Vancouver Canucks Fix Expansion Issues, Extend Richard Bachman
The Vancouver Canucks announced the signing of AHL goaltender Richard Bachman to a one-year extension — a move that would have raised eyebrows under normal circumstances.
With Las Vegas joining the NHL in 2017, teams need to prepare for the upcoming expansion draft. The Vancouver Canucks managed to take care of business with a minor move: extending AHL goalie Richard Bachman.
The 28-year-old played in one game for the Canucks last season, marking the 43rd NHL contest of his career. Bachman spent the majority of his career in the AHL, though, and is not expected to see much more NHL time over the next years. But yet, Vancouver locked him up through the 2017-18 campaign, with the sole purpose being that he can be exposed in the expansion draft.
As the expansion draft rules read:
"Player Exposure RequirementsAll Clubs must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the Expansion Draft:One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. If the club elects to make a restricted free agent goaltender available in order to meet this requirement, that goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the club’s protected list."
Vancouver recently locked up Jacob Markstrom through the 2019-20 season, so he is obviously their starter of the near future and will be protected in the expansion draft. Behind that, they are planning with NCAA signings Thatcher Demko and Michael Garteig, who will automatically be protected as second-year professionals.
Ryan Miller is currently still No. 1 on the depth chart — though that is subject to change in the upcoming season — but his contract is unlikely to be extended. With that, Miller will be an unrestricted free agent in 2017 and can therefore not be exposed in the expansion draft.
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So, they had exactly two options: re-sign a goalie in the organization or sign a free agent to expose. Since the club isn’t planning with Miller in the future, it only makes sense to extend Bachman. The eighth-year professional will be fighting for the starting spot with Demko and Garteig this year, and shouldn’t be more than an AHL backup in 2017-18.
You might wonder why he would sign a contract likely knowing that he is only staying to be exposed at the expansion draft. But there is a simple reason for that. At this point in his career, his major motivation was likely to secure another contract and therefore another paycheck.
Bachman’s new deal is for one year on a two-way basis, as opposed to his current contract. His NHL salary will rise from $575,000 to $650,000, but he will take a pay cut if/when he is in the AHL. According to CapFriendly.com, Bachman will have an AHL salary of $450,000 in 2017-18. Still a very good deal for him.
Plus, as an AHL goalie, the chances of him being picked up by the Las Vegas franchise are close to zero.
Next: Goalies of the Future: Demko vs. Garteig
It also isn’t unlikely that Vancouver would have liked to keep Bachman around anyway. The only odd part is that being re-signed a year before the current contract expires is generally something only star players experience. That is what gives the Canucks’ likely motive away.
In other news, the Canucks re-signed restricted free agent Mike Zalewski. Unlike Bachman, Zalewski is simply signed as a depth player. He will play an important role for the Utica Comets once again, and might get a few more call-ups after giving his NHL debut in 2015-16.