Vancouver Canucks: Which Free Agents Should be Re-Signed?
The Vancouver Canucks have a number of pending free agents — which of them should be re-signed?
With the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline passing the Vancouver Canucks by, fans will have to wait until the offseason to witness the roster changes they want to see.
One way or another, change will come – the Canucks have a sizeable list of players who will become free agents on July 1st. So, should any of them be signed to new contracts? And, since GM Jim Benning‘s roster decisions can sometimes baffle fans and pundits alike, will any of them be re-signed?
Here is a list of nine pending free agents — four restricted and five unrestricted — with whom Canucks management will have to make these decisions in the next few months.
For each player, we’ll try to answer both questions: should the player be re-signed, and is it likely that the general manager will re-sign them?
For some of the players, the answers to both questions are crystal clear; for other players, less so.
Next: Linden Vey
Linden Vey, RW:
Free Agent Status: Restricted
Should He Be Re-signed? No.
The good news for Linden Vey is that he has played well since being recalled from the Utica Comets to bolster the roster in the wake of numerous injuries — most recently to Brandon Sutter, Jannik Hansen, and now Henrik Sedin.
The bad news for Vey is that this has come six months too late. With a healthy Sutter, the addition of Markus Granlund, and the continued development of Jared McCann, Vey will be a casualty of both the Canucks’ glut of centremen, and of his own inconsistent play.
The silver lining for Vey is that he has played well enough in his last few games that another NHL team could very well sign him as a depth player.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? Maybe.
Not so fast! If Vey continues his strong play to close out the season, he might convince Benning to sign him to another short-term, inexpensive contract. The GM, after all, did give up a second-round pick to acquire Vey.
Willie Desjardins seems to have regained a lot of trust in Vey, giving him first line and first powerplay duty in the absence of Henrik Sedin. And the “Medicine Hat Tiger connection” appears to be a real factor in Canucks decision making since Desjardins took over as head coach.
While Linden Vey is far from indispensable, he may do enough to convince the Canucks that he is still valuable enough to keep.
Next: Sven Baertschi
Sven Baertschi, LW:
Free Agent Status: Restricted
Should He Be Re-signed? Yes.
Despite some early struggles, Sven Baertschi seems to have established himself as a full-time NHL player. His 13 goals trail only Daniel Sedin and Jannik Hansen in team scoring.
Baertschi’s play has also been a key component in Bo Horvat‘s awakening in the second half of the season. Sven Baertschi has worked hard and made himself a key part of the Canucks’ lineup.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? Yes.
Sven Baertschi is a Jim Benning success story, and Jim will not — and should not — let Canucks fans forget it.
When Baertschi came over from the Calgary Flames his development had stagnated. While he was a talented playmaker, he too often found himself on the perimeter, and seemed far too reluctant to get his hands dirty in the corners or in front of the net.
In Vancouver, Baertschi was given a golden opportunity of being used in the top-6 forward group this season, night after night, even when his play did not merit it. He took a few months to truly find his game, but Baertschi is now a key part of the Canucks rebuild, and a reliable scoring threat.
Next: Emerson Etem
Emerson Etem, RW:
Free Agent Status: Restricted
Should He Be Re-signed? Maybe.
Emerson Etem brings speed, size and grit into a Vancouver line-up which could use healthy doses of each. He seems to be a good fit on the third or fourth lines, and seems to have good chemistry with other Canucks regulars, such as Burrows, Dorsett, and Granlund.
The move from the New York Rangers seems to have done him some good. He has played a similar number of games for both teams, yet he has nearly managed twice as many shots in Vancouver, and has contributed three goals.
Yet, at the same time, the Canucks seem to have a log-jam in the bottom six forward group. They’ve brought in some new bottom-six players in (Etem and Markus Granlund), some players have moved down to the bottom-six through lack of production (Alex Burrows, Radim Vrbata), and some youngers players are being eased into the lineup (Brendan Gaunce, Jared McCann).
The Canucks cannot keep all these players on the roster, and Etem, while a very useful player, may be the odd man out.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? Yes.
Having just acquired him, and given that Etem has been playing fairly well (coach Willie Desjardins trusts him enough to play him on the top line in absence of Hansen), Benning will likely keep Etem and move other bottom-six players.
Jared McCann, for example, will be AHL eligible next year and could benefit with a full-time job in a professional league. Burrows carries a $4.5 Million cap hit, and might be a candidate for a buyout.
Etem is a valuable depth player, and seems like a perfect fit for a Benning hockey club. He’ll stay, and the Canucks GM will break up the log-jam without letting Etem leave.
Next: Markus Granlund
Markus Granlund, C:
Free Agent Status: Restricted
Should He Be Re-signed? Yes.
Markus Granlund was the Canucks’ reward for trading away a promising young prospect in Hunter Shinkaruk. Granlund has shown his worth killing penalties and being a serviceable checking player.
He has not put up points — just 1 assist in 6 games since joining the Canucks — but he does have an even plus/minus on a team which is 2-4 and has been outscored 15-20 in that time.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? Yes.
While Jim Benning’s decision to trade away Hunter Shinkaruk in return for Markus Granlund may have come as a surprise, it is making more and more sense in retrospect.
If Canucks management were skeptical about Shinkaruk become a contributor to this team, there was no sense in keeping him longer than necessary; far better to trade him while his value remained high.
Granlund joined the Canucks at the same time Brandon Sutter was set to return from injury, and initially it did not seem that Granlund filled any hole in the lineup. But the departure of Adam Cracknell and probable departure of Linden Vey have created a perfect slot for Granlund as a fourth line center next season.
Next: Radim Vrbata
Radim Vrbata, RW:
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
Should He Be Re-signed? No.
Radim Vrbata is counting down the days until July 1st. His 31-goal season last year is a distant memory. He is a minus-32 this season and has played in every conceivable line combination except those containing Swedish twins.
As long as Vrbata, the only pure NHL sniper on this Canucks team, does not play with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, the best playmakers on the team, then he is of little use.
When the Canucks’ season wraps up, Vrbata should catch the first flight out of town, and take his $5 Million cap hit with him.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? No.
Vrbata was signed as a scoring stopgap in the top-six. He served that purpose admirably for most of his time in Vancouver, but younger, cheaper players have taken over that role, namely Sven Baertschi, Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanen and Jannik Hansen.
Vrbata has been bouncing around the lineup ever since, and can’t seem to buy a goal on most nights. The Canucks and Vrbata himself are ready to move on.
Next: Brandon Prust
Brandon Prust, F:
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
Should He Be Re-signed? Hell, no.
Brandon Prust was supposed to be a player that would protect the likes of Jake Virtanen. Instead, he became the dead weight taking up Virtanen’s spot on the Canucks roster.
To put it frankly, Prust contributes nothing of value to this team. Canucks management should not concern themselves with who will drop the gloves next season – Derek Dorsett leads the league in penalty minutes, and has 10 fighting majors. Nor do they need Prust for as an “energy” player – Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, Jake Virtanen, and Emerson Etem already provide that element.
Prust is neither young nor fast, does not score goals and does little to prevent them.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? No.
To start the year, Benning thought highly enough of Brandon Prust that he would give up Zach Kassian to acquire him. A few months later, Benning was willing (hoping?) to have him claimed on waivers, so long as he was off the Canucks’ roster.
While Benning is decidedly old-school in his approach to an NHL roster and does favour employing enforcer types like Prust, Benning has clearly turned the page on this particular player. Prust may get another chance in the NHL, but it will not be for Jim Benning’s Canucks.
Next: Dan Hamhuis
Dan Hamhuis, D:
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
Should He Be Re-signed? Absolutely, yes.
Once Dan Hamhuis was not traded at the deadline, it made it imperative that the Canucks sign him again.
With this season’s defense being subpar on many nights, and next season’s defense shaping up to be even younger, Hamhuis’ presence in this lineup is vital.
The Canucks will need to lean on Hamhuis once again to provide reliable minutes on the 2nd pairing and to provide a veteran leader amongst a D-corps that, outside of Alex Edler and Chris Tanev, lacks significant NHL experience.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? Maybe.
Unfortunately, the Hamhuis situation still lacks clarity. After the trade deadline passed, Jim Benning stated that the Canucks “might” try to re-sign him. “Might” – meaning they might not.
There have been no contract talks between the team and Hamhuis’ agent at all this season. Hamhuis likes Vancouver and wishes to stay, but how much money will the Canucks ask him to sacrifice in order to do so?
If Jim Benning allows Hamhuis to walk, perhaps he can sign a similar player in free agency or orchestrate a trade. But, there is a reason Hamhuis and Kris Russell attracted so much attention at the Trade Deadline: top-4 NHL defensemen come at a premium, and don’t get moved very often.
If Benning cannot or will not sign Hamhuis, the Canucks might not be able to replace him in the short term. That could pose a serious problem next season, so management should do everything in their power to get Hamhuis under contract as quickly as possible.
Next: Matt Bartkowski
Matt Bartkowski, D:
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
Should He Be Re-signed? No.
Matt Bartkowski’s play has been much-maligned this year – and with good reason.
Bartkowski’s unforced errors in the defensive zone have too often turned a simple zone exit into a panicked melee as teammates who thought they had ample time for a line change now must scramble back to help or jump onto the bench while their replacement scrambles back in desperation.
While Bartkowski has fine skating ability and is more physical than, say, Tanev or Ben Hutton, he often makes poor decisions in his own end.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? Maybe.
The decision to re-sign Bartkowski partly hinges on what happens with Dan Hamhuis. If Hamhuis signs elsewhere, Jim Benning may feel he has no choice but to turn to Bartkowski for veteran leadership.
It partly hinges, too, on how much faith Benning has in Andrey Pedan, Alex Biega and the newly-signed, non-AHL-eligible Nikita Tryamkin.
Benning acquired Bartkowski last off-season specifically because of his aforementioned skating ability, which is certainly nothing to be scoffed at. Bartkowski is able and willing to carry the puck through the neutral zone, rather than simply handing it off to a forward at the first opportunity. It is his decision-making at either blueline which can be suspect.
Still, Bartkowski’s services, such as they are, may still be needed in Vancouver.
Next: Yannick Weber
Yannick Weber, D:
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
Should He Be Re-signed? No.
Yannick Weber found himself in a similar situation to Brandon Prust and Chris Higgins, going from a Canucks regular to the Utica Comets midway through the season. Unlike the other two, Weber did subsequently get chances for redemption with the big club due to a rash of injuries to the defense corps. Which speaks more to the Canucks’ current lack of depth on defense than it does to Weber’s utility.
There is one thing that Yannick Weber did better than any other Canucks defenseman last season, and that is shoot the puck on the powerplay. This year, however, Weber has managed only five assists and zero goals.
This may be partly explained by deployment: Weber was kept off the first powerplay unit for most of this season, and that is where many of his goals were scored last season. But was he ineffective offensively because he was not on the powerplay, or was he not on the powerplay because he was ineffective offensively?
Ultimately, neither answer is in Weber’s favour.
Will Benning Re-sign Him? No.
Alex Biega, Andrey Pedan, and now Nikita Tryamkin are all ready and able to replace him as a bottom pairing or depth defenseman. Weber has racked up a plus-minus of -17 in only 39 games this year.
Next: Injuries Update: Sutter closer than Edler
He was brought back this year to help with scoring from the back end and with the powerplay. He has done neither, and has not done much to prevent any goals, either.
There is no argument left for keeping him.