Signing Thomas Vanek is a risk for the Vancouver Canucks but the risk is one worth taking at this point in time.
The Vancouver Canucks dipped their toes into the depleted free agent market by signing Thomas Vanek on the first day of September. Though Vanek was once famous for his impressive scoring abilities, he has now found a reputation as the guy who has played for six different teams in the past four years.
With Vancouver set to become his seventh team in five seasons, what can Vanek offer to this organization? Well, the majority of the fanbase seems to have turned its back against Vanek already, even before camp began.
As many know already, Vanek’s emergence simply means that there is one less spot available for a young forward. At this point, Jonathan Dahlen has no chance of making the NHL. Jake Virtanen is most likely headed back to the AHL. Does anyone even care about Griffen Molino at this point?
Continuing on, Anton Rodin‘s future just became that much more difficult. Reid Boucher has got to be frustrated about a player in Vanek who is just like him coming in on September 1st. Both have a great shot but struggle with skating.
Lastly, the youngsters who were the most likely to make the NHL now have one less ticket. I would not be surprised if Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin are frustrated right now.
Heck, imagine how Jo LaBate feels after almost making the team last year and doing well in Utica, scoring at nearly twice the rate he had the year before as a grinder.
Bottom line, the youth movement is a joke after signing Vanek if GM Jim Benning and the hockey ops department does not make any trades that significantly change up the NHL roster.
Excluding Boeser, the Canucks are at 15 NHL forwards. With Jayson Megna and Michael Chaput likely set to go on waivers, the team is looking at 13 NHL forwards.
If the Canucks are feeling generous up front and take two extra forwards, that means that there is one spot up for grabs.
While that spot is likely either Boeser’s or Goldobin’s, it may just be used for an extra defenseman or for Alex Biega who can fill in wherever the team needs him to. It would be a healthy scratch slot on most nights anyhow.
Especially considering this rumour, there may be no injection of youth into the Canucks forward ranks on opening night.
That being said, the early draftists may already point to this signing as one that will simply bump the Canucks from having the best odds of landing Rasmus Dahlin, this year’s draft-eligible superstar, to having the 15th-best odds of getting the favourable lottery balls.
If you think that Vanek is a better player than Boeser or Goldobin, that would most definitely be an argument worth making.
The Risk: There is no youth movement in Vancouver this season. The chances of landing a top pick in the 2018 draft may have gotten slimmer.
But not all is bad.
For all the youth that accumulated in Vancouver late last season with the arrivals of Goldobin, Boeser, Boucher and Molino, the Canucks were losing and losing without offering up much entertainment. Here’s where the positives of landing Vanek lies.
Vanek’s Offense will make Canucks Hockey Exciting
Trust me. Vanek will make Canucks hockey at least half-enjoyable this coming season.
The 33-year-old has multiple 30-goal seasons, including a couple of 40-goal seasons. He even has two seasons in which he scored at above a point-per-game pace. In his entire career, he has never had fewer than 40 points per season, regardless of injuries or ice time.
You can probably count on Vanek scoring at least 30 points and 15 goals this season even in Vancouver. This simply is enough to make Canucks hockey a little more entertaining next season.
Vanek’s style of play, the way he gets those points is even more enticing for Vancouver hockey fans.
Vanek, at 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, is one of the best at being the net-front presence on the powerplay.
The sheer number of goals that come from Vanek tipping the puck in front is impressive and that is thanks to his mix of size, experience and skill that Vancouver has lacked for so many years.
I mean if Vanek means no more Sutter on the powerplay, we can all forgive Benning, right?
It’s not that Vanek only scores by tipping pucks and jumping on loose rebounds in the crease. Though more than half of his goals have come from banging in rebounds and tipping pucks in the slot, Vanek shoots at an elite level as well.
Last but not least, Vanek is one of the best shootout men in the league. Career numbers show that he has been successful in the shootout 52.3 percent of the time and did not miss a single time last season. With both him and Sam Gagner in the fold now, expect some good shootout results in Vancouver this season.
Upside: He will revitalize SOMEONE
Thomas Vanek’s biggest downside is his skating. He isn’t insecure with his strides but is just simply not able to play the speedy game that today’s NHL is building towards.
The thing in common with all these players is that they have great skating abilities, led by none other than Larkin.
If Vanek can thrive playing with a skilled playmaking centre and a speedy winger, that could mean chances for many Canucks forwards who would otherwise not have much success. Perhaps Anton Rodin can play the other wing or perhaps Brandon Sutter can be a speedy winger on faceoff duties. Sam Gagner won’t be a bad option either.
Honestly, if adding Vanek can pull Rodin and Sutter together into a respectable forward trio, that would be a miracle in Van City.
Pro: Vanek has the exact same foot speed as the Sedins.
Con: Vanek has the exact same foot speed as the Sedins.
On the flip side, he could vitalize the Sedins, perhaps even better with Loui Eriksson. Eriksson and the Sedins all play at a slower tempo than how most of the younger players do these days and perhaps Vanek’s shooting prowess can revitalize one or two of these smart yet slow Swedes who can really pass the puck well.
If Boucher makes the team, he could learn a lot from watching of playing with Vanek as he also plays with a great emphasis on his shot and less excellence on his skating.
One way or another, Vanek is going to vitalize someone’s career.
Upside: Less spending on Bo Horvat
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing personal against Bo Horvat.
With the Vanek signing and the news of Alexander Wennberg (a great comparable to Horvat) signing at six years and $4.9 million per, the contract for RFA Horvat is getting smaller and smaller. As of today, the Canucks have just $5.375 million dollars in cap space.
Of course, the Canucks have to send down at least three players who figure into that cap situation so the Horvat deal could go beyond. But the Vanek signing only lowered the AAV for Horvat, which is a smart move on the part of the Benning management.
Upside: Trade deadline bait
The Canucks did well here with the contract for Vanek. It is just one year and manageable at two million dollars. Vanek has good size and for a team looking to add to their powerplay in the postseason, he would be a great add on trade deadline day.
The one caveat is that the Canucks may not be able to retain Vanek’s salary as they are holding onto two contracts already (Roberto Luongo and Jannik Hansen).
Selling Vanek for a mid-round pick, for a prospect or anything that increases future value would be a must unless the Canucks are somehow in a playoff position.
At the cost of one roster spot for one year that could be simply used to warm up the press box, the Canucks now have a player in Thomas Vanek who has the ability to make hockey games a bit more fascinating in Vancouver.
Vanek’s upside as a scorer with the potential to revitalize other forwards’ careers is undeniable and the contract is just perfect in that it can apply pressure on the Horvat contract and be an asset going forward as a trade deadline rental piece.
Though on the surface the Vanek addition may seem like a blow to the organization’s youth movement, it may seem like a huge win when the loaded Utica Comets team with all of Boeser, Dahlen, Goldobin, Virtanen and Molino backed by Thatcher Demko take a legitimate run at the Calder Cup in seven months.
*Stats courtesy of DobberSports and HockeyReference*
