The Vancouver Canucks don’t appear to be afraid to make some drastic moves this upcoming season. In particular, the organization doesn’t seem to be shy about taking the roster down to the studs.
By that, the idea is that the organization will be looking to trim as much payroll from its cap allocation in order to save as much money as it can.
That’s the sentiment that Patrick Johnson conveyed in The Province. In a July 17 piece, Johnson outlined the plan that Canucks management has for the roster moving forward.
“League sources have told Postmedia that Canucks ownership have said they would like to reduce player payroll by up to $20 million, and it bears noting that they are already down $12 million from the end of last season.”
The comment sounds like the organization wants to bring down their current cap allocation to about $65 million. PuckPedia reports that the Canucks have $86.1 million in current contracts. To get it down another $20 million, some serious moves will have to be made.
The three most immediate contracts that come to mind are Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Jake DeBrusk. The trio have been part of trade rumors for a while now, and could be the first to go.
But those are not the only big contracts on the books in Vancouver.
Canucks Will Be Looking to Dump Demko
Another major contract the Canucks would likely be looking to dump will be that of Thatcher Demko. The netminder is making $8.5 million over the next three seasons. Given how the Canucks are rebuilding, they don’t have the need for an expensive goalie.
In fact, the rebuilding squad can get by just fine with Kevin Lankinen and his $4.5 million cap hit, with potentially someone like Nikita Tolopilo backing him up.
The biggest hurdle here is, of course, Demko’s no-trade clause. That situation will make it almost impossible for Vancouver to move his contract. Unless he can prove that he’s healthy, it will be tough for the Canucks to move Demko anytime soon.
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What about Hronek?
One other major veteran contract is that of Filip Hronek. He’s very much a top-pairing defenseman, making a modest $7.25 million, by today’s standards.
Now, Hronek and the Canucks have said all the right things about wanting to remain together. But if the organization is serious about taking the roster to the studs, it makes no sense to pay Hronek that much to be on the club.
While there is a need for some veteran help to anchor the blue line, it remains to be seen if that’s what ownership has in mind.
If the Canucks dumped Pettersson, DeBrusk, Boeser, and Demko, the organization would save about $33 million. That would put them well below their intended target.
The only question that would remain is what the Canucks want to do with all that cap space. Likely, the team will be looking to weaponize it. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Vancouver take on a bad contract or two if it means getting some good sweetener for it.
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