As a shortened and hectic offseason approaches, Last Word on Hockey is looking ahead towards how teams will deal with the reality of a flat salary cap. In terms of building a franchise, the offseason is the most crucial time of the year for front offices. However, due to COVID-19, the short-term future of how this operates has seen sweeping changes. This series attempts to examine what choices teams may have to make. We’ll operate going from worst to best. Today’s piece focuses on the Vancouver Canucks offseason.
Vancouver Canucks Offseason Primer
Despite appearances, not everything about the Canucks’ 2020-21 season was a disaster. Sure, it started rough and ended horribly with a literal disease outbreak in the middle. But how about Nils Höglander, eh? Okay, he didn’t continue the streak of Calder Memorial Trophy nominees for Vancouver, but that was still a darn fine year! And Thatcher Demko continued his fine playoff bubble play – even if it took him a month or two to get there. Brock Boeser got his shot back, picking up 23 goals in just 56 games. Even general manager Jim Benning got in on the action, pulling off a very good deal for Nate Schmidt! Schmidt underperformed somewhat in his first season, but still, a third is far less than he would return in a normal year. What felt like a last-second deal to keep most of the coaching staff got done. And, uh…
Uh…
They didn’t drop in the draft? They weren’t in the lottery last year, of course, having won their play-in playoff series. But every other year since 2016 they’ve dropped one or two spots. So, yay!
Pending Free Agents
We’ve gone into deeper detail on the Canucks’ unrestricted free agents here and the restricted ones here. But a brief synopsis:
There’s not a lot in the UFA camp that the Canucks will be interested in. Tanner Pearson is already signed to less money for another three years. Brandon Sutter has said he wants to stay, but if he gets a deal closer to his actual value it would mean around a 75% pay cut. He can still give some value, but what is he worth? Tyler Graovac has shown well enough to push for a fourth-line spot, and there would be few complaints to bringing back the old man (he’s 28). Likewise newcomer Travis Boyd.
The biggest UFA question mark is Alexander Edler. He wants to continue his career, and he’s meant A LOT to the Canucks. But while he’s a smart player, neither his shot more his skating has aged well. As with Sutter, should he take a massive pay cut there could be a place for him here. Unfortunately, there are fewer spots on defence than at forward. If his skills atrophy further, it will be hard to find protected minutes for him. Things will change in the 2021 Vancouver Canucks offseason, but it won’t be as extreme as the previous one.
It Could Happen!
As for the RFAs, Thatcher Demko is one of the Big Three done. For Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, it’s going to be an interesting process. They share an agent and know perfectly well what the economic situation is in Vancouver. Neither had a particularly good season, but that’s not going to affect the size of deals they reach. Whether they decide to go with a shorter-term deal to dodge the flat cap or can be talked into a longer one to match Demko is completely unknown right now. If they like the idea of being the anchors of a new team based on that triumvirate, they could be surprisingly reasonable. In an ideal world, they hit the $12.5-13 million mark combined over the next five years, mirroring Demko’s deal.
The remaining RFAs are mostly heading for qualifying offers. Jayce Hawryluk and Olli Juolevi might get a small boost, but they won’t be where the Vancouver Canucks offseason trouble will come from.
Salary Cap Outlook
It’s a bit tough to call until the Hughes and Pettersson deals get done, but the team will have room for them. After that, it gets dicey. They are almost certainly spending one more season relying heavily on long-term injured reserve to make the cap. Sure, someone is getting picked by the Seattle Kraken, but odds are good that player doesn’t make an impact on the cap anyways. The Canucks just don’t have anyone that is particularly tempting without a sweetener. Seattle isn’t going to use everyone they draft, and Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, Lukas Jasek, and Petrus Palmu are all waiver-exempt. After all, they have to stock an AHL club, too.
Major Likely Departures
Major Likely Re-Signings
Potential Free Agent Additions
The problem of “money out before money in” is going to haunt the team for at least one more season. Most likely Benning sits on his hands, with almost all the money leaving the team earmarked for re-signing Pettersson and Hughes. There could be a major deal swung to free up cap room, but the cost will be exorbitant. This team isn’t close enough to, well, anything to take such a deep cut. Canucks fans? Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and repeat this 2021 Vancouver Canucks offseason mantra: One More Year. One More Year. One More Year…
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
