FREE AGENT DEALS BREWING?
Canucks’ actions will determine path
Having cleared roughly $11 million in cap space for the upcoming season, the Canucks have the money to play with the big boys when the 2016 free agency period starts today.
Determined to turn a team that finished with the third-worst record in the NHL into a playoff contender, the Canucks will be trying to acquire one, or two, impact forwards. But how active should they be? What really is the best course of action for the Canucks in their current place on the organization’s life cycle?
Here are five different directions the Canucks could, or should, follow in free agency:
GO FOR IT
This has long been the favoured choice of Vancouver general manager Jim Benning.
The concept is straightforward. The Canucks try to sign the best free agent available, and if the first doesn’t work, they simply work their way down their free agent rankings board until one, or two, forwards agree to try to score goals for a living in the Lower Mainland.
Things were expected to start with offering a boatload of cash and a long term to Milan Lucic.
With Lucic having no interest in Vancouver, that same offer is expected to be presented to Loui Eriksson. Now, if Eriksson, like Lucic, goes elsewhere — say, Detroit — the Canucks would then make a significant offer to Andrew Ladd, Troy Brouwer and possibly Mikkel Boedker.
Along with acquiring one of the best available scorers, the “go for it” plan also calls for the Canucks to add a supplemental asset who would, theoretically, replace Alex Burrows in the lineup.
That could be Brouwer, or Darren Helm, as examples.
Although some will, rightfully, argue the Canucks should be focused on rebuilding, you can appreciate the appeal of the “go for it” plan.
The Sedins have two years left on their contracts. This could be it.
CONTINUE THE REBUILD
This would be the patient and prudent approach, and one many fans in the city are ready to accept.
The Canucks are not obligated to spend all of their cap money, and probably shouldn’t, considering they have currently the longest odds to win the Stanley Cup in the league.
Instead of diving headlong into the expensive free agency pool, the Canucks could instead nibble around the edges, focusing on some young players with upside who would be comparably cheaper.
There are youngish free agents who could conceivably help the Canucks and have the potential to grow into something that dwarfs their current value.
There is 25-year-old defenceman Patrick Wiercioch, who the Senators cast adrift. Wiercioch isn’t amazing, but he is a legitimate bottom-pairing, depth defenceman, and better than several Canucks blue-liners.
There is 25-year-old Brandon Pirri, who can play any forward position and has a goals-per-hour rate, at even strength, that is similar to Brandon Saad, Jarome Iginla and Gustav Nyquist in the past three years.
Two seasons ago, he had 22 goals in 49 games.
Finally, there’s 26-year-old centre Sam Gagner, who was shipped to Philadelphia last year and subsequently ended up in the minors. Before last season, when he collected just 16 points, Gagner has never put up fewer than 37.
FOLLOW THE SO-CALLED “SHANA-PLAN”
This is the sexiest option for the so-called draft-ists, and one that many smart people think is, well, smart. The Toronto Maple Leafs were widely applauded this past season for how they approached free agency, led by president Brendan Shanahan.
The team targeted low-risk free agents on short-term deals, and those players became assets for them in trades later in the season, helping them stockpile draft picks. Benning said he would love to go into a draft with enough picks to trade up and down the board. This is how you get it done.
It proved to be an effective strategy for a rebuilding team looking to collect, and stash, assets. There will be loads opportunities to employ this strategy with the current crop of free agents. The most obvious target for this plan would be Thomas Vanek, a player who the Sabres drafted when Jim Benning was Buffalo’s director of amateur scouting.
The team could conceivably sign Vanek to a low-risk deal, say one year at $4 million as an example, and if things don’t work out, he becomes a valuable asset at the trade deadline.
There are other possibilities, including Jiri Hudler, who has scored 47 goals in the past two years, and Lee Stempniak, who is 33 but coming off a 51-point season.
The free agent who may have the biggest upside here is offensive defenceman James Wisniewski, if healthy.
After missing last season with a torn ACL, the Hurricanes bought out the 32-year-old. He’s not only the type of blue-liner the Canucks could use on a shortterm deal, he would generate some interest at the deadline if things don’t work out for this team.
TRY TO RECREATE 2014-15
This is basically the “just try to get back to the playoffs” strategy.
It probably should begin with an offer to Dan Hamhuis, who, if he played on the Canucks’ third pairing instead of Luca Sbisa, could make the Canucks defence look pretty decent.
Does the team really need Sbisa in the lineup after the acquisition of Erik Gudbranson? Probably not. Sign Hamhuis to a two-year deal, let Jannik Hansen play with the twins and bring in one more decent forward and this group, if healthy, could possibly be good enough to squeeze into the playoffs.
It’s a plan with little risk and no big-time, long-term contract obligations that could turn into anchors next summer when the team is trying to re-sign Gudbranson, Ben Hutton, Jacob Markstrom and Bo Horvat.
The Canucks, of course, have shown zero interest in this plan or re-signing Hamhuis.
JUST TANK, BABY
For now, this would be going all in on the Nolan Patrick sweepstakes. Patrick is considered the final piece of this decade’s so-called Mount Rushmore of draft picks. Included in that are Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews and now Patrick.
He is the best 17-year-old in the world and is a potential franchise centre who should top next year’s draft.