Four ways for the Vancouver Canucks to become cap compliant for next season
Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province: Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser survived the trade deadline and will be with the team at least through the end of the year.
The Canucks are basically capped out for next year already and they don’t have a full roster. GM Patrik Allvin has already stated it won’t be an issue getting cap compliant.
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Buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson would be one way but Allvin said he doesn’t want to do that. Four other options for the Canucks to shed some salary.
Trade J.T. Miller – He doesn’t have a no-movement clause until his seven-year extension kicks in on July 1st. There was interest at the deadline in Miller with a team calling on deadline day but no offer was made.
Trade Brock Boeser – Teams wanted the Canucks to retain a portion of his $6.65 million cap hit for the next two years and the Canucks weren’t interested in that. At $5 million he’d be more appealing. The Pittsburgh Penguins were interested but went with Mikael Granlund instead.
Trade Tyler Myers – Owed a $5 million signing bonus on July 1st, then only a $1 million salary with a $6 million cap hit. Has a 10-team no-trade list.
Buying out Ekman-Larsson – He has four years left on his contract and it would cost the Canucks $19.3 million spread out over eight years.
College free agent centers that might interest teams when their seasons are finished
Chris Peters of Flo Hockey: Looking at some of the top college free agent centers who will get some NHL interest.
Austen Swankler – C – Bowling Green – “He still has plenty of NCAA eligibility left, but he’s an average-sized, highly-skilled player who has good feel in the offensive zone and can make a lot of plays.”
Parker Ford – C – Providence College – “He won’t have a big market, but there are teams that like his effort and energy level that could lead to his playing a depth role down the line.”
Jaxon Nelson – C – Minnesota – “Still, big centers are hard to find and there will definitely be a few teams out there that want to give him a chance at the pro level.”
Max Sasson – C – Western Michigan – “I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go back for one more year at Western, but he’s built up some nice buzz for himself…”
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T.J. Hughes – C – Michigan – “Hughes is lower on this list because I’m not sure he’s going to sign right away. That said, there’s going to be some offers out there for him.”