June 30, 2023
Alex Rickman
With the draft out of the way, Canucks fans' attention has turned to July 1st, when we will see which free agents the Canucks bring in to bolster the roster. While free agency hasn't been the kindest to Vancouver in recent years, there is still value to be found on the market, and a few smart signings could help set the Canucks up to break out during the 2023-24 season. But who might be joining the Canucks for the upcoming season? Today, let's go over some of the players that the Canucks have been linked with and see how some of these players could fit in on the West Coast.
The Canucks bottom 6 is in need of a revamp, and a player like Blueger would be a great piece to help move it along. Coming off of a Stanley Cup victory with the Vegas Golden Knights, Blueger played an important defensive role for the Knights and his previous club, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and this game should fit the style that Rick Tocchet wants his team to play perfectly. Blueger's penalty killing is what makes him a valuable piece for a franchise to add, and he even came fourth in the league in short-handed goals during the 2020-21 season. Blueger's offensive play is nothing to write home about, with his career-high being a 9 G 28 P season in 2021-22, but as far as bottom-six forwards go, you can never go wrong with a player like Blueger. The Latvian centre likely wouldn't cost much more than $1-2M AAV, so adding a player like Teddy Blueger would be an intelligent value pickup for the Canucks front office.
After buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the Canucks are in need of help on the left side of their defence behind Quinn Hughes. Cole is no spring chicken, having turned 34 in February, but Cole is still a capable player in a physical, stay-at-home defenceman role. Cole has shown a tendency to take a lot of penalties over his NHL career, but his aggression would be a welcome sign on a Canucks team currently lacking in bite. Cole's offensive game leaves something to be desired, but if paired with a more offensively inclined right-handed partner, who the Canucks currently have on the roster in Filip Hronek, he could use his defensive abilities to great effect. Cole's last contract was a one-year, $3M deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning, so it can be assumed that his next contract would be of a somewhat similar nature to this. The Canucks should avoid spending top dollar on any player this offseason to keep cap space open to extend players like Elias Pettersson next summer, and Cole could be a good discount option for a year or two to bolster the Canucks blue line.
While Graves would be a pricier option than someone like Ian Cole, he would almost certainly be worth the extra money. Coming off an excellent season for the New Jersey Devils, putting up 26 points and finishing with a +/- of 34, Graves will certainly be looking for a raise from the three year, $3.16M contract he was on. However, with the tough defensive game Graves plays, the Canucks would be a far better team with him on their blue line than they would be without him. Graves does everything you could possibly want from a top 4 defensive defenceman, not shying away from physical play and leading the Devils in blocked shots with 152 this past season. If the Canucks can find a way to sign the 28-year-old for under $6M a year, Graves would be a fantastic player to add on the left side. However, if Graves is going to cost too much, the Canucks would be better off pursuing other, cheaper players.
After sending Schenn to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2023 3rd-round pick before the trade deadline this past season, the Canucks may look to reunite with their former player. In both of his stints with the Canucks, Schenn has provided Vancouver with a sturdy, mostly mistake-free defensive player who provides veteran leadership and protection for the Canucks stars, particularly Quinn Hughes. Before eventually opting to trade him before his contract expired this offseason, the Canucks did attempt to work out an extension with Schenn, and it's been said for a while now that if the Leafs are unable to extend him before he hits free agency, that the Canucks will attempt to bring him back to Vancouver. Schenn is an inexpensive but effective shutdown player on the right side, which the Canucks definitely need, so a reunion with Schenner would certainly be welcomed by Canuck fans.
Poaching a player from a rival team is always a good time, especially when that player can become a difference-maker for your team. Carson Soucy fits that bill perfectly, as the Seattle defenceman looks set to find a new home this summer, with Vancouver set to be in the running for his services. Soucy may end up serving as a happy medium between Ian Cole and Ryan Graves, as he is without a doubt a more valuable player at this point in his career than Cole but would most likely be available for less money than Graves is set to make. Much like Cole and Graves, Soucy is a defence-first kind of player whose stature allows him to provide some physicality that the Canucks are most definitely in need of. If Soucy can be signed for less money than Ryan Graves, I believe that he would make more sense to target to help the Canucks defence while maintaining cap space. However, if it comes down to Soucy and Graves for a similar price, I do believe that the Canucks should prioritize the better player, who in this case would be Ryan Graves.
It's rare to see a fanbase remain as connected to a former depth player as Canucks fans are with Troy Stecher, but it's easy to see why the Canucks faithful are still such big fans of Troy from Richmond. Stecher would likely cost somewhere around $1M AAV, which is a reasonable price for a bottom pairing defenceman, and when you watch the hustle he has every shift, you can see that he earns every dollar of his contract. A lifelong Canucks fan, Stecher truly gave every play his all when he was in Vancouver, and this work ethic made him a fan favourite in Vancouver. There have been rumours of the Canucks current front office wanting to bring Troy home, and I'm sure the vast majority of Canucks fans would welcome a reunion with the defenceman should he return as a depth option.
The Canucks were linked to Miles Wood in trade rumours a few times during the Jim Benning era, and now it appears that the Canucks new regime may as well have an interest in bringing the Devils winger to Rain City. Wood has been a solid bottom-six winger during his time in the Garden State, consistently averaging over ten goals a year while playing an aggressive, forechecking role. The Canucks need to play a more aggressive game in order to take the next step forward, and a winger like Wood fits the mould that the Canucks need very well. While the $3.2M Wood made in New Jersey last year would be a little rich for the Canucks blood, a contract with an AAV somewhere below $2.5M would see the Canucks get solid value for money while adding a player who fits the needs of a revamped Canucks forward core.
July 1st always comes with a few surprises, so a surprise signing may come out of left field, but as it stands, it wouldn't be surprising to see any of these players join the Canucks this summer. Personally, I believe that we will see Teddy Blueger, Ian Cole, and Troy Stecher end up in Vancouver, with Luke Schenn and Carson Soucy also being strong candidates to join the Canucks, but until the pen has hit the paper on their new contracts, no one can be exactly sure what will happen. All we can do now is sit back, relax, and watch the chaos unfold on another NHL free agency.