Latest On Vancouver’s Pending Free Agents
The Vancouver Canucks have one of the more precarious salary cap situations in the league as they enter the offseason. While they project to have close to $14.3MM in space for next season, things are going to get a lot different in a year. That’s when Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko will all hit restricted free agency at the same time, potentially eating up a huge chunk of the salary cap as the team’s young core.
With that expensive offseason right around the corner, Canucks GM Jim Benning will have to play his cards quite carefully next month to make sure he doesn’t back himself into a corner. That includes UFA negotiations with Chris Tanev, Tyler Toffoli, and perhaps most importantly, starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Rick Dhaliwal was on TSN radio today talking about the Canucks pending free agents, even expressing awe that the team has still not worked something out with Markstrom:
This has not been an easy negotiation. We’re 15 months into this and now he’s 17 days away from walking and leaving. The two-time MVP of this team, he’s 17 days away from walking away from this team. They’ve been negotiating for 15 months–think about that for a second–and they’re not closer. There is still tons of work to do before they get a deal done.
Dhaliwal suggested again that the goaltender is looking for a deal with a cap hit of around $6MM, but stressed how challenging the negotiation has been so far. Markstrom, 30, is coming off his second straight year receiving Vezina Trophy votes, actually finishing fourth this season after putting up a .918 save percentage in 43 appearances. His market will be strong should he reach unrestricted free agency, something that Benning explained he was trying to avoid at his end of season press conference:
We’re going to try and figure out a way that makes sense for us and makes Jacob and his agent happy. Try and figure out a deal to get him signed. We want him back. We’re going to start working on that this week.
The question still comes back to that future cap situation though, especially given what Demko did in the playoffs with Vancouver. Though he’s not nearly as proven—Demko has just 37 regular season appearances under his belt—the Canucks could potentially hand the starter role to him next seaosn and take their chances with him on a full-time basis. They could also go after another free agent netminder instead, with Dhaliwal bringing up the names of Braden Holtby, Thomas Greiss and Cam Talbot as potential options.
In terms of Tanev, Dhaliwal explains that while Markstrom and Toffoli are the focus for Vancouver, the veteran defenseman hasn’t even received a contract offer from the Canucks at this point. Tanev, who will turn 31 in December, was the focus of a report today from Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe of The Athletic, which indicated that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be after him should he hit the open market. Tanev is the older brother of Penguins forward Brandon Tanev, who was given a long-term deal by Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford last summer.
Even though he is not an effective offensive weapon, Tanev has logged big minutes whenever healthy over the last decade in Vancouver. He registered 20 points in 69 games this season while still logging more than three minutes of short-handed ice time every night.
Canucks Notes: Markstrom, Virtanen, Trades
The Vancouver Canucks went further in the 2020 playoffs than many expected, coming within a single game of the Western Conference Final. GM Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green spoke with the media today (audio via TSN radio) about where the team goes from here, with Jacob Markstrom‘s future front and center. The goaltender is a pending free agent who is coming off an excellent season but was injured in the second round leading to Thatcher Demko‘s coming-out party. Even with Demko’s performance, Benning was clear about his desire to bring back the more veteran goaltender:
We’re going to try and figure out a way that makes sense for us and makes Jacob and his agent happy. Try and figure out a deal to get him signed. We want him back. We’re going to start working on that this week.
Markstrom, who could potentially hit the free agent market as the best available goaltender depending on some other situations, is coming off his best season in the NHL. Through 43 appearances he went 23-16-4 with a .918 save percentage, a performance that made Benning call him the team’s MVP. Demko is signed for next season at just a $1.05MM cap hit and Benning pointed out multiple times the fact that the Canucks believe they need two strong goaltenders to handle the tough travel schedule of the Western Conference.
- As for another pending free agent, Jake Virtanen, Benning was a lot less impressed. The 24-year old forward is going to be a restricted free agent for the second time as his two-year bridge deal comes to an end, but failed to make much of an impact in the postseason for Vancouver. Virtanen had his best regular season performance with 18 goals and 36 points in 69 games but scored just three points in 16 postseason matches. Benning was on Sportsnet radio and explained that he was expecting more from Virtanen in the playoffs. Add that to the GM saying that he might have to move on from some young players this offseason in order to recover some draft picks and you can see why the speculation regarding Virtanen’s future in Vancouver instantly exploded.
- In terms of creating salary cap room, Benning won’t be moving draft picks to do get rid of some of the more onerous contracts on the books. Vancouver is already without their first and second-round picks this year and it’s clear the front office wants to add, not subtract ahead of the draft in early October. Remember, though they have quite a bit of cap room for next season, the Canucks are staring down a 2021 offseason that will see Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Demko hit restricted free agency all at the same time.
West Notes: Markstrom, Bowness, Avalanche
While we’re still a year away from the Kraken’s expansion draft, things are now at the point where that will start playing a role in the decision making for other teams. In an appearance on Sportsnet 960 (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Seattle draft is playing a role in Vancouver’s discussions regarding pending UFA goalie Jacob Markstrom. The Canucks have Thatcher Demko (who was terrific against Vegas over his three playoff starts) who will also need protection and with teams only being able to protect one, it’s something that GM Jim Benning will certainly have to factor in as whichever one isn’t protected becomes the immediate favorite to be taken.
More from the Western Conference:
- While making it to the Western Conference Final would make it seem like a pretty safe bet that Stars interim coach Rick Bowness will be installed as the full-time bench boss, Matthew DeFranks notes that this isn’t necessarily the case. The 65-year-old indicated that he hasn’t given any thought yet regarding the idea of remaining in the role beyond the playoffs and that there is a meeting scheduled with GM Jim Nill to discuss his future whenever their postseason action comes to an end.
- Had the Avalanche made it past Dallas, they wouldn’t have had any help on the horizon from the infirmary. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater relays (Twitter link) that none of Colorado’s players were close to returning. Their list of injuries by the end of the series included goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, defensemen Erik Johnson, and wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Joonas Donskoi, among others. There’s no word yet on how long of a recovery time those players will be facing.
Snapshots: Markstrom, Chayka, Hockey East
One of the more talked-about free agent negotiations this season has been between the Vancouver Canucks and starting goalie Jacob Markstrom, who has been stellar in net this season. Markstrom had a career-best season this year, recording a .918 save percentage and 2.75 GAA. As he heads toward free agency, the Canucks have prioritized keeping him in Vancouver if at all possible. The two sides have been talking throughout the league pause and GM Jim Benning even noted that they spoke again on Tuesday. However, Benning told NHL.com that all negotiations will be put on hold until after the playoffs. “We’re going to get something figured out for him,” Benning said with confidence, but added “We both decided let’s just wait until after the playoffs are done.” How long that postseason run might last remains to be seen. The No. 7 seed out West, the Canucks are set to face the No. 10-seed Minnesota Wild in the qualifying round next week. If they emerge victorious, talks with Markstrom will stay on the back burner for a while longer, but if the Canucks fall to the Wild, they could approach talks very soon. Perhaps they will even be armed with the No. 1 overall pick to help make their case for a long-term extension.
- As the John Chayka saga continues to unravel, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post has confirmed previous reports that Chayka was interested in a move from the Arizona Coyotes to the New Jersey Devils. It doesn’t end there though. Kussoy writes that Chayka lied to ‘Yotes ownership about having an interview with the Devils ownership, who also own the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and are a suitor for the MLB’s New York Mets. While this was not a GM position with the Devils, which Arizona had previously denied another NHL team from interviewing Chayka for, he was nevertheless deceptive about his intentions. According to Kussoy, this left his relationship with owner Alex Meruelo “irrevocably damaged” and led to the swift separation between the two sides.
- Over in the college game, the Hockey East Conference offered some hope for NCAA fans yesterday. The historic hockey conference announced their intention to have a 2020-21 season for both men and women. Due to the convenient geography of the New England-based conference, teams will play conference-heavy schedules that will limit travel and, as a result, potential COVID-19 exposure. As many of their member institutions have seen their primary athletic conferences cancel or postpone fall sports, while other hockey schools – like those Ivy League members of the ECAC – have had all fall competition canceled, Hockey East hopes to start in the fall. They have yet to announce schedules and may delay the start of the season and play a shortened campaign, but college hockey seems to be returning next season after the Coronavirus pandemic ended the season in the midst of conference tournaments and before an NCAA champion could be crowned. The hope is that other conferences can also find a way to follow in the footsteps of Hockey East.
West Notes: Tarasenko, Canucks UFAs, Coyotes Black Aces
Many may have forgotten already, but when the NHL 24-team tournament hits the ice later this summer, the St. Louis Blues would be doing everything it can to defend their Stanley Cup title and try to win a second straight. That might have been somewhat more challenging for the Blues who played much of the season without star scorer Vladimir Tarasenko who underwent shoulder surgery on Oct. 29.
While he was close to coming back before the NHL season was suspended from COVID-19, there was no guarantee how ready Tarasenko would be for the upcoming playoffs. However, with the delay of the playoffs due to the pandemic, Tarasenko should be more than ready to help the Blues this summer, according to head coach Craig Berube on The Athletic’s We Went Blues podcast with Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required).
“He’s good,” said Berube. “Before we stopped, he was ready to come back the next week and play, so, he did a great job of getting himself back. He did a great job with his rehab, along with the training staff, and he kept himself in great shape. He actually came back in better shape than he came to camp (in September) … He’s been on the ice and doing things right now, so he’s ready to go.”
A healthy Tarasenko would be a huge boost to the team’s playoff chances. The team was faring quite well without him though as they have the second-best record in the league and sit at the top of the Western Conference with a 42-29-10 record. The 28-year-old Tarasenko appeared in just 10 games before being injured, posting three goals and 10 points. He was given a five month timetable, which should make him more than prepared to take on a major role whenever play resumes.
- TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that if the Vancouver Canucks want to sign all of their top three unrestricted free agents in Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli and Chris Tanev, the team will likely have to make some roster moves and send off some of their more expensive contracts (with sweeteners) to free up some cap space. The team is currently right up against the cap and with no other major contracts freeing up in the offseason, the team will have to move someone out. One option would be to find a trade partner for forward Loui Eriksson, who still has two more years at $6MM AAV. A compliance buyout is a possibility that could solve that problem if they become available, but otherwise the Canucks would have to find a taker willing to move some of its cap room to take on Eriksson, who scored just six goals and 13 points in 49 games last season.
- Craig Morgan, formerly of The Athletic, reports a list of the Arizona Coyotes’ players who will be attending training camp as Black Aces. It was recently reported that the team will be bringing in their 2019 first-round pick Victor Soderstrom to serve as a Black Ace. He will be joined by forwards Brayden Burke, Hudson Fasching, Michael Chaput, defenseman Aaron Ness, Kyle Capobianco, Jordan Gross and goaltenders Adin Hill and Ivan Prosvetov.
Pacific Notes: Markstrom, Vancouver, Calgary
Without an official start date announced for the expanded NHL postseason, it is nearly impossible to guess when the Stanley Cup might be awarded this year and when the off-season may begin. All that Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning cares about is that by the time the off-season does arrive, goaltender Jacob Markstrom is back under contract. “He’s an important guy for us,” Benning told Ben Kuzma of The Province, adding “My intent is to figure out something that works for him and us. I’m hoping to get him signed.” Markstrom is part of a trio of key free agents for Vancouver that includes defenseman Chris Tanev and forward Tyler Toffoli, but the All-Star netminder appears to be Benning’s priority. The GM has been working to extend Markstrom all year, while Markstrom himself has said multiple times that he would like to remain in Vancouver. All that is left is for the two sides to meet on money in the confines of a potential flat salary cap and the Canucks’ hefty payroll. Markstrom enjoyed a career year in 2019-20 and could still boost his stock even further with a strong playoff performance. If the Canucks don’t pay him, someone else undoubtedly will.
- The city of Vancouver is hoping to have a first-hand look at the coming postseason. The province of British Columbia has put together a formal proposal, designed and approved by its top healthcare professionals, that recommends Vancouver as one of the two “hub cities” for the NHL’s makeshift playoff format. Per the Canadian Press, this proposal will be presented to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for approval and then finally to the NHL. Vancouver was already on the shortlist of possible locations that the league was considering, but are now taking steps to be a front runner for the event. Whether or not the NHL would allow the Canucks to play at home or instead send the Eastern Conference teams to Western Canada remains to be seen.
- Working against Vancouver’s odds of hosting a postseason tournament is Canada’s continued insistence on a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the country. If this policy is still in place once the postseason is ready to commence, it would present a holdup that the NHL cannot afford. Before it even reaches that possible breaking point, the quarantine rule is already impacting training camp plans. Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving tells TSN’s Ryan Rishaug that the organization already has a plan in place to hold their July training camp in the U.S. if the quarantine rule is not lifted or an exception is not made. “I don’t want guys coming back to Calgary and sitting on their butts for two weeks,” Treliving stated, “It may make more sense for us to have camp in the U.S. so we can have guys together quicker and being productive. The quarantine issue is a big one.” There is no word yet on where exactly this fallback training camp would take place, but hockey-centric cities relatively close to Calgary include Spokane, Washington and Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Nominees Announced For 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2019.
Past winners of the award include Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Miller
Arizona Coyotes – Conor Garland
Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller
Buffalo Sabres – Curtis Lazar
Calgary Flames – Mark Giordano
Carolina Hurricanes – James Reimer
Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford
Colorado Avalanche – Ryan Graves
Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Gerbe
Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns
Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri
Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid
Florida Panthers – Noel Acciari
Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber
Nashville Predators – Jarred Tinordi
New Jersey Devils – Travis Zajac
New York Islanders – Thomas Hickey
New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist
Ottawa Senators – Bobby Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom
Pittsburgh Penguins – Evgeni Malkin
San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton
St. Louis Blues – Jay Bouwmeester
Toronto Maple Leafs – Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom
Vegas Golden Knights – Shea Theodore
Washington Capitals – Michal Kempny
Winnipeg Jets – Mark Letestu
Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.
Stretch Run Storylines: Vancouver Canucks
As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks. Assuming the regular season continues (something the league remains hopeful of doing), there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run. Over the weeks ahead, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team. We continue our look at the Pacific Division with Vancouver.
The Canucks have been a team trying to pry their way into the playoffs after several years of rebuilding. The team even took that next step, trading their first-round pick last offseason to Tampa Bay in exchange for goal-scoring forward J.T. Miller, a deal that paid off as he leads the team in scoring with 72 points and is tied for the team lead in goals with 27. The team has been in the playoff race all season, but might have some challenges in the months ahead.
Playoff Race
The Canucks have 78 points at this point in the season and currently, based on points percentage, they would be the first wildcard team if the season ended today. That’s great news, but if the regular season resumes and is based on points, the Canucks would be out of the playoffs, meaning they would need to prove they can overcome teams like Nashville and Winnipeg, among others, to squeak into the playoffs.
Vancouver does have the advantage of being a young team that might have a better shot of jumping out quickly like it did when the regular season started and the Canucks dominated the Pacific Division for the first couple months of the season. Players like Quinn Hughes would be playing as if he was a second-year player and should be able to provide even more stability in their back end to help the team gain their way into the playoffs. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who was on LTIR before the suspension of play, is already fully healed from his knee injury, and ready to go — another big plus.
Pending UFAs
The team does have quite a bit offseason work to complete this season. The team has to lock up Markstrom to a long-term deal. The UFA could be one of the bigger names on the goalie market for teams, although he recently told Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, that he has no intention of playing for another team and wants to re-sign in Vancouver, which is good news for Canucks fans. The 30-year-old had his best season to date with a 2.75 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
However, the team has other issues, which could be challenging, considering the team is capped out. Barring a compliance buyout that could save them, the Canucks may have to make some significant moves to stay under a cap that likely won’t increase this offseason. The team also must consider contracts for veteran defenseman Chris Tanev as well as trade-deadline acquisition Tyler Toffoli, who looked exceptional in 10 games, scoring six goals and 10 points in a Vancouver uniform. That doesn’t even consider the team’s RFAs for next season, including Jake Virtanen, Adam Gaudette, Troy Stecher and Tyler Motte.
Hughes For Calder?
Hughes will have chance to walk away from the offseason with some hardware as it looks more and more like a two-person race for the Calder Trophy, for the best rookie. While many feel that Cale Makar was the runaway leader for the trophy, the play of Hughes in the second-half of the season has been exceptional and could be enough to vault himself past Makar in the running. Hughes did win our PHR poll in March by quite a landslide.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Markstrom, Vegas, Hartford
When the 2019-20 NHL season was paused, Vancouver Canucks were right on the edge of returning to the playoffs. It’s not somewhere they’ve been since 2015, so turning things around is an impressive accomplishment for this young group. One of the older players on the team that was around (however infrequently) for that 2014-15 season is Jacob Markstrom, who happens to be scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer.
If you ask him though, this won’t be his last chance to help Vancouver reach the playoffs. Markstrom was on a conference call with reporters yesterday including Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, and explained that he wants to “stay in Vancouver” and has “no plans of leaving.” Markstrom does understand the complicated situation that every team is in with regards to free agents and an uncertain salary cap, but is obviously hoping that he can stick around for a while longer. The 30-year old goaltender was having the best season of his career, posting a 23-16-4 record and .918 save percentage when the season was paused.
- If you’ve been wondering whether or not the Vegas Golden Knights would ever name a captain, Peter DeBoer has some answers for you. According to Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas, DeBoer discussed the captain question on a season ticket holder podcast, explaining that he believes a team should have one and that the Golden Knights have several candidates. For what it is worth, Boehlke expects Mark Stone to be the captain if one is named. Stone is currently the highest-paid player on the Golden Knights and is signed through 2026-27.
- The Hartford Wolf Pack are bringing back some experience for next season, signing Vincent LoVerde and Mason Geertsen to one-year AHL contracts for 2020-21. LoVerde, 31, is. two-time Calder Cup champion that scored 21 points in 62 games for the Wolf Pack this season. Geertsen, 25, won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup in 2017 before establishing himself as a full-time AHL player the last three years.
West Notes: Blackhawks, Markstrom, Sveningsson
While this season has been a disappointing one for Chicago, it doesn’t appear as if any front office changes are on the horizon. Team chairman Rocky Wirtz told Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) that team president John McDonough, GM Stan Bowman, and head coach Jeremy Colliton are all expected to return for next season. The Blackhawks currently sit in the basement of the Central Division and barring a significant expansion of the playoff pool, they’ll miss the postseason for the third straight year. Powers notes that Bowman’s last announced contract extension took him through 2020-21 so if there hasn’t been anything signed since then, he’ll be entering the final year of his deal. McDonough wouldn’t comment on whether or not a new contract for him is already in place.
More from the Western Conference:
- Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom has fully recovered from his knee injury, GM Jim Benning acknowledged in an appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link). With Vancouver on the outside looking in at a Wild Card spot (tied with Nashville but they hold the tiebreaker), that’s good news for any potential stretch run. Benning also reiterated his desire to get the pending UFA signed to a contract extension but with next year’s salary cap in question given everything that has happened these last few weeks, it’s unlikely that there will be much in the way of negotiations in the next little while.
- Flames prospect Filip Sveningsson confirmed to Simon Holm Stalhand of Hockey Sverige that has been released from his SHL team in Oskarshamn. The winger was a seventh-round pick back in 2017 after a strong showing offensively at the junior level. However, that has yet to carry over to the pros as injuries and general ineffectiveness limited him to just two goals and two assists in 29 SHL games this season. Sveningsson indicated that some other teams in Sweden have shown interest but if Calgary has any plans on signing him (they have until June of 2021 to do so), this would be a good opportunity to bring him over to North America.