Not even the grumpiest, most miserable Eeyore of a pessimist could have imagined this nightmarish October for the Vancouver Canucks.
Quinn Hughes, Travis Dermott and Tucker Poolman injured, sawing the team’s blue line in half? Check. Captain Bo Horvat, whose contract is about to expire, wonders aloud if the team will win again? Check. JT Miller, signed an eight-year, $56 million deal that pays him until he’s 37, saying he’s “irrelevant”? Check. Fans throw jerseys on the ice? Check.
Coach Bruce Boudreau, after Monday’s loss, dropped Vancouver to 0-5-2, wondering if the team was suffering from “fear of winning”? Check.
And perhaps most demoralizing of all: Hockey operations team president Jim Rutherford, appearing over the weekend on Hockey Night in Canada After Hoursstating that the team “could very well be rebuilding”.
The same team that played .649 hockey in the last 57 games of the season after Boudreau took over last year? The same team that brought KHL star Andrei Kuzmenko to North America and just signed Ilya Mikheyev as UFA on a four-year contract for a $4.75 million AAV? The same team that offered the Arizona Coyotes a future a year ago to face Oliver Ekman-Larsson for six years and signed Conor Garland to a five-year extension?
Oh dear. If the Canucks are serious about a rebuild, turning tide on a roster that’s clearly not built for the rebuild mode will prove extremely difficult.
If Vancouver can’t get back into the Pacific Division race, I can understand the motivation to rebuild, of course. The team’s chances in the playoffs have already diminished. And if you’re going to dive in, the Connor Bedard year is the best window to do so, so it’s not the worst idea to deliberately deplete your list via seller swaps. But could that even happen? If the Canucks have no choice but to rebuild or retool, could their expensive, now-winning roster even be converted to a tanker?
In my opinion, they have a few easy escape hatches and several more that will be much harder to trigger. Here’s a tiered breakdown of how a semi-plausible Canucks rebuild or retooling could play out this season.
Hassle-free option
Trade Bo Horvat. It’s easy. When your captain expresses a lot of negativity in the press, is a UFA pending, and hasn’t progressed with you on a contract extension, that’s not exactly a morale booster. Looks like Horvat is nearing the end of his time in Vancouver. And, my God, could he ever fetch GM Patrik Allvin a nice comeback. With Horvat’s mix of play in all situations, goalscoring and playing prowess, he would be an extremely popular rental piece for a contender. He would easily command a first-round pick and a quality prospect in a trade.
Realistic option
Trade Tyler Myers. He has two years left at a $6 million AAV, so the acquisition team would probably want to keep Vancouver’s salary, but it shouldn’t be that hard to find a market for an experienced, top-four defender. , right-handed. A competitor could commit to it for a season and a half. He will be 34 at the end of his contract. He does, however, have a roster of 10 no-trade teams.
plausible option
Trade Brock Boeser. It would be a shame after the two sides worked out a three-year extension last offseason by paying Boeser $6.65 million a year. But Boeser has been so injury-prone during his career that he hasn’t even hit the 30-goal mark since his debut in 2016-17. At the same time, he’s only 25 and his sheer marksmanship is undeniable, so he could still be a worthwhile medium-term investment, and the two years remaining on his contract means the market for him shouldn’t just consist of the top contenders for the Cup. Boeser’s contract also has no movement restrictions until July 1, 2024, when a 10-team no-trade slate comes into effect.
Long term options
Trade Conor Garland. Wholesome surprise scratching aside, Garland has a feisty, heart and soul skill set that should please any competitor. The contract is still pretty fresh though. This is year 2 of a five-year deal carrying an AAV of $4.95 million. It doesn’t look like a contract that you agree to take during the season. It would make more sense to acquire Garland on an off-season hockey trade where you send similar money and call Vancouver.
Trade Tanner Pearson. He’s a proven top-nine winger with a Stanley Cup ring. He could return a mid-round pick as added depth at the trade deadline. But he has two seasons left at a $3.25 million AAV thanks to an ill-advised deal the day before general manager Jim Benning handed him over. The Canucks would almost certainly have to eat a salary for a deal with Pearson to materialize. He also has a slate of seven untraded teams.
Late Bruce Boudreau. You can’t do the “fire the coach to revive the room” trick twice in less than a calendar year… can you? As a general rule, any 0-5-2 bench boss should be looking over their shoulder, but removing Boudreau would be deviously complicated. That would mean the Canucks are pay three coaches between Travis Green, Boudreau and the replacement. It would be painful. Since Boudreau isn’t under contract for next season anyway, it makes more sense to weather the storm with him.
Options Hail Mary
Acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The good news? If you did after this summer, you wouldn’t feel the pain right away. Per capfriendly, the first year of an “OEL” buyout would only carry a cap of $146,667. But it would rise to $2,346,667 in year two, then two painful years to $4,766,967, and it would total $20,533,336 over 10 years. Ouch. The deal isn’t quite redemption proof, but it’s close.
Trade JT Miller. It would be unprecedented (I think?) to move Miller before his seven-year extension kicks in. There’s no way the Canucks will keep their salary, so you’ll have to convince the acquisition team that it was basically “signing” Miller as a UFA. . Considering he hasn’t finished his first years yet and would have easily ordered seven years at an $8 million AAV on the open market next summer, maybe the Canucks would sell a team on it. . It would be a challenge to a deal that somehow aged badly before it even started.
_____
Think you know the sport? PointsBet Canada is live in Ontario!
Recently by Matt Larkin
#Vancouver #Canucks #reconstruction #Daily #facetoface