The Vancouver Canucks offseason long weekend was metaphorical as much as literal. Not a great start, a nightmare middle, but an uptick at the end. The end result? There’s more movement to come, but for now. Let’s get into the details.
Vancouver Canucks Offseason had a LONG Weekend
The theme was set for Canucks fans early when the signing of Braden Holtby was announced. Jacob Markstrom was obviously gone, so the pair for 2020-21 would be Thatcher Demko and Holtby. A step down, perhaps, but not as much of one as it could have been. Stylistically, Holtby is good at the same style of play Markstrom is, and goalie coach Ian Clark has a lot to work with. The two-year, $8.6 million deal is a good price and an ideal length. It also gives the Canucks an exposable veteran for the Seattle Kraken expansion draft.
The day continued with Tyler Motte re-signing for a modest raise – $2.45 million over two years. It’s well earned after a decent regular season and a great playoff appearance. The Canucks miss his speed when he’s injured, and he commits few penalties for a high-pursuit forechecker. That he can also threaten double-digit goals in the regular-season is a nice bonus.
Then the Calgary Flames happened.
Ya Burnt!
Markstrom did indeed go, and to a division rival at that. His 6 years x $6 million deal was one the Canucks were never going to match, so his departure seems inevitable in retrospect. Given the speed with which Holtby was signed, the team was likely prepared for his absence. The Canucks could have come close, but protection from the expansion draft was likely a sticking point. On Saturday the Flames also signed on Canucks depth goaltender Louis Domingue and his baking abilities for a single year.
The worst was yet to come. I fully expect next year’s rallying cry from the Canucks young core to be “We are the Vancouver Canucks. You took our father. Prepare to die.” Chris Tanev‘s 4-year, $18 million deal is a tiny raise, but the money isn’t the hardest part about signing him. Tanev’s played 70 NHL games in a season just once in his 10-year career. He’s a very good defensive player, but how many games can a team rely on him for? Still a loss for a team needing depth on defence. And the Canucks long weekend got no better the next day.
The Next Day
Saturday had another loss from the rapidly thinning defence. The consistently undervalued Troy Stecher signed on with the Detroit Red Wings – coincidentally joining former Canuck Alex Biega. Something about teams with red-dominant jerseys, perhaps. There, the 26-year old should have plenty of opportunities to increase his responsibilities and his ice time. And he’s doing it for less money than he made last year. In fact, he’ll be making $600,000 less per season for two years, at least partially a response to Vancouver pushing his negotiations back repeatedly. Why would they do that to a reliable player who loves playing there and frequently outplays his position? Because of another local player.
Rumours are 90% of all internet traffic during the leadup to free agency, a number that increases to 95% on opening weekend.* But a lot of those rumours have some substance behind them. A player can only go to one team, after all, but they can consider deals from another 30. One of those rumours had the Canucks in the running for Tyson Barrie, placing an offer on the table that would have changed what they wanted to pay “Troy from Richmond” for at least this season. With impeccable timing, almost as soon as Stecher signed a deal with Detroit the Edmonton Oilers announced Barrie’s deal.
A Day of Rest
Nothing interesting happened Sunday. Move on.
Nate’s Date
The Canucks long weekend continued into Monday as Tyler Toffoli was the next Canuck to sign elsewhere. The Montreal Canadiens got the winger for four years and $17 million, a slight haircut from his previous deal. It’s a move we predicted – just a year early. With Brock Boeser injured just before last season’s trade deadline, GM Jim Benning brought in Toffoli. That move cost the Canucks their 2020 second-round pick, veteran Tim Schaller, and prospect Tyler Madden. It looked brilliant, as Toffoli fit in perfectly with Vancouver’s first line, getting six goals and 10 points in 10 games before the season halted. At least Vancouver kept their conditional fourth-round pick even as they lost their top-line winger. A small blessing, perhaps, but every bit counts.
Then, at long last, Canucks fans got something to be grateful for. Nate Schmidt, a left-shot defenseman who makes his home on the right side, came to Vancouver for a 2022 third-round pick. That low, low price was possible only because the Vegas Golden Knights needed to make room for Alex Pietrangelo. So, yes, the Canucks improved their position only because a direct rival improved theirs. It feels a little like getting scraps from the adult’s table, but a good deal is still a good deal. And the chance to inject a top-four talent into the defence is a good deal. Getting Schmidt was Canucks GM Jim Benning finishing a lousy Thanksgiving meal with powerful antacid tablets.
WTF! OEL?
Missing out on Tyson Barrie – and losing a reliable defenseman as a result of chasing him – has been a theme for the Canucks this year. At the end of September, the Canucks were rumoured to be a potential landing spot for Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson would be an immediate upgrade on any defence in the league, so of course the Canucks were interested. Given his complete no-move clause, to hear that Vancouver was one of two cities he would go to gave the Canucks powerful leverage. The two teams negotiated for the following week before talks eventually broke off. This would be a complicated deal to pull off, with both the Canucks and Arizona Coyotes running close to the salary cap. Adding a massive cap hit of $8.25 million for another 7 years, while improving the team, was tough to consider. On Friday, the player himself announced any deal to be dead. The Canucks turned their attention to Barrie, missing there as well as he went to Edmonton.
The Morning After
What exactly killed the Ekman-Larsson deal is unknown – possibly the inclusion of Demko – and now irrelevant. The Canucks long weekend was spent big game hunting, slacking on their homework to do so. Granted, they may never have matched the Flames’ offers to Markstrom and Tanev. Calgary really, REALLY wanted to shore up their goaltending, and obviously valued Tanev’s defence and leadership. But watching Stecher and Toffoli walk away with reasonable deals because of Benning’s risky gambles and wishful thinking hurts.
Neither Jake Virtanen nor Adam Gaudette has signed yet. With just under $2 million cap space remaining contracts will have to get sent out. There are still plenty of questions to occupy the next three months – including if the league will start the 2020-21 season in three months. Sven Baertschi‘s possible return, incorporating at least one rookie into the defence, Micheal Ferland‘s concussion history. Outside players, there’s the cap to consider, specifically whether a deal can be made to send money out – and at what cost.
The success of last season’s playoff run may be Benning’s greatest challenge yet: setting a higher bar than the team can realistically reach.
*this is an obvious lie.
Main Photo:
