, I gotta believe they have more sense than the Isles on this front and would have done their homework up front. I think he'd slot in nicely on a line with Galychenyuk and Plekanec especially with him having a great shot and Galy being an excellent passer. The Habs have more balance/depth than either NYI or BUF so the scoring tends to get spread around more but there's no doubt he'd get good PP time and linemates so I would guess that 55-65 pts would be no trouble for him (assuming he wants to play in Montreal)

[Darren_Kennedy]

It will be interesting to see if the Habs sign him to a longer deal after this season, I gotta believe they have more sense than the Isles on this front and would have done their homework up front. I think he'd slot in nicely on a line with Galychenyuk and Plekanec especially with him having a great shot and Galy being an excellent passer. The Habs have more balance/depth than either NYI or BUF so the scoring tends to get spread around more but there's no doubt he'd get good PP time and linemates so I would guess that 55-65 pts would be no trouble for him (assuming he wants to play in Montreal)

Agreed. He seems like exactly what they need long term. The big question is can they fit a contract for him and Subban's RFA extension under the cap?