Vancouver Canucks: Riley Nash makes sense, if the price is right

As free agency nears, the Vancouver Canucks are being linked to free agent centre, Riley Nash. Signing the big veteran would be a good move for Jim Benning, if the price is reasonable.

With just over $24.1 million in salary cap space, Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has plenty of room to address roster needs through a free agent pool that is loaded with impact forwards and defencemen.

After getting burned by the Loui Eriksson contract, it’s safe to assume that Benning won’t look to break on the top-tier free agents. It doesn’t sound like John Tavares has any interest in coming here, and it’s hard to envision the Canucks overpaying for a veteran sniper like James van Riemsdyk or James Neal.

Rather, Benning will likely be eyeing free agents who aren’t commanding top dollar, and can be had on short-term deals — three years or less.

Over the past few days, Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal has mentioned the players that interest Benning and the front office. One of those players is 29-year-old Boston Bruins centre, Riley Nash.

Nash is coming off a career year, in which he scored 15 goals and 41 points in 76 games for the Bruins. Prior to that, he hadn’t topped 10 goals or 25 points in a single campaign, so it’s hard to know if this was a breakout season or if Nash is a one-year wonder.

As such, it’s going to be difficult to judge his market. Will Nash accept a one-year deal and try to reset his market for next season, or is he looking to cash in on a multi-year contract now?

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This is where Benning has to be careful if he decides to seriously negotiate with Nash and his agent.

For what it’s worth, Nash does sound interested in coming to Vancouver, even if that means joining a team that figures to rack up a couple of more losing seasons before they compete again.

“It’s not something I would be scared of and I’m looking forward to talking to them,” Nash said, per Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.

“We’ve done our research and it’s pretty interesting. We’re obviously aware of what’s going on in Vancouver and I think they have a pretty good future ahead of them.”

Nash added that he doesn’t think the Canucks are “far off,” and he doesn’t believe “it will be a long rebuild.” So we know that Nash is willing to be a mentor and leader on a rebuilding team. Now what?

Benning simply needs to remember that Nash’s career season came in large part to him replacing the injured Patrice Bergeron. That allowed Nash to centre David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, who formed the best line in hockey last season.

Maybe Nash doesn’t regain that 40-point form, but this is a guy with a respectable 51.6 career Corsi For percentage. Nash also doesn’t take many penalties (just 101 minutes in the sin bin throughout his career), and can play anywhere up and down the lineup. There are many things to like about the guy.

But that doesn’t mean Benning should give him a blank cheque to fill out. I’d be more comfortable giving Nash a one-year “show me” contract, worth around $4.5 million. If that doesn’t entice Nash, a three-year deal worth around $3.5 million annually also seems fair.

We don’t know what kind of Riley Nash will show up in 2018-19. Your average bottom-six, hard-checking forward who can chip in with minimal offence? Or a player who’s ready to play a more expanded role and get 30-4o points a season?

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Benning gambled and struck out on Eriksson in 2016, and Sam Gagner and Michael Del Zotto in 2017. He can’t afford to overpay for another veteran player, so Benning should only try to sign Nash if the price is right for him.