Canucks Being Aggressive

Team: 2021-22 Vancouver Canucks

Initial Creation Date: May 27, 2021

Published: Jun. 10, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

As the title suggests, the Canucks have come out to say that they will be aggressive this off season with using potential buyouts and listening to offers for the 9th overall pick. As detailed below, I have made a few changes that a couple beat writers in Vancouver have suggested as potential contracts, trades, and buyouts that the Canucks may look at.

- I started with the buyout of J. Virtanen, this seems like a forgone conclusion so there should be little to no push back on this move.

- I also added the cap overage for next years performance bonuses that will need to be taken into consideration.

- I extended both Hughes and Pettersson to bridge deals that pay them medium money in the short term to make this team competitive. The money may be more or less for either, same as the term, but this should be the ballpark that Vancouver tries to keep their young stars locked in at for the short term.

- The big trade on here is the one involving Tampa Bay. This trade was proposed on a local podcast that had me thinking it made sense for both teams involved. I like this trade for Vancouver as it rids the team of the LTIR that the Ferland contract carries, This can be a tool that a team like Tampa covets given their current cap situation. Gourde gives Van that top 6 forward that it desperately needed (especially after they let Toffoli walk). Van also receives a young top 6 RD to help grow with the young core which is desperately needed. Tampa receives the 9th overall pick which could be used as a premium trade asset to re-allocate cap space, or make the pick and add a top prospect to their farm system which will help them in a year or two when that player makes the team. Tampa also receives a gritty two-way defensive minded forward 50% retained to replace B. Goodrow if he walks in FA. I think this deal helps both teams in both the short and long terms, but it all hinges on that NTC that gourde carries.

- Van also trades Z. MacEwen to any team that will give him a chance...

- With the trade above adding additional salary to the team, Van uses a buyout on B. Holtby to clear the cap space. In lieu of the buyout, Van then signs J.Reimer to a 1 year deal to backstop Demko. This buyout will have to happen after the expansion draft so they can meet the exposure requirements.

- Winnipeg has some expansion issues and will have to expose some decent players, with Van having holes on the roster, they can't afford to trade all of their picks, they will need cheap young talent in the years to come, but trading a second rounder will entice the jets to at least consider the trade so they lose a player like J. Harkins instead of someone like Appleton or Demelo.

- Vancouver's Expansion Protection List
7F 3D 1G
E. Pettersson, B. Boeser, B. Horvat, J.T. Miller, Y. Gourde, T. Pearson, M. Appleton (Exposing K. Lind)
C. Foote, N. Schmidt, O.Juolevi (Exposing T. Myers which wont be picked by SEA)
T.Demko (Exposing B. Holtby which wont be picked by SEA)

Again, this is an aggressive take on the offseason that Vancouver says it will be entering, and the trades that send picks to other teams hurt, but this is a snapshot of what it would take to be competitive next year, as opposed to waiting until the following year or two to make a push.

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