Dont Start Now

Team: 2022-23 Vancouver Canucks

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 5, 2021

Published: Jun. 5, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

♫
If you don’t want to see me lifting the Stanley
If you wanna believe that free agency could stop me

Don’t show up, don’t come out
Don’t start signing players now
Walk away, you know how
Don’t start signing players now
♫

If the Vancouver Canucks handle their 2021 off-season properly, they are in a position to be major players in the 2022 off-season.

What do I mean by handling their 2021 off-season properly? Two key concepts:


(1) Avoid signing or trading for any players with large cap-hits or long-term. “Clear the deck” for the 2022 off-season should be the priority.
(2) Avoid buying out Loui Eriksson/Jay Beagle/Antoine Roussel at all costs. Take your medicine in 2021 and bury those contracts if you have to—but avoid at all costs spreading out those cap-hits any further than 2021.

By doing these steps, in combination with the Luongo cap recapture penalty ending. The Canucks will be able to re-sign their core players (Demko/Hughes/Pettersson) and still have about ~$20m left over in capspace going into the 2022-23 off-season.

This will allow the Canucks to make a major bid on any UFAs that may make it to free agency in 2022-23. Of course many of these would-be UFAs may re-sign with their current team—but potentially some of the players that could make it to UFA include: Seth Jones, Sasha Barkov, Colton Parayko, etc.


*****

This AGM assumes the Canucks make the following signings/actions during the 2021-22 off-season:
* Elias Pettersson bridged at 3y x 7.0m.
* Quinn Hughes bridged at 4y x 6.5m.
* Tyler Bozak signed as UFA at 2y x 3.0m.
* A forward is drafted with the #9 overall 2021 pick.

This AGM then has the following themes for the 2022-23 off-season:
* Sasha Barkov—if he makes it to UFA—is probably the most premier forward available since John Tavares. I assume that the bidding war for him will reach Tavares levels of spending. He represents a long-term upgrade at center ice with his perennial Selke level of play. Canucks go all-in on him.
* Canucks seek a RD to pair with Quinn Hughes. Manson represents that 2nd tier of defenseman (IE, not a Jones/Klingberg/Parayko).
* Rathbone bridged at around 3.0m.
* Boeser is extended mid-to-long term at his QO of 7.5m.
* 9th overall player establishes themselves as a regular roster player.
* 2022-23 would be an all-in year with Horvat and Miller only 1Y away from UFA. Assume that the team will lose at least one of them in 2023-24 free agency.