Eriksson has no intention of retiring or walking away from his contract
Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: 35-year old Loui Eriksson doesn’t have any intentions to retire or walk away from his contract. The Vancouver Canucks forward has two years left at a $6 million cap hit, with $4 million in salary per season.
“I love to play and have being doing this my whole life — so I’ll never quit,” Eriksson said Sunday before a camp scrimmage. “I’m a pretty good two-way player and can play up the lineup and the penalty killing has been good for me. I’ll do all I can to help the team as much as possible — if there’s a chance.”
The bonus structure of his deal basically makes it buyout proof. If he’s sent to the AHL he’ll still carry a $4.9 million cap hit for Canucks.
Eriksson is good defensively but the offense has disappeared.
- Satiar Shah: “Eriksson was never going to retire & walk away, the question is whether he’ll play in Utica if the Canucks force his hand next season or if he’ll prefer to get out of the contract & try to play elsewhere.”
- Rick Dhaliwal: “Been saying this for a long time, he is not walking away from the money left on his contract.”
At this point, the Oilers may not qualify Athanasiou
Mark Spector of Sportsnet: The Edmonton Oilers acquired Andreas Athanasiou at the trade deadline for two second-round picks. He’ll be a restricted free agent after the season.
So far Athanasiou hasn’t worked with Connor McDavid and yesterday he lost his spot beside Leon Draisaitl.
Athanasiou requires a $3 million qualifying offer, and at this point, there is no way that GM Ken Holland would do that. Holland would still look to re-sign Athanasiou but it would be at a reduced rate.
Re-signing Brown could cost the Senators around $4 million
Hailey Salvian of The Athletic: Ottawa Senators pending RFA forward Connor Brown set career highs with 23 assists and 43 points. He was second in team scoring.
He is arbitration-eligible and a year away from unrestricted free agency. An extension for Brown could cost the Senators around $4 million per year.
That could be a lot (on say a four-year deal) for someone who could be a bottom-six player once the Senators’ top young prospects are ready. The Sens will also need to re-sign some of those young prospects.
Re-signing Brown should still be a priority for the Senators, and Brown’s agent Jeff Jackson has said the Sens are interested in a multi-year deal.