Iaian MacIntyre of Sportsnet: Looking at some offseason priorities for the Vancouver Canucks.
Forward Elias Pettersson is eligible for a contract extension after July 1st, and if the Canucks wait, it likely wouldn’t become any cheaper. He’ll carry a $7.35 million salary cap hit this season and it will be going up afterward. He’s two years away from being a UFA. Pettersson has said he feels the Canucks can be a winning team.
NHL Rumors: Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin and head coach Rick Tocchet have both said they need to find a third-line center. Nils Aman and Aatu Raty would be internal candidates, along with college free agent signing Max Sasson. They may look at the trade or free agent market for a veteran third-line option as insurance in case of an injury to Pettersson or J.T. Miller. Potential candidates could include Max Domi, Pius Suter and Ivan Barbashev. Barbashev wouldn’t be cheap but he is a Dan Milstein client.
The Canucks are already over the salary cap for next season. They have big contracts in Oliver Ekman-Larsson (four-year at $7.26 million) and Tyler Myers (one-year at $6 million). OEL is untradable at this point. Myers has a $5 million signing bonus on September 15th and then only a $1 million in salary for the season. He has a partial no-trade clause.
The Canucks could use a second-pairing defenseman to play beside Ethan Bear when they re-sign him.
They should re-sign defenseman Kyle Burroughs.
Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal of The Athletic: Vancouver Canucks pending RFA Vitali Kravtsov didn’t do enough in his 16 game tryout to be a lock to get a qualifying offer from the team.
The Canucks have a hole in the third-line center slot. Finding someone who can kill penalties, is good defensively and on the draw with a little bit of offense would be ideal.
Would expect the Canucks to try and bring in a left-handed defenseman that could play in the top four. GM Patrik Allvin hopes Oliver Ekman-Larsson could help fill that spot.
The Canucks don’t intend to buyout anyone this offseason.
Defenseman Travis Dermott is owed a $1.5 million qualifying offer. That number may be too high for the capped out Canucks.
Teams may have their rosters filled out by the time Tyler Myers receives his bonus and has a contract worth trading for. He has a limited no-trade clause, lives in BC during the summer, and is a committed family man.
The Canucks don’t plan on having an expensive backup next season.