Vanek starting to look real attractive come trade deadline
As vet rides waves of uncertainty with Canucks, a rival GM might soon take the plunge
There’s the first NHL trade deadline wave and then there’s the second.
Thomas Vanek won’t be a tsunami that washes over general managers on Feb. 26. The Vancouver Canucks winger, a pending free agent, is expected to be a second-wave acquisition when teams either miss on a targeted player or circle back because a division rival just landed a big fish.
It may affect the return on a player who has been everything the Canucks could have hoped for. Desperate GMs are good to deal with at the deadline — satisfied ones aren’t.
There’s a wavering level of interest in the 34-year-old Vanek. He could provide depth to bona fide contenders like the Nashville Predators or the Boston Bruins or play a bigger role for those trying to get to the post-season like the Anaheim Ducks or the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Then again, teams could target younger UFA wingers.
Evander Kane (26), Patrick Maroon (29) and Michael Grabner (30) are attractive — especially if they’re long-term contractual fits, not just rentals — but that often means a big-buck commitment for players with no playoff pedigree. The mercurial Kane is coming off an expiring deal that has a US$5.25-million salary-cap hit and has yet to experience the post-season. There’s also Mike Hoffman (28), who with two years left on his deal at US$5.187 million brings cost certainly, but no guarantee of success.
Vanek’s 38 points are more than Kane, Hoffman, Maroon and Grabner, and only Grabner has scored more goals than Vanek with 21. Vanek also has more points than pending free agent Rick Nash, whose cap hit this season is US$7.8 million for just 27 points.
Vanek has exceeded expectations on a one-year roll of the dice that cost but US$2 million and led to productivity on the ice, leadership off it and a voice of reason in the room. He also has 34 career playoff points, including 20 goals, in 63 games. He’s big. He can stand his ground and his playmaking is often overshadowed by his heavy half-slapper and a deft touch at tipping pucks. What’s that worth?
“I don’t know what kind of value he’s going to have at the trade deadline,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Monday. “Teams will call in the next seven to 10 days if they’re interested in him.”
That’s because GMs often lose their minds at the deadline. One player can put them over the top and one big move by a rival could push
them over the edge. That’s when the price for Vanek could go up, rather than down, and a third-round pick could turn into a second-rounder.
“Maybe one team in a division loads up and it’s: ‘I’ve got to get somebody,’ ” Benning said. “There’s going to be a lot of wait-and-see.”
That said, the local interest in Vanek goes beyond the deadline. There is a possible scenario where the Canucks exact a reasonable return for the winger at the trade deadline and re-sign the Vienna native on July 1.
But it’s not that simple. Vanek gave up term and money to sign a Sept. 1 deal that made moving his wife and three sons here from Minnesota a moot point. There was no time with school starting and a short turnaround time to the start of
training camp. And as much as Vanek is keeping an open mind about his playing future, his representative is wary of how it could — or should — play out.
“Obviously, whatever we decide to do moving forward, we’re hoping it would be a more permanent situation where we’re not making a decision in September and it gives more time to make adjustments,” his agent Stephen Bartlett said Monday.
“Whatever criticisms you can find of Thomas, it’s not really because of his character. The only slight negative to this year was the fact that on a one-year deal, he didn’t feel like bringing his family, and that’s been hard on him because he’s a family guy.
“The first thing we have to get through is to see if he does or doesn’t
get traded. Even if he didn’t get traded, I’m not sure we would make an immediate decision even if there was an offer. We would take our time and just kind of weigh things.”
Those things are considerable. There’s always money and term and family. The uncertainty of the playing future of Henrik and Daniel Sedin is another. Vanek has lauded their professionalism and when asked whether he would return to what could be a less-competitive environment next fall, he was noncommital.
“Maybe,” he said. “(The Sedins) are still really good and they make a lot of plays. They make this team a lot better and you have to respect their (career) decision. We’ve seen where teams can turn it around quickly like New Jersey and it will definitely have
some weight in my decision.”
Bartlett said his client doesn’t need to be sold on the city or the direction the franchise is trying to chart. The Canucks must get younger and Vanek knows that. He also knows prime prospects might not be ready for prime time and even if they are, he has been a willing and effective mentor to the younger players, especially rookie Brock Boeser.
“He has really enjoyed his time in Vancouver and with the organization, teammates and the coach,” Bartlett said. “It’s all been very positive, but a lot of things could change, making sure some of the teammates you think are key are back, and those are the type of conversations I’ve had with him.”