Despite not clearing promised cap space, the Vancouver Canucks free agent signings are coming. At this point, the management team is going to have to think small – or different.
Unlikely Canucks Free Agent Signings
As of this writing – which might be out of date by the time it’s published – the team has just over $2 million in cap space. Unless they run up to the maximum cap hit again, which they might have to. If that’s the case, then they can apply some of Micheal Ferland‘s $3.5 million long-term injured reserve. So we’ll assume around $6 million is available to use. We’re going by rule of thumb* here, so let’s not get too hung up with accuracy.
Needful Things
There have been howls about how “bringing back the core” means no changes will happen. It doesn’t, of course. What most fans think of as “the core” wasn’t actually the problem in Vancouver. Their top-six was fine, as was the goaltending and, uh, one defenceman, anyway. The real issue is that to improve the team in any noticeable way, something valuable has to go. Hence all the insistence about getting a J.T. Miller trade done. But we don’t know that such a trade is happening, so we’re going to assume that it isn’t. Not yet, anyway.
So leaving the good trade assets alone, where do the Canucks need the most help? What have they talked about improving? Here are a few less expected Canucks free agent targets.
Depth Centre
Jason Dickinson was a decent risk to take. Heck, at the time he hardly seemed a risk at all. And while he could be coming back for the start of 2022-23, it’s easy to see his first year was a disaster. There was a flash of hope at the end of the 2021-22 season, scoring two goals and five points in 13 April games. Not too miserable for a fourth-line centre, but that nearly doubled his production from the other 49 games he played that season. Plus he wasn’t the fourth-line centre. Plus his cap hit is $2.65 million.
But Dickinson is signed and we’re going to assume he’s in the bottom six for 2022-23. There are a few absences among the forwards from last year, notably Juho Lammikko, Alex Chiasson, and Matthew Highmore. Justin Dowling doesn’t seem to be in Vancouver’s plans beyond an extra forward. Linus Karlsson is going to get a shot as a right-handed centre and William Lockwood is a virtual lock at one wing. Andrei Kuzmenko is opening the season with the big club as well. Given this configuration, there are really only a couple spots left to play for.
The Options
Sam Steel
The Anaheim Ducks have decided to let Sam Steel walk despite his excellent name. Seriously, “STEEL” has to be one of the most popular jersey sales options for fans, doesn’t it? The former first-round pick – 30th overall in 2016 – hasn’t produced the numbers hoped. In 197 regular-season NHL games, he’s scored 24 times and has 64 points. Weirdly enough, Steel scored exactly six goals in each of his four seasons, no matter how many games he played.
He isn’t bringing the “grit” that the team wants, but he is a fast skater and can create plays. If the Canucks want a third line that is more of a scoring threat, Steel should be in consideration. He’s 24 years old and can play left wing as well as higher in the lineup if needed. He’s left-handed, so not a perfect match there, but he also cost $875,000 last year. That’s far below the amount that can be buried in the AHL if he doesn’t work out.
Speed, low cost, relatively young. And six goals, guaranteed!
Adam Gaudette
Who says you can’t go home again? Adam Gaudette had his best offensive production by miles while in Vancouver with 12 goals and 33 points playing 59 games back in 2019-20. He’s had somewhat more humbling numbers since, playing partial seasons with both the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks. He has offensive savvy and still loves scoring, always looking for a way to get to the net. That can come at a cost to his defence, and he still kinda sucks at faceoffs, but he is right-handed, which Vancouver is desperate for.
Gaudette isn’t particularly fast, unlike Steel, but he has good quickness. He can get the puck up the ice and into scoring position pretty well. He thinks ahead when on the attack, and – like Steel – can move up in the lineup if needed. Plus he’s so dang fun to watch when he scores.
The Eternal Gagner
Sam Gagner could do with another go-around in Vancouver, couldn’t he? Sure, he was unceremoniously dumped mid-contract last time he was in town, but to be fair, the same team signed him to a bunch more than they should have. Gagner’s taken on a mentor’s role with the Detroit Red Wings, lauded for his good attitude and hard work. He was a major contributor to the penalty kill, shoots the puck without reservation, is right-handed, and got 31 points last season while averaging less than 14 minutes a night.
Gagner was drafted as a small, fast scorer, and while that never panned out as hoped he still built a 15-year career. He could have quit at any time but instead changed his game to stay in the game. That’s the kind of guy you want to have around.
Right Side Defenceman
Questions abound on Vancouver’s right-side defence. There are plenty of names piled up there, but one of the primary Canucks free agent targets if they can’t swing a trade. With a long, LONG history of looking for good, right-side defencemen, they know there’s no chance of finding a top-pair guy in free agency.
Michael Stone
If you missed Michael Stone last season, it’s for good reason. He only played 11 NHL games in 2021-22. In fact, he’s only played 75 NHL games in the past four seasons combined. A torn ACL combined with COVID-shortened years and a blood clot issue savaged a once-promising career as an offensive defenceman. He’s shifted his focus to being better on defence and a good team player with the Calgary Flames. He has a physical game, too, using his 6’3″ physique to remind forwards there’s a price to pay to come into his zone.
He has another virtue: an absolute hammer of a shot. This thing is a beast unleashed, and one that coaches should tell defenders not to block. If he has time to set it up it does damage. in the 11 regular-season games last year, he scored twice with four assists. Add his nine playoff games with two goals and two more assists and that’s a credible offensive output.
What he is not is fast. At all. While speed was never his selling point, the last few years have taken their toll. On the other hand, if the Canucks really are dedicated to putting speed on the left side with Jack Rathbone, there are worse possible matches.
P.K. Subban
He’s free! He’s free! Subban is – well, he’ll need to get paid something, but it’s worth asking if P.K. Subban wants to take a big discount to make a bounceback season. Of course, any contract he takes will be at a discount because no team is paying him $9 million this year. Would he be interested in taking $1 million to shake off last season’s controversies? And the burden of not living up to a massive deal that frankly anyone in their right mind would sign? Can’t hurt to ask!
Subban skates well enough to be a middle-pair defenceman. He plays a heavy game despite his 6′ size, throwing opponents off their stride. He was thought on the power-play but kept his time playing short-handed. His shot has fallen from a power to merely good – which still beats most of the Canucks’ current options.
Veteran Goalie
With Michael DiPietro and Arturs Silovs splitting duties in Abbotsford – probably – the Canucks want to add a veteran to act as a safety valve. An injury with the big club bringing up a younger player is fine, so long as it’s not for too long. As happened with DiPietro on the Taxi Squad, nothing but practice can hamper development. Prospects need games.
The tricky part is that Spencer Martin has earned his backup duties in Vancouver. He’s also dirt-cheap, coming in at nearly the league minimum. The team definitely wants him to stay put. But if he stays there, and two prospects are in Abbotsford, how does a team convince an NHL-quality goaltender to join the system?
Currently, the Canucks don’t have an ECHL affiliate and haven’t since they parted from Kalamazoo after the 2019-20 season. There are other options, including reaching an agreement with other NHL clubs, sending a player to an unaffiliated team, or reaching a deal with a new team. Both the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and the Fort Wayne Komets are without for the 2022-23 season. Along with the Canucks free agent signings, an ECHL affiliate one wouldn’t hurt.
Garret Sparks
Garret Sparks is reliable. And determined. When he found himself out of the league after playing one NHL game in 2019-20, Sparks signed on with the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears for 2020-21. The seventh-round pick in 2011 – 190th overall – clawed his way back to the NHL through sheer force of will, earning a deal in the AHL that season and to the NHL the year after. That sounds good.
If neither AHL goalie gets moved, the Canucks can still sell a veteran like Sparks on the idea that they’ll stay there. Sparks survived riding busses in “The Coast” and knows how. Let him know that the NHL awaits his return as the first callup and he could well sign. The team showed last year they are willing to spend on their minor teams, giving one-way deals to several veteran AHLers. If they can do that once for a goalie in the ECHL, that should get them NHL-capable depth.
In Conclusion
As if. There are going to be other deals that throw all these predictions into the bin, but one or two may still come out of it. It’s not a bad idea for the team to look at cheaper players to improve, especially on their depth. They need it. And that is the best place to get depth players. For the most part, the Canucks free agent deals have an atrocious history when they try to add stars. So they shouldn’t. Use free agency, yes; use it to add depth and role players.
The risks are lower, the rewards are higher, and you can pick and choose from more available than stars.
*”Round ones are the best!”**
**This may not be an accurate quote.
P.K. Subban has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for the 2021-22 season 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ipWmi3HmBa
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 8, 2022
