Canucks: Way-too-early predictions for the Seattle expansion draft
The Seattle expansion draft is over a year away, but it’s not too early to predict what the Vancouver Canucks will do.
In the 2017 Vegas expansion draft, the Vancouver Canucks lost veteran defenceman Luca Sbisa, who wasn’t exactly part of their long-term plans.
But looking ahead to the 2021 Seattle expansion draft, there’s a good chance that Vancouver loses a key impact player. That is, unless general manager Jim Benning is willing to surrender young prospects and draft picks in exchange for Seattle staying away from certain players.
That wouldn’t be ideal, however. We saw the Golden Knights quickly morph into a legitimate championship contender — reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season — thanks to all the key roster players and trade chips they acquired at the expansion draft.
The 2021 expansion draft will follow the same template used for Vegas. Teams can protect seven forwards, three blueliners and a goalie or eight skaters and one goalie.
Here are some early predictions on who Benning will look to protect.
Forwards
The first four are players listed above are easy choices.
I’m expecting Virtanen (a pending RFA) to sign a new multi-year deal this offseason. As I wrote about here, the Canucks should look to extend Pearson in the offseason. Gaudette is also a relatively easy choice to protect.
Brandon Sutter‘s contract comes off the books after next season, so the Canucks won’t have to protect him here. If the Canucks still have Loui Eriksson on their roster at next year’s draft, I’m expecting a buyout.
As Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province previously noted, Micheal Ferland only has a full no-trade clause for the first two seasons, and he apparently “agreed to be exposed.” Given his injury history, I doubt the Canucks will use a protection slot on him.
Things can always change, but if the roster doesn’t change much between now and the expansion draft, Ferland and Antoine Roussel are the best forward options for Seattle.
Defencemen
This one gets tricky. For starters, Quinn Hughes will be automatically protected. Chris Tanev is a pending UFA this year, and Troy Stecher is an RFA. The contracts for Edler and Jordie Benn expire next year. Hard to imagine Oscar Fantenberg coming back after this season.
My guess is that the Canucks and Edler agree to a new deal before the expansion draft. When Edler signed a two-year extension last year, it was set up perfectly: Vancouver wouldn’t have to use a protection slot on Edler, but they’d also be free to re-sign him after the expansion draft.
At this point, I think Vancouver will offer Edler a deal to make him a Canuck for life, and they can comfortably use a protection slot on him after all. One way or another, I’m predicting him to be with the Canucks beyond 2020-21.
Given their cap situation, Vancouver probably has to choose between Stecher and Tanev. I think they’ll go with the younger, healthier and cheaper option in Stecher. They’ll reach a multi-year deal, and he’ll be protected.
And like it or not, Myers is going nowhere. Seattle wouldn’t want that contract to begin with, and Benning won’t want to give him away this early. There’s a reason he gave Myers the risky five-year deal worth $30 million. Benning values his size, physicality and leadership that much.
Goalies
We’ll actually have a firm idea as to whom Benning will protect here once July rolls around. Either No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom will have a new contract by then, or he’ll sign elsewhere — paving the way for Thatcher Demko to slot in as the new No. 1.
Like a fine wine, Markstrom has only gotten better with age. Demko, meanwhile, has struggled more often than not as a backup. Sure, he’s five years younger than ‘Marky’, but the Canucks also have another hopeful “goalie of the future” in Michael DiPietro.
Seeing how much the Canucks struggled without Markstrom this year, it only makes sense to extend the 30-year-old to a three or four-year deal. Vancouver can always look to trade Demko elsewhere before the expansion draft. Or they give Seattle some sweeteners to pass on Demko.
dark. Next. Canucks were going to have six 20-goal scorers
A lot can change between now and next year, but I see Vancouver extending and keeping Markstrom for the long run. Benning would still have over a year to work on a plan for Demko, and goalie-desperate teams should be willing to do business if they don’t have another key netminder to protect. Good thing the Canucks have plenty of time to sort this out.