The Vancouver Canucks will look to build on their successful 2023-24 season but they have tough decisions to make. That includes the way they approach free agency. Who should they sign is a big question but a bigger one is who should they keep and let go? According to CapFriendly, Vancouver has nine pending Unrestricted Free Agents this summer. Let’s take a look at three Canucks UFAs that they should say”Thanks for everything but it’s time to say goodbye” to.
Canucks UFA Elias Lindholm Should Move On
Out of all the Canucks UFAs, Elias Lindholm is going to be the one that will be most pricey. Our Erin Butler made an excellent argument on why they should keep Lindholm so she might not like this.
Lindholm only managed six goals and six assists in the regular season. However, he turned up in the playoffs with five goals and five assists in 13 games. Lindholm was solid defensively, good in the face-off circle and serviceable on the penalty kill.
As mentioned, Lindholm will want a big pay raise from his $4.85 million AAV. According to AFP analytics via Daily Faceoff, Lindholm’s next deal projects to be around $6.75 million for five years. Of course, take these projections with a grain of salt as free agency is hard to predict and Lindholm could definitely want more. Lindholm did cost the Canucks quite a bit to get him but the move always seemed to scream rental and his ask is going to be an expensive one. There is always a risk in signing players around 30 to long-term contracts and Lindholm is no exception.
Lindholm can play the wing or be the third-line centre behind J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. However, is it wise to pay a third-line centre at least $6 or $7 million? Not really. So that is already a lot of money committed to centres.
The Canucks could look for a cheap third-line centre option. But they already have one and his name is Pius Suter. He has another year left and he only makes $1.6 million. He was originally signed to be the Canucks third-line centre and did fine there but was moved up the lineup to play with Miller and Brock Boeser.
Sam Lafferty
Sam Lafferty was acquired back in October for a fifth-round pick in 2024 from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin liked his speed and penalty-killing ability.
It was fair to say he came as advertised. He had a good first few months of the season. Until January 1st, he scored nine goals and tallied seven assists for 16 points in 36 games. Many of those points came from playing on a line with Pettersson.
After January 1, Lafferty only managed four goals and four assists in 43 games and was a healthy scratch multiple times including the first two games of the playoffs. In the playoffs, he went 11 games without a point. The Canucks were also outscored 3-1 with Lafferty on the ice at 5 on 5 and outshot 43-25 (36% shot percentage which was the second lowest among Vancouver forwards who played at least 80 minutes) in the playoffs according to NaturalStatTrick.
Laffery’s 24 points were a career-high. He even finished third on the Canucks in hits with 192. That was only behind Dakota Joshua and Miller. But he only managed 27 hits in 11 games in the postseason. Lafferty hasn’t done enough to justify signing a new deal in Vancouver. He won’t cost much, but he’ll probably sign somewhere else.
Nikita Zadorov
This one isn’t going to be popular.
Nikita Zadorov became a fan favourite after he was acquired from the Calgary Flames in late November. The big Russian defenceman gained more love in the playoffs with his eight points in 13 games, big hits and entertaining media availabilities.
Why not bring Zadorov back and pay him what he wants? He seems like a great person in the locker room and is a hit with the fans. Plus, he has proven to be a reliable defenceman.
Just like Lindholm, Zadorov is going to want a big payday. AFP analytics projects Zadorov’s next deal to be five years and $5 to 5.3 million per season.
The thing with Zadorov is while he is reliable, he is best suited for being a fourth or fifth defenceman. Sure, he deserves to secure the bag but the Canucks can’t pay him like he’s a top four or top two defenceman.
The past regime made this mistake with Tyler Myers as they gave him big term and big money. (By the way, he is reportedly willing to take a pay cut to stay in Vancouver.) The current regime can’t do that with Zadorov.
As much as Zadorov is loved in Vancouver, they can’t risk overpaying him. Sometimes goodbye is the only way.
Main photo by: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
