August 11th, 2023
Alex Rickman
In a move celebrated by bored sportswriters across the Lower Mainland, the Canucks have announced the signing of Swiss centre Pius Suter to a 2-year, $1.6M AAV contract.
Reports have been coming out over the last few days that the Canucks weren’t done making moves in free agency, with Suter and Maxime Comtois being among the names most heavily linked to a move to the Pacific Northwest, so this move isn’t entirely coming out of the blue but does raise some questions regarding the Canucks current cap situation and what moves may have to be made before the start of the regular season to accommodate this and other potential moves.
Before any contracts are placed on LTIR, the Canucks are just shy of $5M over the salary cap. Should Tanner Pearson and Tucker Poolman go on LTIR before the start of the regular season, the Canucks would be cap compliant. However, they would still be incredibly tight to the cap, meaning that if they want to add any more players before the start of next season, a trade will have to be made to clear out cap space. With Comtois still available and the idea of a reunion with Ethan Bear once he’s recovered from his shoulder injury, and the front office wanting to push for the playoffs this year, I do believe that the Canucks will continue making moves as the offseason continues and into the start of the 2023-24 season. However, to facilitate those moves, something will need to happen soon with one of the Canucks bad contracts for them to have the freedom to keep improving the team.
So why exactly did the Canucks feel that Suter was the player that their limited resources should go toward signing? Suter has proven to be the reliable third-line centre that the Canucks have been in desperate need of in his time in the NHL so far, putting up no less than 14 goals in any of his 3 seasons in the league, split between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. Suter has also proven himself to be a reliable defensive forward and penalty killer, which should lend itself well to the vision that Rick Tocchet has for the Canucks and how he wants his team to play. Suter may not have the size that Tocchet wants his team to have, standing at 5’11 and weighing 175 lbs, but Suter’s responsible defensive play and willingness to go to the front of the net will be appreciated by the Canucks coaching staff.
By adding Pius Suter to their ranks, the Canucks now also have the freedom to decide whether they prefer to use new signing Teddy Blueger as a fourth-line centre or as a winger, be it on the third or fourth line. While he is an effective player, Blueger has never been much of a scorer at the NHL level, and always seemed more suited to a role as a fourth-line forward and penalty-killer. However, before Suter was signed, it appeared likely that the Canucks would be forced to bump Blueger up a line due to a lack of depth at the position. Now, Blueger can comfortably play wherever Rick Tocchet sees him fit to play, which will more than likely be on a new-look fourth line. Although with the new additions and rise of some young players, it’s unclear exactly how the Canucks will line up next season, the freedom to use players in more natural roles rather than forcing them higher up the lineup than they’re used to playing is always a good thing to have.
Now that the Canucks appear to have their centre core for next year sorted, who else could they look to add from the current crop of free agents? As previously stated, reports throughout the offseason have linked the Canucks to former Ducks forward Max Comtois. While the Canucks may not presently have the cap space to add him, should some cap space open up, especially if it comes by moving off a winger, it would come as no surprise to see Comtois end up in Vancouver. While Comtois has had some struggles over the past couple of seasons to regain the form that saw him score 16 goals and 33 points in just 55 games during the Covid shortened 2021 season, he is just 24 years of age so could be seen as a worthwhile reclamation project. This front office has shown an affinity for these kinds of moves in their time in Vancouver, bringing in players like Jack Studnicka, Travis Dermott, and Ethan Bear on these kinds of moves to varying levels of success, so a move for Comtois certainly would not be out of the ordinary for them.
Another move that has been discussed is a reunion with Ethan Bear, who the Canucks opted to not extend a qualifying offer to earlier this summer. Bear is expected to be out until at least December due to a shoulder injury suffered playing for Canada at the World Championship, which ultimately lead to the Canucks deciding he wouldn’t be worth the cap hit his qualifying offer would’ve required them to give him. With Bear now a UFA and likely unable to command the kind of money his qualifying offer would’ve seen him being paid, it appears the Canucks may revisit, and consider offering Bear a contract at some point during October or November if they think they need some help on the blue line. Bear played well and became something of a fan favourite during his short time in Vancouver, so a reunion would almost certainly be met well by the Canucks faithful.
With the season still over a month away, there’s plenty of time for more moves to be made to bolster the Canucks roster and help relieve some of the pressure of the cap crunch. For now, we can just be happy to see the addition of a solid centre like Suter to the Canucks ranks. Whether or not Suter or any of the additions the Canucks have made this summer will be enough to get the team into the playoffs remains to be seen, but it is refreshing after 8 years of Jim Benning to see a front office with some direction choosing to go for it with low-risk moves rather than by swinging for the fences every time.