[Speculation] Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks

[Blitz-Pix]

1 hour ago, DeNiro said:

Joshua still has to prove that season wasn’t a one off.

 

A short term show me deal makes the most sense for both sides. If he can do it for two more seasons he can earn one big payday.

 

I realize Joshua's camp wants to get paid, it took him a long time to have a breakout year BUT...

I wonder how much of Joshua's success can be attributed to Tocchet's systems and his chemistry with Garland.

I kinda felt like Garland was the driver on that line, even when garland moved to other lines it felt like he driving a lot of the play.

 

I'm not knocking what he accomplished this season, I'd really like to have him back, he was exactly what this team needed.

Will he have the same success on a different team with different systems & different line mates? 

 

He definitely deserves a big raise... but I'm not sure I'd want to pay much more than $2.5 -$3 million on a 4 year contract IMO. 

 

 

    

Edited May 29 by Blitz-Pix

[PureQuickness]

15 minutes ago, fuzzy said:

I have a feeling we'll resign Lindholm for around 6.5 and Zadorov for around 5. These are players mgmt targeted and brought in. They will move other players first imo

 

Like whom? The very players that they brought it are too expensive to retain - and I believe Allvin will not love a player too much - even if it's his player.

[PureQuickness]

1 minute ago, Blitz-Pix said:

 

I realize Joshua's camp wants to get paid, it took him a long time to have a breakout year BUT...

I wonder how much of Joshua's success can be attributed to Tocchet's systems and his chemistry with Garland.

I kinda felt like Garland was the driver on that line, even when garland moved to other lines it felt like he driving a lot of the play.

 

I'm not knocking what he accomplished this season, I'd really like to have him back, he was exactly what this team needed.

Will he have the same success on a different team with different systems & different line mates? 

 

He definitely deserves a big raise... but I'm not sure I'd want to pay much more than $2.75 -$3.25 million on a 4 year contract IMO. 

 

 

    

 

I really appreciate how well thought out this post is. It's very fair. Joshua certainly does deserve to get a raise, but it's also fair for you to ask if there's a deeper reason for why Joshua now has success, whereas before he didn't.

[fuzzy]

1 minute ago, PureQuickness said:

 

Like whom? The very players that they brought it are too expensive to retain - and I believe Allvin will not love a player too much - even if it's his player.

I think they let Myers and Joshua walk, and they trade Garland 

[RWJC]

5 minutes ago, Blitz-Pix said:

 

I realize Joshua's camp wants to get paid, it took him a long time to have a breakout year BUT...

I wonder how much of Joshua's success can be attributed to Tocchet's systems and his chemistry with Garland.

I kinda felt like Garland was the driver on that line, even when garland moved to other lines it felt like he driving a lot of the play.

 

I'm not knocking what he accomplished this season, I'd really like to have him back, he was exactly what this team needed.

Will he have the same success on a different team with different systems & different line mates? 

 

He definitely deserves a big raise... but I'm not sure I'd want to pay much more than $2.75 -$3.25 million on a 4 year contract IMO. 

 

 

    

We definitely need Joshua’s hits though (or at least a decent physical replacement). He was among league leaders iirc.

[PureQuickness]

2 minutes ago, fuzzy said:

I think they let Myers and Joshua walk, and they trade Garland 

 

I can see them letting Myers and Joshua walk, but Garland? Allvin would have to be out of his mind to do that now. You'd sell Garland if you want the team to rebuild, kinda like what Arizona did.

Edited May 29 by PureQuickness

[NewbieCanuckFan]

3 minutes ago, PureQuickness said:

 

I can see them letting Myers and Joshua walk, but Garland? Allvin would have to be out of his mind to do that now. You'd sell Garland if you want the team to rebuild, kinda like what Arizona did.

Arizona is only concerned with getting higher cap hit contracts than actually what players are getting paid in terms of cash (eg., front-end loaded contracts that are already a few years old).

[fuzzy]

2 minutes ago, PureQuickness said:

 

I can see them letting Myers and Joshua walk, but Garland? Allvin would have to be out of his mind to do that now. You'd sell Garland if you want the team to rebuild, kinda like what Arizona did.

I think if you have a chance to move off his contract and receive value you have to do it. Garland's value will never be higher. He's a good player but an irregular fit on this team. He's small, doesn't  kill penalties, has no pp value, doesn't fit in the top 6, and is overpriced for the bottom 6.

[Sativika]

23 minutes ago, AlexanderM said:

First thing, they'll ask Hronek, do you want to be here, if so, sign a deal that makes sense, or he'll be traded, that should happen fairly quickly. Same thing with Lindstrom, or his rights will be dealt. Then go from there, everything else follows those two decisions. I expect PA to get out in front of these quickly. 

 

It's my belief that this will be the exact scenario to take place. I'm all for keeping these guys, but if it can't be done then so be it. There's other fish in the sea, but we have 'em now and to lose 'em would hurt.

 

That being said, I don't think JR/PA would sign them otherwise as above in the bolded statement. Trades from these two could net us that scoring winger we so need for Petey and I'm sure Management has other options up their sleeves.

 

3 minutes ago, Rekker said:

100 percent. Joshua did show up to start the year in less than ideal shape. Tochett commented on it. He's also playing with a spark blug puck hound in Garland. I'm all for a decent two year show me deal but I hope management stays away from any long term big money deal. Great player, love him, but still has a lot to prove.

 

This is what I was thinking too. It's obvious that the organization is hungry to contend for the cup. I don't know if they made any predictions or bold statement towards such, but we all know it's in their mandate. 

 

Daks was awesome for us this past season, no doubt. It now is paramount that he keeps up the excellent play that will net the raise he so deserves. A 2 year show me deal would be a great idea. If he succeeds, he'll get a big raise and term, but probably not from us.

[PureQuickness]

2 minutes ago, fuzzy said:

I think if you have a chance to move off his contract and receive value you have to do it. Garland's value will never be higher. He's a good player but an irregular fit on this team. He's small, doesn't  kill penalties, has no pp value, doesn't fit in the top 6, and is overpriced for the bottom 6.

 

And yet he was fantastic in the playoffs when high end players like Pettersson were not doing anything (injury of course). Garland is a really good fit on Tocchet's team, in a way that he may not fit on another team.

[ngoway]

Hronek - will get a big contract at some point, but here's hoping since he's an RFA that it'll be a 2 year bridge type of deal within the 6-7m range. 

 

Lindholm - he would be my priority to get signed/present an enticing offer prior to free agency. We saw how important having a right handed C who can win draws, is defensively responsible, and has offense is (especially in the playoffs). Plus I feel he would be another good mentor for Petey. Anything between 6-6.5m I'd be quite happy with, but anything above 7m would start to complicate things.

 

Zadorov - there aren't many defensemen out there like Zadorov right now. We really saw his value in the playoffs as well, but there needs to be more consistency on a regular basis. If he can be more consistent, 5-5.25m would be fair, but again, we'd have to compete with other teams who would potentially offer more. This is a case of hoping the player sees the value of taking less to stay.

 

Joshua - if he's true about wanting to stay as per the end of year press conference, it would be great if he could take a shorter term deal with a lower cap to give us a chance and to prove he's for real. Can he get more money elsewhere? Definitely, but I'd be cautious about being one of those teams as Joshua similar to Zadorov needs to learn to play with more consistency. Maybe a short term deal here for 1-2 years like a few others here said to prove it wasn't a one off would be good. The hope here would be 2-2.5m

 

Blueger - I quite liked Blueger centering the 3rd line. Plus he was decent on draws, and was always defensively responsible. He has offense as well, but is definitely not a consistent scorer, but he doesn't really need to be. If the amount and term make sense, I'd like to see him back on the 3rd line.

 

Myers - prior to this past season with Foote and Gonchar re-shaping/organizing the D, I would have been happy to walk away from Myers. This season though showed me that if we can control Myers' minutes and he returns on the bottom pair on a short and low(er) cap contract, I'd be open to bringing him back. Myers actually played fairly well throughout the season with lesser minutes and simplified play. I feel like Myers would be most open to taking that hometown discount for another run with his hometown team.

 

 

Edited May 29 by ngoway

[Blitz-Pix]

26 minutes ago, RWJC said:

We definitely need Joshua’s hits though (or at least a decent physical replacement). He was among league leaders iirc.

 

100% Agree...

 

I loved how he forechecked, hit, won puck battles in the corners and held onto pucks. He was also very effective on the PK.

My favorite part was his swagger as he gained confidence and started putting up points...we need more players like that IMO

 

I could see him building on last season and potentially become a 20-25 goal scorer if he continued to play with Garland. 

Garlands contract is up in 2 years. If Joshua wants to bet on himself maybe he considers a 2 year show me deal. He could 

potentially take his game to another level playing alongside Garland and look for the big payday when he turns 30. 

 

Sometimes a players success is a byproduct of their environment or a good situation....

kinda like Christian Ehrhoff, Anson Carter and so on 

 

 

 

Edited May 29 by Blitz-Pix

[fuzzy]

3 minutes ago, PureQuickness said:

 

And yet he was fantastic in the playoffs when high end players like Pettersson were not doing anything (injury of course). Garland is a really good fit on Tocchet's team, in a way that he may not fit on another team.

I wonder how much Tocchet had to tweak his system to make it work with the players he inherited? JR/PA have vision for the types of players they want and how they want to play. Does Garland fit their vision?

 

Yes, he was great in the playoffs and is a good player. But, I think they move him and reallocate his cap space.

[BPA]

Cap space is KING.

 

Can’t keep everyone at a price point that the players and GM agree on.  Some guys will look for that last BIG contract and maybe some will take a discount to stay with a possible contender.

 

 

[Phil_314]

Definitely don't envy the position PA is in, when all 3 of the biggest FAs (Hronek, Lindholm and Zadorov) play key positions (C/D) and have shown that they should be top-6 F/ top-4 D capable.  Joshua I would be most willing to let go if he won't re-sign for cheap, same with Myers, since Dak faltered a bit in the post-season and injuries etc. will likely slow guys down like him, with his playing style, in their 30s.  

With Hronek I really hope PA leverages the fact that he can trade his rights if he can't fit in the team's cap structure.  If Filip wants to win here he'll have to take a pay cut, whereas if he's in it just for the bag we'll just need to flip his rights.  Too bad the same can't be said once Zadorov and Lindholm hit the market, but with our decent cap position (bolstered if we can trade Mikheyev) I think PA can manage to keep several of them.  Just hope he picks the right guys to build around and that they don't falter.

[CanucksFan26]

2 hours ago, Bob Long said:

 

would you take Lindy at 8, for a Mik buyout plus Joshua walking? 

Lindy at 8 would be such a massive blunder, especially in sacrificing two other players to get him more money. If I knew Lindholm was going to consistently win 55% faceoffs, play great defense and penalty kill, and score 65+ points a year, he’s absolutely worth that discussion. He’s had a very inconsistent career, didn’t have a great start with the team and we’re really basing this discussion and his value seemingly off his good playoff performance. JT Miller is underpaid but I can’t see how we can justify paying Lindy what we pay Miller. At this moment I’m comfortable with 6.5 on Lindy. If we have to push it to 7 to keep him, I wouldn’t walk away. A penny over 7 and I start making lots of phone calls to other GMs and free agents.

[Johngould21]

2 hours ago, Bob Long said:

 

would you take Lindy at 8, for a Mik buyout plus Joshua walking? 

Like the article says, 6-7M and longer term could bring EL in. Which would be fine with me. DJ, I believe they can find another player like him through fa.

[Alflives]

3 hours ago, RWJC said:

Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks

 

May 29th, 2024 at 8:22am CST • By Josh Erickson

 

Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free-agent situation for the Canucks.

 

Key Restricted Free Agents:

 

D Filip Hronek – Talk about an ideal contract year. After an injury-plagued stint in Vancouver to end last season following his acquisition from the Red Wings, Hronek began the season on the team’s top defense pairing alongside Quinn Hughes and never looked back. He recorded career highs with 43 assists, 48 points and a +33 rating, although, as critics point out, most of that production came on an early-season tear. The 26-year-old had three assists in 16 games after the trade deadline and was limited to a goal and an assist in 13 postseason games, both coming in Games 6 and 7 of their second-round loss to the Oilers. With reports indicating his ask is in the $8MM neighborhood annually, the Canucks are likely to shop his signing rights around with an unwillingness to dole out that kind of cash with the way he ended his season.

 

G Arturs Silovs – A couple of months ago, Silovs wouldn’t have had anything to do with a “key restricted free agents” moniker after serving as the club’s AHL starter for most of the campaign. However, injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith forced him into action for Game 4 of the first round against the Predators, and the 23-year-old Latvian remained in the crease for the rest of their playoff run. While Demko would have been an upgrade if available, Silovs was serviceable, posting a .898 SV%, one shutout and allowed 0.2 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. After posting a .898 SV% and 6-2-1 record in nine regular-season appearances over the last two seasons, he’s in line for a cheap deal to make him Demko’s full-time backup moving forward. Silovs, who led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championship, had a 2.74 GAA, .907 SV%, four shutouts and a 16-11-6 record in 34 games for AHL Abbotsford this season.

 

Other RFAs: D Nick Cicek, D Filip Johansson, F Linus Karlsson, F Aidan McDonough, D Cole McWard, D Jett Woo
 

 

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

 

 

D Ian Cole – While Cole had some notable individual blunders in the playoffs, he had a solid regular season in Vancouver that proved he’s still a fringe top-four blue liner as he enters his mid-30s. Much like his showing last season with the Lightning, he was a strong shutdown force, controlling 53% of expected goals at 5-on-5 despite 63.6% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end. Adding 11 points in 78 games as well, Cole is in line for a deal similar to the one-year, $3MM pact that brought him to the Canucks last summer. He turned 35 in February, so he can take a 35+ contract with performance bonuses to lower his cap hit artificially if Vancouver wants to bring him back but runs out of space. However, if he meets his performance bonuses and the Canucks can’t afford to accommodate them, they’ll be applied as a cap penalty in 2025-26.

 

 

F Dakota Joshua – A Maple Leafs draft pick back in 2014, Joshua has been on a steady rise since they moved his rights to the Blues shortly before the pandemic. He parlayed that into an everyday role with the Canucks upon reaching Group Six UFA status in 2022 and had a career year this season, posting 18 goals and 32 points in only 63 games while costing just $825K against the cap. He averaged solid third-line minutes at 14:23 per game and had nearly all of his production come at even strength, notching only one power-play point. The 28-year-old had positive relative possession numbers, too. Unfortunately, that means he’s one of the likelier candidates to have priced himself out of Vancouver, earning himself a multi-million dollar raise wherever he signs this summer.

 

F Elias Lindholm – The Canucks gave up quite a haul for Lindholm at the end of January, giving the Flames a large package that included a first-round pick and middle-six sniper Andrei Kuzmenko to acquire the 2022 Selke Trophy finalist. His performance in the regular season left much to be desired, potting only six goals and 12 points in 26 games after the deal. Still, he exploded back to form in the postseason with 10 points and a +4 rating in 13 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a night, tying for third on the club in scoring. That’s likely repaired a good chunk of his market value after having an extremely underwhelming contract year. After finishing the campaign with 44 points and a -14 rating in 75 games, he won’t command the upward of $8MM per season he left on the table for an extension in Calgary, but he should still get something in the $6MM-$7MM annually on a longer-term deal. Whether that comes in Vancouver or with one of his other expected suitors, namely the Bruins, remains to be seen.

 

 

D Tyler Myers – The final season of Myers’ bloated five-year, $30MM deal was his best hockey in Vancouver. He dropped down to a second/third-pairing role, averaging under 20 minutes per game for the first time in his lengthy career, but responded with 29 points and a 49.8% expected goals share at 5-on-5, his best as a Canuck. Vancouver and Myers would both like to see him back in a Canucks uniform next season, something they should be able to get done at a significant pay cut from his previous $6MM cap hit as he enters his age-34 season.

 

 

D Nikita Zadorov – Also an in-season trade pickup from Calgary, Zadorov quickly became a fan favorite in Vancouver and was, bar none, their second-best defenseman in the playoffs behind Quinn Hughes. The towering Russian rattled off four goals and eight points in 13 postseason contests, averaging over 20 minutes per game after logging 17:04 per game in the regular season after the trade. Reports indicate his camp is asking for a six-year deal at $6MM annually – likely too rich for the Canucks’ taste (or anybody’s taste, for that matter). If his camp gets the sense that he won’t be able to achieve that figure on the open market, it wouldn’t surprise anybody to see this generation’s Big Z end up back in Vancouver.

 

 

Other UFAs: F Teddy Blueger, G Casey DeSmith, F Sheldon Dries, D Mark Friedman, D Matt Irwin, F Sam Lafferty, G Zach Sawchenko

 

 

Projected Cap Space

 

 

The Canucks enter the summer with roughly $23.75MM in cap space. However,h they’re likely operating with an internal figure closer to $26.25MM with the final season of defenseman Tucker Poolman‘s contract slated for long-term injured reserve again in 2024-25. It’s a solid chunk of change – they’re still below the $64.7MM floor for next season – but the space will disappear quickly as they have likely $13-15MM committed to either re-signing Hronek and Lindholm or for their replacements.

 

Take another $5MM out for what Zadorov will likely command for an extension at this stage, and it’s clear not everyone on this list will be back next season. They have a solid chance of retaining most of their expiring talent, but whether they want to pay market value for someone like Lindholm or look for a more undervalued replacement on the open market remains to be seen. Expect General Manager of the Year Award finalist Patrik Allvin to be one of the busier GMs this offseason as he navigates what could be a fair amount of roster turnover for the defending Pacific Division champions.

 

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/05/free-agent-focus-vancouver-canucks-7.html#ref=home

Not too sure who wrote this, but he’s in the moran club. 

[Johngould21]

23 minutes ago, fuzzy said:

I wonder how much Tocchet had to tweak his system to make it work with the players he inherited? JR/PA have vision for the types of players they want and how they want to play. Does Garland fit their vision?

 

Yes, he was great in the playoffs and is a good player. But, I think they move him and reallocate his cap space.

He was one of the best players on the roster down the stretch and into the playoffs. However, EP's injury might have had something to do with that. He got better minutes and was one of RT's most trusted player for a huge stretch of play.

[Artemus]

9 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Not too sure who wrote this, but he’s in the moran club. 

 

 

Alf, isn't the author's name in the first line along with the date and time?

 

 

[fuzzy]

6 minutes ago, Johngould21 said:

He was one of the best players on the roster down the stretch and into the playoffs. However, EP's injury might have had something to do with that. He got better minutes and was one of RT's most trusted player for a huge stretch of play.

I agree, he was great this year. I'm not against kerping him, but this time last year, we couldn't give him away. Which player will he be moving forward? Trading him now will provide the flexibility to address other issues on the roster. 

[HKSR]

18 minutes ago, Johngould21 said:

Like the article says, 6-7M and longer term could bring EL in. Which would be fine with me. DJ, I believe they can find another player like him through fa.

Lindholm under $7M AAV would be great.  Joshua walking, and trading Mikheyev would open up enough cap space to bring in another top 6F as well.  Wonder if PA/JR could convince Guentzel to come here for a bit cheaper than market value.... imagine...

 

Guentzel-Lindholm-Pettersson

Suter-Miller-Boeser

[RWJC]

7 minutes ago, fuzzy said:

I agree, he was great this year. I'm not against kerping him, but this time last year, we couldn't give him away. Which player will he be moving forward? Trading him now will provide the flexibility to address other issues on the roster. 

Fuzzy Fozzy has some Kermit on the mind

[RWJC]

12 minutes ago, Artemus said:

 

 

Alf, isn't the author's name in the first line along with the date and time?

 

 

My main concern is whether Alf is considered a landed immigrant or illegal alien…

Edited May 29 by RWJC

[Devron]

Watch Joshua get like 4.5 aav in free agency 

Edited May 29 by Devron