Vancouver Canucks: Projecting next contracts for the Sedins

With Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning and Daniel Sedin expressing a mutual interest to keep the twins here permanently, the two parties will have to reach a deal that’s fair for both sides.

The Vancouver Canucks have never shown an interest to move on from its two all-time scoring leaders in Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and nobody should expect this relationship to end until the twins retire.

That’s because general manager Jim Benning made it clear on Monday that the Canucks don’t plan to trade the Sedins, who are entering the last year of their contracts. Daniel also expressed his desire to be a Canuck for life:

So those who want the Canucks to trade the twins and see the team commit to a complete rebuild will have to dream on. Vancouver wants to stay loyal to the Sedins, who also want to finish out their respective careers here.

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But if Daniel and Henrik are to finish their careers out in Vancouver, Benning will have to convince them to take significant pay cuts.

Back in 2013, former general manager Mike Gillis gave them matching four-year deals worth $28 million. Way too much, and their combined $14 million cap hit is a reason why the Canucks would have problems moving the twins, if they tried.

According to CapFriendly, the Canucks only have $5.375 million in cap space, and Bo Horvat‘s extension is going to eat up almost all of that space.

Vancouver will also have to re-sign pending restricted free agents Markus Granlund, Sven Baerstchi and Troy Stecher — who could all make upwards of $3 million a season.

So if (and probably when), the Canucks and Sedins agree to sign another contract together, the twins will need to take a massive pay cut.

Year-by-year deals?

One option would be for the Canucks and Sedins to do a new contract every single year. For example, they could each sign one-year pacts worth about $3-4 million for 2018-19. After that, they could sign similar one-year deals.

The Detroit Red Wings did this with franchise veteran Nicklas Lidstrom. He received a two-year extension during the 2007-08 season, then signed a pair of one-year deals to play out his last couple of seasons.

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Basically, the Canucks and Sedins would just come to a fair price every season. If their stats decline, so will their respective salaries.

This is just one option the Canucks and Sedins could use. Every year, their salary cap situation changes. So the two parties could just negotiate and complete fair one-year pacts every season until they retire.

The Canuck for life contract

On the other hand, both sides may be keen on just signing one more contract that ensures the Sedins stay in Vancouver to finish their playing careers. If that’s the route they take, what would a fair contract be?

As much as the Sedins are loved in Vancouver, they are barely top-six forwards anymore. They’re likely to be bottom-six forwards from here on out, meaning the Canucks can’t commit too much cash to them.

A fair multi-year deal could be matching contracts, where the Sedins sign for two-three years, worth $3 million a season. This isn’t a major pay cut on their ends, and the salary would reflect their values as players on the ice.

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The risk with a multi-year deal is if the Sedins were to retire before their contracts expire, the Canucks would be penalized and therefore lose cap space. But at any rate, they would take the risk and do what makes the franchise icons happy.

Assuming the Sedins are keen on remaining Canucks for life, the team will need them to take massive pay cuts. It’ll be interesting to see how the negotiations go, and what they will look like if they finish up before long.