The Vancouver Canucks were in a position to contend for a Stanley Cup just a few short years ago, but now, the team are coming off a 32nd place finish, and with very few elite level talents, they’re at the start of what could be a very lengthy rebuild.
As a result, the team are looking to deal some of their veterans, with the likes of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk and Filip Hronek all drawing varying levels of interest around the National Hockey League. With upwards of $17 million in cap space, the team can sell off these pieces for assets, but they can also take on a bad contract or two to further stack assets, and now, they’ve been linked to one move in the latter category.
Frank Vatrano Could be a cap Dump in Vancouver
GettyFrank Vatrano of the Anaheim Ducks.
One team that needs to immediately dump salary is the Canucks division rival Anaheim Ducks, who just matched an offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, putting him on the books for $18 million AAV over the next five seasons. That is on top of both Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke likely wanting long-term deals, with the former an RFA right now, and as a result, the team with just $9 million in cap space needs to make some moves.
The most obvious place to look is veteran winger Frank Vatrano, who is owed $4.571 million a year over the next two seasons, with many believing if the Ducks attached an asset to him, a rebuilding team could take that deal. Now, according to reporter Rick Dhaliwal on the Oilers Now show, the team may have found that trade partner, as he reports that he was told the Ducks approached the Canucks about taking on that deal due to all of their salary cap space.
“Someone told me…the Ducks did call Vancouver to see if they’d take Frank Vatrano off their hands because they gotta free up money.”
In Dhaliwal’s report, no comment was made about the potential additions they would make to the deal to get Vancouver to take it on or whether or not the Canucks are interested, but if they can land an asset to take on the deal, it’s a no-brainer for Vancouver.
Should the Canucks Take on Frank Vatrano?
On paper, adding a 32-year-old that had just 5 goals and 9 points in 55 games a year ago isn’t always the wise move, but given the Canucks cap space and the fact that they won’t be competing for a playoff spot in 2026/27, this would be a perfect time to try and rehab his value to not only get an asset from the Ducks for taking him on, but potentially more assets for selling him if he can bounce back.
This is the exact type of move that Vancouver should be looking to make as they continue hoping to develop their young core of names like Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium and Tom Willander, and even if it doesn’t work out well enough for them to then flip Vatrano, if they can get a draft pick in return for taking him on, it would be a good move to make.
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