Well. That was a rather eventful season, now, wasn’t it? It started off with a compressed schedule meant to give the team a break later in the year. It continued with the worst COVID-19 outbreak of any NHL team during said “restful” break. And followed up with – surprise! – an even MORE compressed schedule to fulfil contractual obligations. In between, the free-agent coach was left twisting in the wind as the owners waited until after play finished before deciding the keep general manager Jim Benning in place despite some fans’ deepest wishes. For now? Let’s pretend everything’s normal and figure out what to do with the Canucks unrestricted free agents, shall we? Not completely normal, sure, but better than last year.
Meet the 2021 Canucks Unrestricted Free Agents
Last season, zero of the Canucks unrestricted free agents signed with the team. As much as some fans like to downplay it, there were major losses for leadership and personality in there, if not skill. Some deals the team simply couldn’t match, but others might have been avoided. Whatever the reasons, those misses are still ringing in management’s ears, and that likely won’t happen this time.
Forwards
Wily Veterans
One unrestricted free agent that we know is returning is Tanner Pearson. He signed a new three-year deal on April 8th, and whether that’s good or bad is going to come down to Father Time. Clearly, the team was burned by the sheer volume of people they lost last year and seem determined not to repeat themselves. This is all well and good to say, but as Emily Fehr pointed out you still have to sign the right people, not just everyone.
Pearson took a pay cut to stay in Vancouver. Brandon Sutter will need to as well if he wants to fit into the Canucks’ plans. And he could – Sutter is the sort of veteran centre who is welcome in the bottom-six. He has some speed, is good in the faceoff circle, has a good shot, and works the penalty kill. He is, in fact, what the Canucks thought they were getting with Jay Beagle. But he’ll also have to come in at a quarter of his current salary for a deal to make sense for the Canucks.
New-ish Guys
Of the two waiver wire pickups Benning made, Travis Boyd is more likely to get an offer – and that’s no sure thing. Both he and Jimmy Vesey had some bad luck following them on the ice, but Vesey did less with more opportunity. At 27 years old, neither is going to provide more than what you see. If they come back, it will be at below-AHL threshold salaries with a good chance at demotion. That may be enough to send them looking elsewhere, but neither is worth overpayment.
Tyler Graovac has spent most of his career as a “solid team guy” which in this case means a skater who is suitable for a callup as needed and won’t complain about it. He’s been in the Canucks system for a couple of years and has played a total of 84 NHL games in six years. With Abbotsford needing to be filled, why not him?
Justin Bailey is, we think, worth another look. He was rock-solid in Utica last year and placed out of commission this year with shoulder surgery. Indeed, his injury history is something to be cautious of, but he has good size and skates well. If he can regain his potential in Abbotsford, Bailey wouldn’t be a bad emergency call. If he can show more? Even better. The bigger question is if coach Travis Green will use him. He’s averaged around six minutes a night, and better opportunities may emerge elsewhere.
Just don’t even bring up Sven Baertschi. He’s the team’s Wade Redden Award winner, handed a deal he couldn’t live up to as his team got themselves into cap trouble. As punishment, he was sent to the AHL, never to be seen again (in Canucks colours). He deserves better. #FreeBaertschi
Defence
Wily Veterans
The Man of the Not-Quite-Century wants to stay. If he doesn’t, the Canucks can be looking at the left side of Quinn Hughes, Jack Rathbone, and Olli Juolevi. Whether you are high or low on that lineup, it is a very inexperienced one. Alexander Edler has been an absolute workhorse for Vancouver for the entirety of his 14-year career, there’s no denying it. But the precipitous decline of his scoring isn’t helping the offence, and his marginal foot speed means he’s taking more hooking penalties than ever. Can he be a third-pair guy? Sure – but he’ll have to be paid like one, and that for a single year. He may not like it, but that’s all the Canucks can afford.
Travis Hamonic had an awful start to the season, exacerbated by a numbers crunch that didn’t let him sign with the team until immediately before the season’s start. Not playing a game for 11 months makes for a lot of catching up to do. His second half was much better, though, and he filled the role of a missing Chris Tanev well. He, too, would like to stay in Vancouver, long having a preference for living in Western Canada. The tricky bit is that he’s worth more than the $1.25 million he was paid last year. The Canucks should want him. In keeping him, they could double his pay.
New-ish Guys
The 2020-21 season was Ashton Sautner‘s career all over. He signed a new, one-year deal with the only team he’s known, then spent the entirety of it on the taxi squad. He did play two games in Manitoba, but otherwise? Not a sniff. The Canucks defence had bizarrely good luck on the injury front, leaving a lot of their cabbies on the sidelines. If he wants to go through that again, he will.
Jalen Chatfield finally managed to get into the Canucks lineup on a regular cycle, and… it wasn’t great. While points have never been his strength, his defence wasn’t up to snuff, either. That might be a case of adjusting to the new league, and if he wants to try again next year he’ll need to start in Abbotsford. That he’s a “Use It or Lose It” (Group Six) free agent speaks volumes.
Another Group Six free-agent defenceman who averaged less than 14 minutes of ice time was Brogan Rafferty. The difference is that he only got into one game compared to Chatfield’s 18. Another difference is that Rafferty got his deal through his prodigious offence. With Tyler Myers, Nate Schmidt, and Travis Hamonic on the right side, Rafferty isn’t going to start with Vancouver. But if injury luck returns to normal, he should get far more opportunity in 2021-22. Unless another team takes a chance with a bigger deal than his near-minimum.
Goalies
With Jake Kielly the only goalie either restricted or unrestricted in the system, it’s not an area of pressing concern. He got into seven games with Utica, and may well follow them to Abbotsford. Kielly’s restricted with arbitration rights, so whether he comes back could come down to what he asks for. The 25-year old is unlikely to become a late bloomer and make an impact in the NHL.
Conclusion
In a press availability, GM Benning implied that a variety of methods would be used to reach the playoffs for 2021-22. Given his track record with free-agent signings, maybe he should give that part a bit of a rest. On the other hand, his re-signings haven’t been great, either. Does that mean none of the Canucks unrestricted free agents will be coming back? They saw what happened last year, so probably not.
The team will almost certainly make a pitch to Travis Hamonic, and likely to Brandon Sutter as well. The bottom of the payroll guys may or may not get deals, but there’s not much impact to be had there.
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