Less than a week after being bought out by the Minnesota Wild, Thomas Vanek will need to find a new home if he wants to continue his career in the NHL. At only 32 years old, he can bring roughly 40 points per season, about 15 power play points per season, and good possession numbers. This is all within about 15 minutes of ice time per game. Overall, this is your typical 2nd or 3rd line depth winger which could cost a few million per year on a shorter term deal. Vanek will likely go under the radar but had enough upside that he could be a big impact for a team looking for an extra push down the line. The only question is, where will Vanek sign?
Landing Spots for Thomas Vanek
Arizona Coyotes
Arizona will certainly have the money to sign Vanek if they truly want him, and why wouldn’t they? 41 points last season would have had him tied for fifth on the team and he played third line minutes. The Coyotes also were among the worst in the league in terms of scoring goals finishing 24th in that category with their power play finished 20th in the league. In the process of bringing up several young players into their line-up, the team will need to add some guidance from older veterans. Vanek is the perfect mix of being a veteran but also having a few more years left in his prime before seriously declining. He has already shown some decline from being a 60-70 point scorer to a 40 point scorer, but still shows signs of his former elite self at times. Even if they were to give Vanek $5 million per year for three seasons, they would still have roughly $15 million to spend on other players. Next season will be an interesting one as we begin to see new teams build potential cup teams for the future, and Arizona is one of them.
Detroit Red Wings
After making arguably one of the smartest moves of the year, Wings General Manager Ken Holland was able to free up over $7 million in space after Datsyuk left the team for Russia. Now, the Red Wings will need to find someone to help the offense get back on track with Steven Stamkos off the market. Detroit had the 23rd worst offense last season and 13th best powerplay. While Vanek would not be making a world of difference, he could still go and help the team get back on track. If Vanek is looking to sign a two year deal to help build himself back into an elite veteran, this may be the team to do it with. Detroit has offensive weapons in Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar, Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist, and Justin Abdelkader. Vanek could continue his 3rd line minutes and if he plays well enough, he may be able to work his way back into the limelight of the league and maybe sign a deal afterwards for an increased payday.
New York Rangers
This is the most likely and most anticipated option for Vanek. The Rangers are known for acquring veterans who are high risk-high reward. Some work for a short time before going south, like Marian Gaborik, and others do not, like Eric Staal. However, Vanek would be coming in and would likely not see anything above short spurts on the 2nd line. He would most likely spend his time on the penalty kill and third line helping to develop younger players. The seven-time 25+ goal scorer would not be looking at a very luxurious deal with the Rangers tight cap space. If Vanek decides to go to the big apple, I would expect him to make a solid impact on the team’s poor penalty kill and play a complementary part in getting the team back to the playoffs next season.
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