VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks aggressively diving into free agency this weekend would be like someone celebrating their escape from credit-card debt by shopping for a Rolex. Or any sliver of real estate in Vancouver.
The organization’s salary-cap shackles became excruciatingly tight when the pandemic jolted the National Hockey League into a recession, which was short-lived but followed by the escrow-driven suppression by players of the upper spending limit.
The Canucks’ most recent cycle of despair began right after the 2020 playoff “breakthrough” in the Edmonton bubble when the suddenly flattened salary cap contributed to a couple of disastrous decisions in free agency that sewered leadership, angered fans, began an extended period of crisis and led to regime change.
Foiled since he became general manager 17 months ago in his attempts to trade for salary-cap relief, general manager Patrik Allvin finally manufactured some financial breathing room two weeks ago with the spectacular, $19.3-million buyout of Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
With his stated need for a third-line centre and an obvious need for at least one second-pairing defenceman, Allvin enters free agency on Saturday with about $5.7 million in cash and actual cap space of $11.5 million when long-term injured reserve is projected.
But as Allvin told Sportsnet after the NHL Draft ended Thursday: “Just because we open up some cap space here. . . I want to make sure we spend the money wisely and not just going out and spending everything right away. We all know that it could be costly to be in the free agent market, but, you know, I still think we have some internal projects and hopefully some of the younger players will show us they’re ready to compete for spots, too.”
The GM’s statement reflects a restraint seldom shown by the Canucks in free agency since former general manager Jim Benning took over in 2014. In his first summer in charge, Allvin signed middle-six free-agent winger Ilya Mikheyev to a four-year, $19-million contract last July.
But can Allvin afford this weekend to do nothing to upgrade the lineup for next season when management is intent on taking the Canucks back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020 — and second time in nine seasons?
“If it doesn’t happen on July 1, that’s where I want to be careful to make sure that I have enough flexibility and have space to be part of trades that might appear after July 1,” Allvin said, continuing his theme of fiscal caution. “Again, that’s why I’m not going to just jump in on something. I’m a little bit hesitant there. As always with the free-agent market, you know the price is going to be high getting into those bidding wars with other teams. And, again, there is kind of a thin market out there. We’ll see what’s going to happen here.”
Vancouver has been linked in reports to free-agent defencemen Carson Soucy and Ian Cole, who was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Stanley Cup-winning teams built by Canucks president Jim Rutherford with help from Allvin.
Scott Mayfield and Connor Clifton are other free-agent defencemen who might help the Canucks without proving exorbitantly expensive. Of course, they could help other teams, too.
With training camp nearly three months away, the Canucks have a gaping hole in the middle of their blue line with the buyout of Ekman-Larsson, shoulder surgery to Ethan Bear and Friday’s decision to not qualify him, making Bear an unrestricted free agent, and uncertainty over Tyler Myers, Vancouver has been trying to unload Myers’ final contract year and $6-million cap hit for months.
Free-agent candidates who might fill the need for a third-line centre include Pius Suter, Noel Acciari and Nick Bjugstad.
As Allvin said, this is a thin free-agent market, so the Canucks may have to trade for any key players they need between now and the start of next season.
But the difficulty in making trades was illustrated again this week at the draft in Nashville by both the number and characteristics of the transactions. Most of the deals were contract dumps, with teams either adding a sweetener or retaining large chunks of salary to shed players.
Trying to reallocate resources, the Canucks have sought interest from other teams on forwards Brock Boeser and Conor Garland, whose trades would enable Allvin to upgrade the defence and strengthen centre ice.
But Wednesday’s trade of winger Reilly Smith to the Penguins by the Vegas Golden Knights helps explain why there has been little apparent traction on Boeser and Garland. Having just won a Stanley Cup in a leadership role with Vegas, Smith is a more accomplished and complete winger at this stage than either Canuck. Granted, Garland, 27, and Boeser, 26, are younger. But they also carry greater contract commitments than Smith, who has two years left at a $5-million cap hit. And he cost the Penguins only a third-round pick.
The Canucks would need more than that for Boeser.
“It definitely complicates things,” Allvin said of the trade environment. “I think teams looking at players with term, it makes it harder to move them.”
So, trades are difficult and free agents expensive. No wonder Allvin and the Canucks are treading carefully. As they should.