Canucks spend carefully but still make five additions to start free agency

VANCOUVER — General manager Patrik Allvin said Monday that “July 1 is a crazy day.” For the Vancouver Canucks, not so much.

On the National Hockey League’s most expensive and mistake-filled day, the Canucks spent their salary-cap space carefully on Day 1 of free agency and signed five players, headlined by strong, speedy, two-way winger Jake DeBrusk, to measured contracts.

The crazy part for Vancouver is that even in the alternate reality of free agency, the Canucks can’t escape their rivalry with the Boston Bruins.

DeBrusk arrives in Vancouver from the Bruins along with free-agent teammates Danton Heinen and Derek Forbort, while the Canucks’ two biggest free-agent departures saw Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov sign in Boston.

If this were an actual trade, the Bruins probably win. 

But the raid and counter-raid is really a five-players-for-two swap. With the Bruins paying $12.75-million annually for years to come on Lindholm and Zadorov, the Canucks signed DeBrusk (seven years, $38.5-million), Heinen (two years, $4.5 million) and Forbort (one year, $1.5 million) at a total cap charge of $9.25 million for next season.

And for the difference between the two tabs, Allvin was also able to sign fleet and physical checking winger Kiefer Sherwood (two years, $3 million) from the Nashville Predators and hulking defenceman Vincent Desharnais (two years, $4 million) from the Edmonton Oilers.

“I think July 1 is an interesting day, but it's also a scary day,” Allvin told reporters in an afternoon press conference at Rogers Arena. “And I think we were pretty good here today in terms of managing our money and getting, hopefully, good value out of the players we got.

“We felt that we needed to be a faster team in that transition game, and by adding Sherwood, Heinen and DeBrusk, they all can skate.

“You never know until you get (contracts) over the finish line. I think our staff did a really good job in conversations, but the priority as of this morning at nine o’clock was Jake DeBrusk, Heinen, Forbort and Sherwood. Those were our top priorities to get on the phone with right away.”

Successfully operating in their hockey-operations silo, the Canucks announced all four signings themselves in fairly rapid succession. The acquisition of Desharnais came a couple of hours later after Allvin and his staff made the decision to add another big defenceman rather than pursue one of the offensive wingers still on the market.

Allvin was satisfied. Head coach Rick Tocchet was probably close to elated.

All five players appear to fit the coach’s template for what a Canuck should be. 

The powerful DeBrusk averaged 24 goals per season over the last three years and in this spring’s playoffs demonstrated again his ability to elevate his game as intensity and physicality amplified. Heinen, a 28-year-old who grew up in Langley, B.C., and started in junior hockey with the Richmond Sockeyes, quietly scored 17 goals and 36 points for the Bruins last season while displaying his two-way smarts. And Sherwood, 29, a high-scorer in the minors, contributed 10 goals, 27 points and 234 hits for the Predators in his first full season in the NHL. Sherwood was a physical menace during Nashville’s first-round playoff loss to the Canucks in May. 

“I talked to Quinn here,” Allvin said, referring to Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, “and he was more excited about Sherwood than anyone. He said he pissed the whole team off there in the playoffs and played hard. (Quinn) was happy to get him here.”

As for the new defencemen, Forbort (6-4 and 216 pounds) and Desharnais (6-7, 226) are good penalty-killers who protect the front of their net and provide toughness from the third pairing.

“Absolutely, I'm very pleased with the identity of our team,” Allvin said. “And I think that also makes it easier to attract players to come in here. Obviously, the players talk and they love the environment. Every single player I talked to this morning, they were talking about the fans, the playoff games here, how loud it was and the excitement in the city and all that.”

It should help the transition that DeBrusk, Heinen and Forbort were teammates for the Bruins, who have similarities to the way the Canucks play under Tocchet.

“Yeah, it definitely helps,” Forbort said in a media Zoom call. “I already texted J.D. and said: ‘Where are you buying us a house?’ So we’ll see what he comes up with.”

DeBrusk is familiar with Vancouver. He grew up in Edmonton, and his dad, Louie, is a broadcast analyst who works a lot of Canucks games nationally for Sportsnet.

“I like the way they play,” DeBrusk said. “They’re a hard team to play against. They’re similar in that way (to Boston). The biggest thing for me is looking at the centremen (in Vancouver), I think that’s a great opportunity for me to come in and excel. Being from Edmonton, I’ve also watched Vancouver over the years so I understand what the fan base is like. It will be really cool to see that in person. 

“There’s a lot of things that really came into it. Seeing the steps they took this last year, going to Game 7 (of the playoffs’ second round), I’ve been there. I understand how that goes. I want to come and help and try to change the outcome.”

Allvin said the Canucks plan to partner DeBrusk with centre Elias Pettersson to start next season.

He also said Heinen gave Vancouver a discount to play in his hometown.

“It does mean a lot, you know, to play close to home,” Heinen told reporters. “Being local, being from around here, growing up watching the team, it's obviously a place I wanted to play one day. And then. . . the (Canucks) culture, the people, that's something they're growing here that I wanted to be a part of.”

Heinen said his favourite Canuck memory as a fan was being inside Rogers Arena in 2011 when Alex Burrows slayed the dragon by scoring in overtime of Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks to launch Vancouver’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. Of course, the Bruins beat the Canucks in the final.

“I remember being at that game,” he said. “That was an exciting time for the organization and the fan base. . . going on that run. Unfortunately, it didn't end the way everybody wanted. But that run is a good memory and that's something, hopefully, we can do — go on a run like that.”

ICE CHIPS — The Canucks also signed experienced minor-league goalie Jiri Patera and centre Nathan Smith to two-way deals that will allow them to compete for NHL spots at training camp. . . Allvin still has about $1.5 million of available cap space and an interesting choice: use it to add another depth piece at some point, or enlarge it enough to remove indefinitely-injured defenceman Tucker Poolman’s $2.5-million salary from LTIR, which would give Vancouver flexibility for short-term callups from their farm team in Abbotsford and more options at next season’s trade deadline. . . The Canucks opened their four-day summer development camp on Monday. The top prospect participating is Boston University defenceman and 2023 11^th-overall draft pick Tom Willander.