The Canuck Way
Fansided

Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Jayson Megna, Prepare for Expansion Draft

By Janik Beichler

Nov 26, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Jayson Megna (46) controls the puck under pressure from Colorado Avalanche defenseman Francois Beauchemin (32) in the third period at the Pepsi Center. The Canucks won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Jayson Megna (46) controls the puck under pressure from Colorado Avalanche defenseman Francois Beauchemin (32) in the third period at the Pepsi Center. The Canucks won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forward Jayson Megna for the 2017-18 season, possibly in order to expose him at the upcoming expansion draft.

On Sunday, the Vancouver Canucks announced the signing of forward Jayson Megna to a new one-year, one-way contract. With that, Megna will be in Vancouver for at least another year.

The first reaction most fans had was, how do I put this delicately… rather negative. I don’t want to go as far as to say Megna has become a hated player in Vancouver this season, because he doesn’t deserve that. However, fans hate the way Megna was utilised, which is not his fault but head coach Willie Desjardins’ — Megna just took the opportunity and obviously didn’t complain.

But, the signing has a positive side effect, even though we might see another year of Megna in the top six. The Canucks need to meet the expansion draft requirements and, before the Megna extension, they hadn’t.

Let’s take a look at the official expansion draft rules:

"All Clubs must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the Expansion Draft:i) One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.ii) Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.iii) 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."

For a long time this season, we were worried the Canucks might have to expose one of Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund and Jannik Hansen. The Canucks fixed that problem, however, when they traded Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen at the trade deadline.

Unfortunately, that brought them a new problem, though. Assuming the Canucks protect Baertschi, Granlund, Brandon Sutter and their three forwards with no-movement clauses, Derek Dorsett was the only forward left who met the requirements. All other forwards are on expiring contracts and are set to become restricted or unrestricted free agents this summer.

Now, the Vegas Golden Knights only have to pick 20 players who are signed through the 2017-18 season, so Vancouver’s restricted free agents (RFA) aren’t safe. But they needed to sign at least one player they could expose — and that player is Megna.

What makes me wonder if this was part of the plan, though, is the fact that Reid Boucher also meets the requirements. He is set to become an RFA in the summer and seems to be someone the Canucks should re-sign as well.

Next: Gudbranson Decision Will Make or Break Benning's Summer

If they wait until after the expansion draft, which will be held from June 18 to June 20, they still have time to sign Boucher. That way, if Vegas opts to draft 10 RFAs from the other 29 clubs, they won’t be able to get Boucher as well. But, let’s be honest here, that scenario is extremely unlikely.

Chances are, the Canucks just wanted to re-sign Megna. Which I’m honestly okay with, as long as he plays bottom-six minutes as a depth option next season.

Home/Editorials