Canucks Rumors

Canucks Sign Nils Aman To Two-Year Extension

November 25, 2023 at 9:28 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Friday was a good day for Canucks center Nils Aman. Early in the day, he was recalled from AHL Abbotsford to take the place of Pius Suter on the roster with Suter being placed on injured reserve. He then made his season debut and picked up a pair of assists in a Vancouver victory. In between that, the team announced that they signed Aman to a two-year contract extension. While financial terms were not disclosed, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the one-way deal carries an AAV of $825K.

GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement about the signing:

Nils has worked hard on his development since we brought him into our organization. He is a smart two-way hockey player who uses his speed to his advantage. We will continue to work with Nils to help him grow and improve his game.

The 23-year-old was drafted by Colorado in the sixth round in 2020 (167th overall) but didn’t sign with the Avs in 2022, making him an unrestricted free agent. Less than a week later, Vancouver inked him to a two-year entry-level deal; he’s in the final season of that agreement this year.

Aman spent most of last season with the Canucks, getting into 68 games where he had four goals and 14 assists in a little under 13 minutes a night of ice time. He was a bit more productive in a short stretch in the minors, however, notching nine points in 17 contests during a six-week stint with them midseason.

With Vancouver adding more forward depth over the offseason, that pushed Aman to the AHL at the start of this season where he has been quite productive with 15 points in as many games, helping him to earn this promotion.

While it would be reasonable to assume that Aman will be sent down once Suter is cleared to return, that’s unlikely to be the case. When he plays in his next game for Vancouver, he will lose his waiver exemption, meaning the Canucks would have to waive him to send him back to Abbotsford. Considering this extension, it doesn’t feel like that’s a route they will want to take which means he might be up with the big club for good now.

Elias Pettersson Still In No Rush To Sign Contract Extension

November 23, 2023 at 7:52 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 4 Comments

TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that pending restricted free agent Elias Pettersson still doesn’t appear to be in any rush to sign a contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks. Pettersson is under Canucks control for one more season after this one and Johnston wonders if Pettersson might elect to go to arbitration with the club and accept a one-year contract, or take a qualifying offer which would come in north of $8MM.

While that news might not sit well with Canucks fans, it appears that Pettersson’s logic for the holding pattern might be to try and get a better sense of where the NHL salary cap ceiling is going before he puts pen to paper on a long-term deal.

The 25-year-old is off to a terrific start this season with eight goals and 20 assists in 20 games for the surprising Canucks who currently sit second in the Pacific Division with a 13-6-1 record. Many thought that Pettersson could be in a holding pattern to see what the future of the Canucks looked like before signing a new deal, but 20 games into the season it doesn’t appear as though the Canucks hot start has moved the needle for Pettersson.

The native of Sundsvall, Sweden is coming off a season in which he registered 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games and is currently on pace for a 114-point season should he dress in all 82 games this year. It appears the longer Pettersson waits, the higher his price is going to climb, barring an injury or a massive slump at some point this season.

The Canucks are in a reasonably good salary cap situation beyond this year, and it shouldn’t be an issue fitting in a cap hit that is at or around the $10MM per season that Pettersson is sure to be seeking on a long-term deal. But until he signs that deal, there is sure to be a cloud of doubt surrounding Pettersson’s long-term future in Vancouver.

Latest On Pius Suter

November 22, 2023 at 9:45 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet told the media yesterday, including The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, that forward Pius Suter would not travel on the team’s road trip as he continues to be evaluated for an undisclosed injury. Although Suter, 27, has struggled to find the scoresheet he has played some important minutes for the Canucks. He averages over 15 minutes of ice time per game and skates on both special teams units, so the Canucks will definitely hope that whatever is keeping him out of the lineup is not an ailment that will cost him significant time.

Nils Hoglander Fined For Slew-Footing

November 21, 2023 at 5:56 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 3 Comments

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced today that Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Hoglander has been fined $2,864.58 for a slew-footing incident involving San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc. The fine is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and penalizes Hoglander further for an incident that occurred in last night’s 3-1 win over the Sharks. Hoglander did receive a match penalty in the game which was a severe in-game penalty that is rarely given for slew-footing.

Hoglander and Labanc were engaged in a battle near the boards late in the second period when Hoglander appeared to kick Labanc’s left foot from under him and throw his upper body to the ice. He was initially assessed a five-minute major which was video reviewed and eventually upheld. The incident was certainly difficult to watch, and it resulted in Labanc taking a trip to the dressing room where he was attended to by the Sharks medical staff. It was the first match penalty of Hoglander’s four-year NHL career.

When speaking to the media the 22-year-old said that the play was an accident, although he did accept his punishment. It is the first time Hoglander has been given any supplemental discipline by the Department of Player Safety.

The native of BockträSk, Sweden has five goals and three assists in 17 games this season. He was the Canucks second-round selection in the 2019 NHL entry draft and made the team out of training camp during the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season, registering 13 goals and 14 assists in 56 games.

Nils Hoglander To Face Player Safety Review

November 21, 2023 at 9:06 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline recently sat down with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ President of Hockey Operations, John Davidson, to discuss the team’s early season woes. But despite the nine-game losing streak, which has seen Johnny Gaudreau get benched and Patrik Laine get scratched, Davidson says no rash changes are inbound for the Blue Jackets. “Woe is me does not work. It’s an emotional game, a hard game,” Davidson told Portzline, “but we need the improvements we’re seeing with some of our younger players — Alexandre Texier, Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, these guys — to continue, and we need our best players to start playing like they’re capable of playing.”

Davidson went on to support the hard decisions being made by first-time NHL head coach Pascal Vincent, who has benched and scratched players at will through his first two months on the job. Davidson said, “Coach is the coach. Coach works tightly with Jarmo. They discuss things daily, and Jarmo fills me in. The bold moves that Pazzy has made … you have to make bold moves sometimes.”

The topic of Columbus’ slide was also discussed by Elliotte Friedman in the most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman disagreed with the decision to scratch Laine but did speak optimism about the impact that significant struggles can have on a young star like Fantilli, calling back to his days covering former NBA rookie of the year Damon Stoudamire. The 32 Thoughts team closed the conversation by acknowledging that, while no rash decisions were inbound, heavy losing can still weigh on the team’s veterans. Columbus will be looking to avoid their 10th loss in a row on Wednesday. If they can’t, they could change their tune on what decisions are looming.

Other morning notes:

The Department of Player Safety will be reviewing a slewfoot from Vancouver’s Nils Hoglander and some form of discipline is expected. Hoglander was kicked out of the team’s Monday night matchup against the San Jose Sharks after tripping Kevin Labanc in front of the team’s bench. Whether he will be receiving a fine, or a suspension, for the incident is the looming question. Hoglander has no prior history with the DOPS.
Utica Comets head coach Kevin Dineen shared that Nolan Foote and Brian Halonen are going to continue missing time and that the team is hoping to have a clearer timetable around American Thanksgiving. Neither player has made an appearance in the 2023-24 season so far.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

November 20, 2023 at 9:01 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid 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 for the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on 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: $86,578,549 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

None on the active roster

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

F Anthony Beauvillier ($4.15MM, UFA)
F Teddy Blueger ($1.9MM, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($3MM, UFA)
G Casey DeSmith ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Mark Friedman ($775K, UFA)
F Dakota Joshua ($825K, UFA)
D Filip Hronek ($4.4MM, RFA)
F Sam Lafferty ($1.15MM, UFA)
D Tyler Myers ($6MM, UFA)
F Elias Pettersson ($7.35MM, RFA)

Headlines were made when discussions about an extension with Pettersson were called off by the center’s camp, citing a desire to play out the season and see where things sit. That apparently is on hold now as GM Patrik Allvin acknowledged recently that they’re working on a new deal. It’s fair to say it will be a very pricey one. After a career year last season, he’s off to an even better start in 2023-24 and has been among the league leaders in scoring (at times the outright leader). He plays a premium position and is a year away from UFA eligibility which also works in Pettersson’s favor. Heading into the year, an AAV between $10.5MM and $11MM felt like a possible landing spot. Now, it seems likely to fall about a million higher.

Beauvillier came over as part of the Bo Horvat trade last season and did well with his new team down the stretch but has underachieved this season. He has reached at least 18 goals in four of the last six years, however, and that type of offensive consistency will help on the open market. A big raise doesn’t seem likely but something near this on the open market could be doable. Blueger opted for a one-year deal over the summer after splitting last season between Pittsburgh and Vegas. As a bottom-six forward, his market shouldn’t be much stronger next summer unless he’s either able to hit new benchmarks offensively or is able to sustain his 56% success rate on the draw that he had down the stretch with Vegas.

Lafferty was acquired late in training camp with Toronto needing to clear salary. When he was with Chicago, he did well in a middle-six role but was a lot quieter on the fourth line with the Maple Leafs. Things have gone well so far with his new team which could push his AAV closer to the $2MM mark in the summer. As for Joshua, he did quite well in his first year with Vancouver last season, his first full year of NHL action. If he gets to the double-digit-goal mark again while bringing plenty of physicality, he could double this on the open market.

Myers was the subject of trade speculation throughout the summer but remains with Vancouver. He’s still capable of playing in the top four although his best role might be as a fifth that moves up when injuries arise. In free agency, that’s closer to a $3.5MM player. It’s worth noting that the bulk of his salary was paid in September as a signing bonus so if he was to be acquired midseason, his new team wouldn’t have to pay much in the way of actual money. Hronek was brought in from Detroit at the trade deadline, a confusing move on the surface for a team that was selling. He has been quite productive early on so far and should be in good shape to land much more than his $5.28MM qualifying offer this summer. Like Pettersson, he has just one year of club control remaining. Friedman has played regular minutes since being acquired early in the year but has cleared waivers in two straight years now, suggesting that he will probably stay near the minimum moving forward.

DeSmith is another newcomer to the team after being acquired at the start of training camp. Over the last few years, he has been a capable backup and with that market going up in recent years, a good showing this season could propel him to a deal closer to the $3MM mark next summer.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Brock Boeser ($6.65MM, UFA)
D Guillaume Brisebois ($775K, UFA)
F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($775K, UFA)
D Akito Hirose ($787.5K, RFA)
F Nils Hoglander ($1.1MM, RFA)
D Noah Juulsen ($775K, UFA)
F Andrei Kuzmenko ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Tucker Poolman ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Pius Suter ($1.6MM, UFA)

Boeser was in trade speculation last season when things weren’t going too well offensively. He stated his desire to stay and got his wish. That has worked out quite well considering the hot start he has had. That said, if he stays in the 25-goal range, it’s hard to see this price tag going much higher; he’ll need to carry this hot start to a career year to have a shot at any sort of significant raise. Kuzmenko had a very strong first NHL season but with his track record being short, the two sides ultimately worked out a bridge extension. If he has two more years of 70 or more points, he could push past the $7MM mark in 2025.

Suter was a late signing in free agency after a down year with Detroit. That said, he has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons and spent most of that time at center. As long as he holds down a regular spot on the third line, they’ll do well with this contract. Meanwhile, a couple more years scoring at that rate would give Suter a much better platform to hit the open market with. Hoglander spent most of last year in the minors but did enough before that to get a seven-figure bridge deal. Now, it’s about re-establishing himself as a regular and if he can produce in a top-nine role (he’s not an ideal fourth line candidate), he could push for closer to $2MM with arbitration rights. Di Giuseppe has largely been a journeyman, often splitting time between the NHL and AHL with several organizations but has found a home with Vancouver where he’s seeing regular minutes and producing. Given his age (30), it’s unlikely a significant bump is coming his way but if he stays a regular, a one-way deal around the $1.5MM mark could be doable.

Poolman is once again on LTIR with concussion issues that have limited him to just 43 games with the Canucks over the last two seasons, only three of which came last year. At this point, it’s hard to see him playing again. If he does try to push through it and play after this deal, his injury history will limit him to a league-minimum contract. Hirose impressed after signing as a college free agent down the stretch, earning this deal for his efforts, one that converts to a one-way salary next season. If he’s established as a roster regular at that point (even if he’s in the sixth or seventh depth role), arbitration eligibility would push him past $1MM. As for Juulsen and Brisebois, both are depth defenders who are likely to continue to stay at or close to the minimum moving forward.

Signed Through 2025-26

G Thatcher Demko ($5MM, UFA)
F Conor Garland ($4.95MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Carson Soucy ($3.25MM, UFA)

Garland has been a capable secondary scorer throughout his career but his contract was viewed as a negative with Arizona and he’s now in that situation with Vancouver despite starting off rather well with them. While his agent has been given permission to try to facilitate a move, that will be hard to do without salary retention and possibly taking a contract back. Meanwhile, Garland will need to get back to the 50-point mark if he wants a shot at another deal like this. Mikheyev’s contract raised some eyebrows given his limited track record and injury history with Toronto. However, when healthy, he has produced at a rate worthy of this type of contract. If he can continue that and stay off the injury list, he could tick past the $5MM mark next time.

Soucy came over from Seattle as a pricey third pairing option. He does well in his limited role, however, which helps to justify the price tag. Given his playing style and the fact he’ll be entering his age-32 year on his next contract though, it would be surprising to see a big raise coming his way.

When Demko is on his game, he can be among the top goalies in the league. We saw it a couple of years ago when Vancouver nearly pulled off the improbable comeback to make the playoffs (coming up just short) and we’re seeing it early on this year. When things are going well, this is a contract that’s well below market value. Of course, things didn’t go anywhere near as well last season which was a big reason for their drop in the standings. While the starting goalie market has largely stagnated lately with the backups getting a boost in free agency instead, Demko could help break that trend. If he plays up to his capabilities for the rest of this contract, a long-term deal worth $7MM or more should be doable. If it goes really well, he’ll be eyeing Connor Hellebuyck’s $8.5MM but his track record isn’t as strong at the moment.

Signed Through 2026-27 Or Longer

D Quinn Hughes ($7.85MM through 2026-27)
F J.T. Miller ($8MM through 2029-30)

Miller looked to be a lock to be dealt last summer but then signed when few were expecting it, ultimately resulting in Horvat being moved. It’s a deal that’s not expected to age all that well – few long-term deals to a player in his 30s do – but with how he produced the last two years on his old contract and early into this season on this new one, the Canucks are certainly getting good bang for their buck at the moment.

They’re also getting strong value on Hughes’ deal. He has blossomed into one of the NHL’s top offensive defenders while logging heavy minutes on the top pairing. Hughes even takes some penalty killing shifts so he’s not just an offense-only player. The price tag on elite producers from the point has increased recently. Four years from now, the cap hit percentage on current comparables (Cale Makar and Adam Fox among them) will likely push Hughes’ next contract past the $10MM mark; even $11MM might not be a stretch.

Buyouts

D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($147K in 2023-24, $2.347MM in 2024-25, $4.767MM in 2025-26 and 2026-27, $2.127MM from 2027-28 through 2030-31)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Best Value: Pettersson
Worst Value: Myers

Looking Ahead

With Poolman likely on LTIR for the season, Vancouver isn’t going to be in a position to bank in-season cap room. On top of that, they’re tight enough to the cap ceiling even with that LTIR relief that making an in-season upgrade would be hard. However, if they can get a low-cap team to take on Myers (again, most of his salary has been paid already), that could change their short-term cap fortunes in a hurry.

Longer term, they’re not in bad shape compared to what it has been. Beauvillier and Myers coming off the books will pay for the raises to Pettersson and Hronek next summer. They should be able to re-sign or replace at least one of Boeser and Kuzmenko the following year. Meanwhile, Miller is the only true long-term contract on the books (for now, at least). Accordingly, if they play their cards right, they should have a lot more flexibility than they’ve had recently when it comes to the salary cap.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vancouver Canucks Send Down Linus Karlsson; Recall Akito Hirose

November 17, 2023 at 12:35 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

After making his NHL debut last night for the Vancouver Canucks, the team announces Linus Karlsson has been sent back down to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Meanwhile, in the same announcement, Vancouver has recalled defenseman Akito Hirose.

It was no question as to why Karlsson was originally called up by the Canucks, as the young forward is off to a blazing start in the AHL this year. In 13 games played in Abbotsford, Karlsson has two goals and nine assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring.

Now that Andrei Kuzmenko is expected back into the lineup for the team’s next game, Karlsson will continue to grow his game at the AHL level for the time being. He was originally acquired by the Canucks in a 2019 trade with the San Jose Sharks, making his way to North America last season.

In the case of Hirose, he will serve as a depth defenseman for the team, much like he has done over the last two seasons when he has been in the NHL. So far this year, Hirose has suited up in two games for Vancouver, averaging a touch over 12 and a half minutes of ice time per night.

Hirose is also scoreless in 11 games at the AHL level, indicating he may need more seasoning in the minor leagues to get back to the production levels he saw during his tenure at Minnesota State University. Nevertheless, with both Hirose and Karlsson on the roster in Abbotsford, the team has gotten off to an 8-4-1 start, being one of the better teams in the AHL to start the year.

Carson Soucy Out Week-To-Week With Foot Injury

November 15, 2023 at 1:00 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

November 15th: The Vancouver Canucks have updated Soucy’s status and provided a clear timeline by now saying that the defenseman will miss the next six-to-eight weeks of action.

November 14th: Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shared that defenseman Carson Soucy will undergo further evaluation on a foot injury that currently has him designated as week-to-week. Tocchet also shared that Tyler Meyers should be ready for the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the New York Islanders. The team also recalled Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup ahead of their Tuesday practice.

Soucy has been out of action since he left the team’s November 12th game early. He’s appeared in 13 games this season, netting two goals and five points, while averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time. He’s in his first season with the Canucks, after signing a three-year contract on July 1st that carries a $3.25MM cap hit.

Meyers’ return to the lineup will help fill in for the missing Soucy. The 33-year-old defenseman looked strong to start the season, netting six points in 15 games before his injury while operating on the team’s second pairing. If he can’t go, Akito Hirose will step back into the lineup after spending 11 games in the AHL. Hirose appeared in two Canucks games earlier in the season before being sent to the minors. He’s failed to score in either the NHL or AHL this year, although he did record two penalties and a +2 in his AHL appearances. Hirose is in his first full season as a professional, although the NCAA free agent he did appear in seven games with the Canucks last year as well – netting three assists. He’ll have a chance to record his first NHL goal or his first point of the year if he’s able to slot into the lineup.

Canucks Working On Extending Elias Pettersson

November 14, 2023 at 3:13 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 4 Comments

Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff released an interview with Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin that spoke to the team’s efforts to re-sign their star forward, Elias Pettersson. Specifically, Allvin said he’s been in touch with both Pat Brisson and Pettersson’s Swedish agent and that he hopes to get something done sooner rather than later.

A Pettersson extension is undoubtedly one of Allvin’s top priorities. The 25-year-old forward has been a pivotal piece of the Canucks’ early success, currently leading the league in scoring with a monstrous 25 points in 15 games. His 18 assists also rank top in the league, although he’s tied with co-star Quinn Hughes in that category.

This strong scoring continues the trend of Pettersson scoring more and more every season. He scored a career-high 102 points last season, the most scored by a Canuck since Daniel Sedin scored 104 in the 2010-11 season. Pettersson became the fourth Canuck to cross the century mark since 2000, joining the Sedin brothers and Markus Naslund.

But with high scoring comes an inevitably high price tag. Of the 11 players to score 100 or more points last season, Pettersson is one of three players to carry a cap hit under $8MM, alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jason Robertson. Pettersson also joins Robertson as the only two among the group without any movement protection in their contracts. Both of those variables are bound to be addressed in Pettersson’s next contract, which could reach upwards of eight figures. Any long-term deal would also carry Pettersson to his age 32 or 33 season, likely solidifying his place in Vancouver for the long term. If, and when, a new contract will come is yet to be seen, although it’s encouraging to see the two sides engaged in extension talks.

Canucks Recall Akito Hirose

November 14, 2023 at 1:35 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have announced the recall of defenseman Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup. Hirose has appeared in 11 AHL games so far this season, going without a point while also accruing four penalty minutes and a +2. Hirose made his NHL debut with the Canucks last season, signing with the team after the conclusion of the Minnesota State University-Mankato season.

Hirose was one of three players from last year’s Mankato lineup to sign NHL contracts, joining Nashville’s Jake Livingston and Colorado’s Ondrej Pavel. All three players were undrafted free agents at the time of their signing and all three have since made their NHL debut. Hirose has played in the most NHL action of the bunch, with nine games under his belt. He also leads the group in scoring, with three points in those nine games topping the one point Livingston has scored through five games. Pavel has yet to score his first NHL point.

Hirose has already appeared in two games with Vancouver’s NHL lineup through the early season, going without any changes to his stat line. He also recorded a 39.39 CF% (Corsi-For Percentage) and 43.87 xGF% (expected-goals-for percentage) in the pair of games – both modest tallies that are certainly influenced by a small sample size, although both numbers are an improvement from the CF% and xGF% he recorded in his seven NHL games last season.

Carson Soucy was announced with injury on November 12th and the team has yet to provide an update on his status. Hirose will provide some depth to the Canucks’ blue-line while Soucy works his way back into the lineup.

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