With the recent contract renewals of Luca Sbisa (3 years, $3.6M per) and Derek Dorsett (4 years, $2.65M per), it seems cap space will be hard to come by in the near future for Jim Benning and company. Ryan Miller is still under contract for another two years, while Radim Vrbata has another year remaining on his $5M per contract. This leaves much speculation to be that Shawn Matthias is going to be testing the free agent markets, as he potted 17 goals during the regular season and will be looking for a contract that the Canucks simply cannot afford to give him. Other players that could be on their way out include Yannick Weber and Brad Richardson, both of which enter the summer without a contract extension for next season and possibly seeking more money this time around.
As many Canucks fans learned with the Roberto Luongo contract situation, some contracts simply cannot be moved. This goes for Ryan Miller, who the Canucks would probably like to get off their payroll after a mediocre season where Eddie Lack arguably stole the #1 role down the stretch. Not to mention, Miller's performance in the limited action in the playoffs against the Flames doesn't give him much of an argument to be given any advantage over Lack to start the 2015-16 campaign. If the Canucks can manage to move Miller, they should definitely explore the option. This would leave Eddie Lack as the #1, and while he might not be as polished as other starting goalies around the league, his cap hit is just $1.3M next season, $4.7M less than Miller's cap hit next season. That's $4.7M the Canucks can excercise for a much needed Top-6 forward or Top-4 defenceman in the free agent pool.
It's hard to argue that the two Canucks who got burned the most down the stretch was the defensive pair of Kevin Bieksa and Luca Sbisa. Shift after shift they were burned by the speed and forecheck of the Flames, and head coach Willie Desjardins kept the pair together, leaving myself and (hopefully) other Canucks' fans baffled. While it appears Sbisa won't be going anywhere anytime soon, Kevin Bieksa is heading into the final year of his contract with a much more reasonable cap hit of $2.5M, opposed to his cap hit this year, $4M. If the Canucks can move Bieksa for a Top-75 draft pick or the equivalent value, the Canucks should look into it. Bieksa has been nothing but dead weight for the majority of the 2014-15 season and he's filling a role that a guy like Frankie Corrado could slot into for next season with ease. Zack Kassian is another player who didn't see much ice time this season and continues to see his stock drop season after season. At just 24 years of age, his $2M cap hit and physicality should intrigue GM's around the league and the Canucks should at least listen to offers for the under-achieving Kassian who came across for Cody Hodgson back in 2012 in a trade that (to this point) has been a major dud for both teams involved.
It's a pipedream, but if the Canucks part ways with Miller, Higgins, Bieksa and let Matthias walk, the Canucks would free up a total of $11 million to work with in the offseason with no Canucks expected to get a very significant raise for next season aside from Chris Tanev and Yannick Weber (he's a bit of a wild card with his production late in the year). Even if the Canucks lock up Tanev for a $4.5M per contract, that still leaves $9.5M to acquire talent from elsewhere next season, and with Jake Virtanen looking like he could possibly slot into the Canucks line-up alongside Hunter Shinkaruk and Frankie Corrado, some ELC's in the line-up for next season will give the Canucks more cap room to fill out their top two lines with more talent.
It's pure speculation at this point, but if the Canucks can free themselves from the players listed above, the Canucks would be pursuing a solid back-up goaltender, Top-6 forward and Top-4 defenceman in this year's free agent frenzy, something that is accomplishable with the cap space the Canucks would have freed with the moves above. If the Canucks want to be a contender while the Sedin twins are still active, they're going to need a strong supporting cast around them, on both sides of the puck. Henrik and Daniel can still be effective despite their age, but they can't do it alone, and Radim Vrbata provided a nice solution for the 2014-15 campaign, but the Canucks desperately needed someone else to step up when the trio went cold and nobody answered the bell. Whether it's Virtanen, Shinkaruk or a free agent acquisition, the Canucks must bring in new life to the team if they want to get into the playoffs and win a series or two next season.
The good news for the Canucks is that Bo Horvat came into his own over the course of the season, and was arguably the best Canuck during the playoffs despite his limited ice time. If Horvat continues to progress the way he has this season, he could challenge Nick Bonino for a spot as the 2nd line center as early as next season as a strong defensive center with a nice offensive touch and maturity well beyond his years. It's also helpful that Nick Bonino is making 3rd line money through the 2017 season as well, leaving room to bring in someone on the wing alongside either Horvat or the Twins. Throw in Vrbata, and you have yourself a formidable Top-6 line-up that can go toe-to-toe with any NHL roster.
For the Vancouver Canucks, the 2015 offseason is a game of numbers. If the Canucks can rid themselves of some of their dead weight and inject new life into the top of the line-up, the Canucks can expect to continue to be a contending team in the ever-competitive Pacific Division. With the likes of Taylor Hall, Sam Bennett, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Connor McDavid on the way, the window for the Canucks to make a serious run at the cup isn't getting any bigger, and while the Canucks do have an impressive prospect pool for the first time in a while, they shouldn't sit and wait for these young teams to develop. Jim Benning and Trevor Linden have a lot of questions to answer, and a lot of work to do in the coming months.
