The Vancouver Canucks need to tread carefully with Alex Edler. He wants a pay raise on a three-year term and given how bad Jim Benning is at negotiating, he can easily get what he want. Just think about it, Jim.
In a perfect world, how would I handle the Alex Edler situation? This is not a unique idea, but the best way to utilise Edler and give the largest benefit to the Vancouver Canucks is to trade him to a playoff team and re-sign him in the summer.
The problem? His iron-clad no trade clause. To be fair to Edler, he earned the NTC to sign a below-market value deal at the time. I am very much in the minority, but I think Edler has been fine for the duration of his contract. For those that whine about injuries, Chris Tanev and Erik Gudbranson miss a lot of time in Canucks jerseys too. Then again, Tanev carries the injury prone tag as well.
However, Edler is valuable. First round pick and a good prospect type of valuable. This league loves to overpay for what you have done, not what you have done lately. However, the two coincide foro Edler this season. And honestly, Edler is still one of the best defenders on the Canucks and a top three guy on nearly every team in this league. Granted, it’s a contract year and this is where NHL teams make a horrific mistake by buying high instead of selling high. And that’s where this is likely headed.
Last week, we heard a rumour from Nick Kypreos, speculating on the kind of money and term to keep Edler around.
Nick Kypreos suggests on @Sportsnet650 a 3 year deal worth $15-17M might be something Edler would take to remain with the Canucks.
— James Cybulski (@JamesCybulski) January 8, 2019
I like Edler a lot. But I can’t do a three-year deal. He will be 33 next season. It’s downhill from here and like I said, teams make the mistake of overpaying after a contract year. This is a classic July 1st mistake and we know how Benning likes to “get ahead” of the market before he grossly misreads it. Whatever you do Jim, don’t complete the trifecta and give him trade protection. If you do, you should figure out by now that an NTC is meant to lower the price, not lock in a bad contract.
Also, no NMC. Alex Edler should not have to occupy one of the three defenceman slots for the expansion draft. It would make no sense to protect a defenceman in their mid-30s and giving up a younger defenceman in exchange. Be smart.
I understand why you keep him around to insulate Quinn Hughes. But if Hughes steps into the league the same way Elias Pettersson did, you don’t need Edler locked in for three more years. So, if I’m negotiating with Edler’s agent, my goal is to cut down on the term. To be honest, I would prefer to overpay on a one-year deal instead of the potential of trade-protection and term.
Would I go as high as $6 million? Why not? It limits the amount of cap space Benning has to work with since he has to make sure there is room to sign Brock Boeser. Limiting his cap space will prevent him from chasing one of the big ticket UFAs on July 1st.
Unfortunately, I think the team will have to spend another summer managing damage control when they don’t move Edler. It sucks if he doesn’t want to waive, but that’s his decision. What is worse is potentially repeating what happened with Dan Hamhuis where the Canucks end up with nothing and their coveted defenceman walks away.