Vancouver Canucks: Why a Loui Eriksson trade to Dallas makes sense

The Vancouver Canucks would like to cut ties with Loui Eriksson. Both sides are looking for a change of scenery, and a trade with Dallas Stars could be what both sides need.

Loui Eriksson is still an NHL calibre hockey player. If it weren’t for his godawful contract that the Vancouver Canucks are currently the not-so-proud owners of, then he would surely be a much easier player to move via trade. That darn contract.

Eriksson can still be relatively solid in the defensive side of the game, and has been a rather effective penalty killer for the Canucks. Maybe with a change of scenery, Eriksson will begin to find his offensive stride once again, who knows? The thing we do know is that Eriksson’s tenure in Vancouver has been nothing short of disastrous.

A lot of talk this offseason has been about how the Canucks can get rid of Eriksson and his contract. Buying him out isn’t a great idea, and now that the buyout period is over, the options the Canucks have to get rid of Eriksson are growing slimmer. If they decide to make a trade, then I believe that the Dallas Stars could be suitors. Allow me to explain.

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Once upon a time, Eriksson was a budding rookie in Dallas. He played seven seasons with the Stars, and broke the 20-goal mark in four of those seasons. In 2008-09, Eriksson scored 36 goals with the Stars. While his best days are certainly behind him, a change of scenery to a place in which he is familiar with, could be of benefit for the Gothenburg, Sweden native.

This was (to my knowledge) first proposed by Sportsnet 650’s Satiar Shah who made an excellent point about how the Stars have a few ageing veterans of their own that they would like to part ways with.

So what would the Canucks take on in return? Two players Dallas may want to part ways with are Andrew Cogliano and Martin Hanzal, both of whom are 32 years old. Not only would Dallas clear up roster space and be able to give some of their younger players more opportunities, but they would actually be saving some cap space in the process.

Eriksson’s deal has an average annual value of $6 million over the next three seasons. Hanzal’s deal has one year remaining with an AAV of $4.75 million. Cogliano’s deal, on the other hand, has two years left on it with an AAV of $3.25 million. That means the Canucks would be taking on two players in this deal but also taking on an extra two million dollars onto their cap for next season.

This deal can’t happen if the Canucks don’t have more plans in place to free up more cap space, but I for one believe that General Manager Jim Benning would not have signed Micheal Ferland if he didn’t have a solid plan in place. The bright side of this trade is, after taking on these two players, the Canucks would likely be able to move them for picks, albeit late-round picks, but picks nonetheless.

If only it were that easy. The Stars are a team who, coming off a playoff berth last season, are looking to once again have a bid at Lord Stanley’s mug. They made that clear with their offseason additions of proven veterans such as Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry.

Further, Hanzal battled back injuries last year and played in just seven games. Cogliano was acquired by the Stars midway through last season, but recorded just three goals and three assists through 32 games with Dallas. Eriksson would provide Dallas the chance to have a familiar face and proven NHL veteran back on their team, while at the same time, freeing up $2 million in cap space for next season, perfect for adding a player at the trade deadline to aid in a playoff push.

So while the Canucks would be taking on the extra cap space, they would also be free and clear of the $6 million dollars owed to Eriksson in the 2021-22 season, the same year that both Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes‘ entry-level deals expire. The Canucks may have to attach a pick or retain some salary to make this deal work, but to me, this could be a good starting point for both sides.

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