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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $73,012,499 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Brock Boeser (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Jake Virtanen (One year remaining, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Boeser: $850K
Virtanen: $850K

Boeser is one of the Canucks hope for the future. The team’s 2015 first-round pick has been playing exceptionally well in camp and looks ready to take a major role on the team. After two years at the University of North Dakota, Boeser managed to play in nine games for Vancouver last year, putting up four goals and an assist in that span and averaged 2.78 shots per game as well. Virtanen, on the other hand is just trying to cement a starting role on the team. The sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Virtanen has been disappointing and has had trouble finding a role with the club, playing 55 games two years ago and then settling for just 10 games last year. A solid camp so far suggests, he might have turned it around as he looks to take his game to the next level.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Daniel Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
F Henrik Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Thomas Vanek ($2MM, UFA)
F Sven Baertschi ($1.85MM, RFA)
D Troy Stecher ($925K, RFA)
F Markus Granlund ($900K, RFA)
F Alexander Burmistrov ($900K, RFA)
F Anton Rodin ($700K, UFA)
F Reid Boucher ($688K, RFA)
D Patrick Wiercioch ($625K, UFA)

On a positive note, there are many contracts that are set to expire next year, which could give the Canucks quite a bit of cap space. What the team will do with the Sedin brothers, long-time franchise players, is still up in the air. Rumors that they have no interest in going to a contender to finish out their careers suggest that they may choose to retire or sign up for a much shorter, much cheaper deal with Vancouver. While both have been leading the franchise, their numbers have begun to decline now that they are 36 years old with Daniel Sedin putting up just 15 goals and 44 points a year ago, while brother Henrik also just putting up 15 goals and 51 points.

There are very few potential unrestricted free agents that are critical to the team’s building of the future. While Gudbranson is just 25 years old, the team has shown a willingness to move on from the defenseman and has been talked about in trade rumors all offseason. The former third-overall pick in 2010 didn’t fare well in his first year in Vancouver, suffering a wrist injury and playing in only 30 games. The team may want to move on before they lose him. Vanek, signed late in the offseason, is also likely a trade chip at the trade deadline.

As for restricted free agents, the team still has high hopes that Baertschi will continue to improve. After struggling to break into the Calgary Flames starting unit, Vancouver picked him up and got 15 goals in 2015-16 and another 18 last year. The 24-year-old could easily wind up on the team’s second line and have a big year. Granlund, 24, is another youngster who stepped up a year ago, putting up 19 goals as a full-time starter. Stecher will also be a free agent. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent had a solid rookie season after coming to the Canucks from the University of North Dakota. He is penciled in as a first-line defender. The team also has high hopes they can turn around Burmistrov’s career. The former top-10 pick in 2010 was signed away from Arizona with the hopes he can fill a need in the bottom six.

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Restricted Free Agents Still To Sign

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Originally published on August 8th, and updated as of September 15th.

While the offseason has crawled along, name after name has been knocked off the list of restricted free agents as teams try to put together their roster for next season. With Monday’s signing of Barclay Goodrow by the San Jose Sharks, there are only 20 RFAs remaining unsigned for the 2017-18 season.

Heading that list is still Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak, two young superstars looking for a long-term payday before they turn 22. Each of them scored at least 70 points last season and have established themselves in the top tier around the league. Past them there is still a ton of talent. Alexander Wennberg and Bo Horvat make up the next tier of RFAs, coming off 50+ point seasons and key building blocks for their respective teams down the middle. Both just 22-years old they’ll be important contracts for Columbus and Vancouver to deal with before training camp starts.

After that, the list is dotted with several useful players who should have full-time roles this season along with some who are on the edge of the NHL still. Calgary leads the way with three remaining, while many teams have all their free agents locked up. Below is a list of the remaining free agents, along with their point totals from last year.

Andreas Athanasiou (DET) – 64 GP, 18 G, 11 A, 29 P

Josh Anderson (CBJ) – 78 GP, 17 G, 12 A, 29 P

Nikita Zadorov (COL) – 56 GP, 0 G 10 A, 10 P (Signed, two years, $4.3MM)

Marcus Foligno (MIN) – 80 GP, 13 G, 10 A, 23 P (Signed, four years, $11.5MM)

David Pastrnak (BOS) – 75 GP, 34 G, 36 A, 70 P (Signed, six years, $40MM)

Leon Draisaitl (EDM) – 82 GP, 29 G, 48 A, 77 P (Signed, eight years, $68MM)

Alexander Wennberg (CBJ) – 80 GP, 13 G, 46 A, 59 P (Signed, six years, $29.4MM)

Bo Horvat (VAN) – 81 GP, 20 G, 32 A, 52 P (Signed, six years, $33MM)

Connor Brown (TOR) – 82 GP, 20 G, 16 A, 36 P (Signed, three years, $6.3MM)

Damon Severson (NJD) – 80 GP, 3 G, 28 A, 31 P (Signed, six years, $25MM)

Sam Bennett (CGY) – 81 GP, 13 G, 13 A, 26 P (Signed, two years, $3.9MM)

Zemgus Girgensons (BUF) – 75 GP, 7 G, 9 A, 16 P (Signed, two years, $3.2MM)

Anthony Duclair (ARZ) – 58 GP, 5 G, 10 A, 15 P (Signed, one year, $1.2MM)

Brendan Gaunce (VAN) – 57 GP, 0 G, 5 A, 5 P (Signed, two years $1.5MM)

Brett Kulak (CGY) – 21 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3P (Signed, one year, $650K)

Robbie Russo (DET) – 19 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P (Signed, two years, $650K)

Petteri Lindbohm (STL) – 7 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P (Signed, one year, undisclosed)

Tyler Wotherspoon (CGY) – 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P (Signed, one year, $650K)

Jean-Sebastien Dea (PIT) – 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P (Signed, one year, $650K)

Tye McGinn (TB) – 0 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P (Signed, one year, undisclosed)

Injury Updates: Gaunce, Bonino, Slepyshev, Poolman

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Canucks center Brendan Gaunce will miss at least the first month of the season as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, GM Jim Benning told TSN 1040 (audio link).  The 2012 first rounder recently signed a two-year, $1.5MM contract with one-way salaries in both years.  Last season, Gaunce played in 57 games with the Canucks, collecting five assists and was expected to battle for a fourth line spot with the team in training camp.

That could provide an opportunity for one of the veterans that Vancouver has brought in on tryouts to crack the opening roster.  So far, center Ryan White and winger Scottie Upshall have been announced as PTO players that will be attending camp with the Canucks.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • The Predators will have to wait a bit longer to see offseason signing Nick Bonino suit up in a Nashville jersey. GM David Poile told reporters, including Adam Vingan of The Tennessean, that the center isn’t expected to play at all in the preseason as he continues to recover from a broken left tibia, one that he elected to not have surgery on.  The team is hopeful that he will be ready for the season opener on October 5th.
  • While Oilers winger Anton Slepyshev is set to miss at least part of training camp after sustaining an ankle injury in offseason training, GM Peter Chiarelli noted to Postmedia’s Jim Matheson that the injury is not particularly serious. Slepyshev split the regular season between the NHL and AHL but was a regular for the Oilers in the playoffs so this shouldn’t represent too much of a setback for him in his quest to land a roster spot.
  • After undergoing separate surgeries on both shoulders shortly after signing his entry-level contract, the Jets are hopeful that defensive prospect Tucker Poolman will be ready to participate in training camp, notes Postmedia’s Paul Friesen. Poolman is coming off his best season at the college level where he had 30 points (7-23-30) in 38 games and could have elected free agency in August to become part of the group of prospects that tested the market after the 15th.

Brendan Gaunce Signs With Vancouver Canucks

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As if our recent list of restricted free agents reminded the Vancouver Canucks of their still-needed contract negotiations, the team has announced a two-year deal with Brendan Gaunce worth a total of $1.5MM. Gaunce will remain a restricted free agent at the end of the contract.

The 23-year old played 56 games for the Canucks last season but was held to just five points, a hugely disappointing number for a former first-round pick. Gaunce was selected 26th-overall in 2012, but has just six points to his name in the NHL so far. Amazingly he led the entire Vancouver forward group with 94 hits, embracing the fourth line bang-and-crash role that he’d been given.

That role needs to increase if Gaunce is ever to show some of the offensive skill he has flashed at the lower levels. In junior, he was a two time 30-goal scorer who could drag defenders to the net with his size and strength and in the AHL he’s been a fairly successful power forward. It hasn’t translated to the NHL, but with a one-way commitment for two years the Canucks are essentially telling Gaunce that this is his chance to prove himself. The rebuilding club needs some of their young depth players to step up if they’re to ever get back to contention, and Gaunce (along with Jake Virtanen, another disappointing first round pick) is right at the top of that list.

Vancouver still has one restricted free agent left to sign and it’s an extremely important one: Bo Horvat. The young center is a huge part of their future, and GM Jim Benning has been clear he wants to sign him to a long-term deal. With Gaunce now out of the way, his entire attention can be given to the Horvat situation.

Reid Boucher Signs One-Year Deal With Canucks

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Winger Reid Boucher, a restricted free-agent, signed a one-year contract with Vancouver tonight, avoiding the arbitration process. Boucher was scheduled to have his hearing on August 1st, but instead was able to hammer out a deal with Canucks management. The contract is worth a reported $687,5000, as Stephen Whyno of AP broke the news. This is definitely a “prove-it” sort of deal, and Boucher will need to carve out his own playing time through consistent effort.

Boucher swapped teams twice in 2016-17, moving from New Jersey to Nashville before settling in British Columbia. Boucher had his possession numbers improve under his tenure with Vancouver, playing 27 games for a relative Corsi For % of -0.6. Contrasted with his performance in New Jersey up to that point, he had seemingly started to find a groove. Boucher did find a bit of offensive production as well, scoring 6 goals and 4 points on the year in only 39 total games. At 23 years old, Boucher still has the potential to progress as a player. He is a bit undersized at a mere 5’10, but has shown flashes of being a cheap goal-scoring contributor. He’ll need to continue to clean up his two-way game in order to truly cement himself on an NHL roster.

With this contract signed, GM Jim Benning will now turn his attention to fellow RFA Bo Horvat and Brendan Gaunce. Gaunce is also a marginal piece, but Horvat will be a core player for many years. Locking him up on a longer deal at a reasonable hit now becomes Benning’s clear number one priority.

Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Joseph LaBate

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Fresh off of his rookie season, checking forward Joseph LaBate has re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks. The team announced today that the 24-year-old has signed a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum of $650K. The two sides came to terms below the value of LaBate’s qualifying offer, $660K, which was made last week.

Standing 6’5″ and weighing over 200 lbs., LaBate is a noticeable presence on the ice. A two-way forward who can play both center and wing, he is a good fit for a versatile, energy-line job when called upon by Vancouver. While he provides only meager offense – no points in 13 NHL games and just 16 points in 38 AHL games last year –  he makes up for it with consistent defensive play. In the team’s press release, GM Jim Benning praised LaBate’s ability to be a physical presence for both the Canucks and AHL’s Utica Comets. Without many big checking forwards on the roster, Vancouver likely hopes that LaBate can carve out a role for himself on their bottom line as a two-way threat and work towards exhibiting some of the offensive touch he showed as a four-year starter at the University of Wisconsin.

While Benning and the Canucks are happy to have one of their young players back under contract, the team still has their work cut out for them with extending restricted free agents, with Bo Horvat, Brendan Gaunce, Reid Boucher, Michael Chaput and Evan McEneny in need of new deals. LaBate is just the beginning of several expected contracts this off-season for Vancouver.

Early Expansion Protection News: Capitals, Kings, Flames, Predators, And More

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The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft is an exciting process. If you’re too riled up to wait until the lists are officially submitted in the morning, you’re in luck. As could be expected, information leaks are flooding in on who was and wasn’t protected by their teams ahead of the deadline this afternoon. This list will be updated all night long as more news comes in:

  • One not so obvious choice has been made in Nashville. Adam Vingan of The Tennessean answered a question on the minds of many, reporting that the Predators did in fact protect forward Calle Jarnkrok. With the rest of the eight-skater list all but set in stone with goalie Pekka Rinne, defensemen Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, and star forwards Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Viktor Arvidsson, the final forward spot came down to Jarnkrok, signed long-term, or James Neal, an elite scorer with just one year remaining on his contract. It seems that Neal will be open for selection, alongside names like Colton Sissons, Colin Wilson, and Craig Smith. Vignan adds that no deal has been struck between Vegas and the Predators to protect any of those players, with Nashville especially liking to retain Neal and Sissons.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that, interestingly enough, young Detroit Red Wings defenseman Xavier Ouellet was not protected by his team. This is the first real surprise of the expansion process and the first protection news that doesn’t match up with PHR’s Expansion Primer projections. The 23-year-old skated in 66 games this season for Detroit, third most among defenseman, and his 12 points tied that of top-pair man Danny DeKeyser. Yet, Ouellett will not join DeKeyser and Mike Green in protection, instead beaten out by another teammate. GM Ken Holland, who has gotten the reputation of perhaps being too loyal, possibly chose aging veteran Niklas Kronwall over Ouellet. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite the rebuilding Red Wings.
  • Another name confirmed to be unprotected is young Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Gaunce. Vancouver sports anchor Rick Dhaliwal was told that that Gaunce, a 2012 first-round pick, did not make the protection list for the Canucks, expected to be a 7/3 format, meaning that the team saw him as outside the top seven forwards on the team. The 23-year-old two-way specialist has upside, but after registering just five points in 57 games last season, no one will blame Vancouver for that choice.

Learning From The Sedins

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The Vancouver Canucks are a team that is floundering to find a path forward. After nearly a decade of remarkable regular seasons and a painfully close Cup run in 2011, the Canucks are solidly in the rebuilding phase of their franchise. They start the 2017-18 off-season with the 5th overall pick and many decent, if unremarkable, options at the slot to help further that process. (An impact center is always a welcome piece.) The organization has struggled mightily to move on past the era of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, both of whom were consistently in the upper echelon of point-getters every season in their primes. Now 36 years-old, each player’s production has taken a nosedive. And the team hasn’t been able to draft difference makers up front to fill the void, despite this day being long anticipated.

Although wisdom is not often recognized as such until a later date, there was a sizable portion of the Canuck fanbase who had hope to move the Sedin twins just a few seasons ago. As soon as they missed the post-season in 2013-14 the writing was on the wall for the franchise. The move should have been made that season, or perhaps even the year prior. That season saw a massive decline in the twins’ production which has never fully recovered – Henrik down to 0.71 points per game from 0.93, and Daniel down to 0.64 PPG from 0.85.

The Sedins will undoubtedly have their numbers retired by the Vancouver organization and have given great years of hockey to the city. They may even be considered for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but without a Stanley Cup to their credit that will be a difficult sell. Regardless of all that, their value to the team as assets was ignored in favor of the long-shot hope that the Canucks could compete once more with their core players. Former GM Mike Gillis had an up-and-down tenure, but utterly failed to move on past aging players and his drafting didn’t help. With five 1st-round picks in his tenure, only 2013’s Bo Horvat amounted to an offensive threat for the franchise. Brendan Gaunce, Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder, and Cody Hodgson are all busts relative to their potential. Worse, their late round picks were even less successful, amounting to no notable NHLers at all. Jim Benning hasn’t exactly inspired either since taking over management duties.

Trading the Sedins would have been a phenomenally difficult undertaking, especially considering their desire to play together. But the potential return would have been substantial from any team able to fit them in (at a reduced rate). Now the hour is far too late, and the Sedins have only one season remaining on their contracts. At this point, it seems sensible to merely re-sign them and let them finish their days in British Columbia. But the opportunity squandered to recover some value from declining marquee names will haunt the franchise for years to come. That failure should serve as a warning to teams around the league that prolonging the rebuilding phase can have dire consequences.

Morning Transactions: Blue Jackets, Jets, Canucks

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Blue Jackets have added winger Oliver Bjorkstrand to the roster on an emergency recall, the team announced (via Twitter). The 21-year-old has compiled one assist and six penalty minutes in five games for Columbus this season. Down in Cleveland, the former third-rounder has scored 14 goals and collected 12 assists in 37 games. Bjorkstrand participated in the AHL All-Star Classic earlier this season.
  • The Jets have recalled defenseman Julian Melchiori from their AHL affiliate and placed goalie Ondrej Pavelec on the injured reserve, the team announced (via Twitter). Melchiori has played four games for the big-league club this season, giving him a total of 16 career NHL games under his belt. In 32 games for Manitoba this season, the 25-year-old has posted two goals and four assists. Meanwhile, Pavelec was placed on the IR retroactive to February 7th. In eight starts this season, the goalie has gone 4-4 with an .888 save percentage.
  • The Canucks have recalled forward Brendan Gaunce from the Utica Comets, the team announced (via Twitter). The 2012 first-round pick has played in 47 games for the Canucks this season, collecting only five assists. As a rookie during the 2015-2016 season, the 22-year-old scored a single goal in 20 games.

Minor Transactions: 2/6/2017

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Derek Grant is headed back to Buffalo. The Nashville Predators had claimed Grant from the Sabres earlier this season, but after addressing their need for grit by trading for Cody McLeod and more recently Vernon Fiddler, Grant became expendable. The Predators placed Grant on waivers yesterday and the Buffalo News now reports that his former team has picked him up. If the Sabres were the only team to put a claim in on Grant, they now have the flexibility to reassign him to the AHL over the next 30 days if they so choose, as the team that previously placed him on waivers. Grant has four assists this season, three in 35 games with Buffalo and one in six appearances with Nashville. The 26-year-old grinder is far from an NHL-caliber offensive contributor, but is a capable of being a reliable energy line player and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves.

In other news around the league:

  •  A day after sending Karl Stollery to the AHL’s Albany Devils, New Jersey has recalled the defenseman. John Moore has begun skating with the team, but is not ready to return to action. Stollery provides a good option for blue line depth in the meantime. He has three assists in nine games for the Devils this season, while logging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.
  • The Nashville Predators have swapped goaltenders with their AHL affiliate, sending Juuse Saros to Milwaukee and recalling Marek Mazanec. Saros is 5-3-2 with the Predators, and has an excellent 0.941 SV% and 1.79 GAA. In the AHL, he’s 12-2 with a 0.932 SV% and 1.92 GAA. Meanwhile Mazanec has struggled this season, with two losses in four appearances with the Predators. He has a rough 0.839 SV% and a 4.72 GAA. He’s been a little better with the AHL’s Admirals, going 12-10 with a 0.910 SV% and a 2.61 GAA.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have demoted forward Brendan Gaunce to Utica of the AHL. The former first round pick has five assists in 47 games with the Canucks. He had just one goal in 20 games last season, but has been much better with the Comets, scoring 17 goals and 38 points in 46 games last season. The Canucks will need Gaunce to pick up his offensive game if he’s going to be an impact player like he was in the OHL where he scored 236 points in 258 games.
  • Forwards Timo Meier and Marcus Sorensen have been recalled to the San Jose Sharks. Meier has four points in 21 games with the Sharks and 15 points in 18 games with the Barracuda, while Sorensen has 27 points in 39 games at the AHL.
  • In a corresponding move, the Sharks have also assigned Tim Heed and Kevin Labanc to the AHL, as per Kevin Kurz of CSN.

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Zach Leach contributed to this post.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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