Canucks: Should Jim Benning submit an offer sheet this offseason?

Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning may end up having lots of cap space to play with this offseason. Should he look to submit an offer sheet?

The Vancouver Canucks are up against the salary cap right now, but that could all change when the 2020 offseason commences.

Top goalie Jacob Markstrom reportedly wants at least $6 million a season, per Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040. If the Canucks and Markstrom can’t reach a deal, general manager Jim Benning will have $3.66 million off the books.

Veteran rearguard Chris Tanev is also a pending UFA. Given his age (30) and injury history, Benning will have to be cautious with negotiations. If Tanev leaves, Benning will have $4.45 million more in cap room.

It’ll be hard for the Canucks to retain trade deadline pickup and pending UFA Tyler Toffoli, who accounts for $4.6 million against their cap.

Obviously, the hope is that the Canucks will manage to re-sign as many of their top pending free agents as possible. But you always have to be prepared for the worst, and if Benning loses all three of Markstrom, Tanev and Toffoli, he’ll at least have plenty of cap room to work around.

If this ends up being the case, Benning might want to consider submitting an offer sheet to one of the many standout RFAs.

There has always been talk about GMs refusing to do offer sheets because it will damage their working relationships with their peers. But Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin didn’t exactly experience this when he gave Sebastian Aho a $42.27 million offer sheet last year, which the Carolina Hurricanes matched quickly.

If he were to look at this option, Benning would ideally avoid offering something as lucrative as what the Habs submitted to Aho. He can’t afford to sacrifice a bunch of draft capital now.

But it wouldn’t hurt to submit a one or two-year deal to a quality player with an AAV of around $3 to $5 million. Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins would be an interesting target. He’s a proven 20-goal and 40 to 50-point player, and the Bruins are in a cap bind. That’s someone for Benning to consider.

Colorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky (20 goals and 45 points this season), Canadiens winger Max Domi (17 goals and 44 points) and New York Islanders blueliner Ryan Pulock are among other logical targets.

Again, the offer sheet route will only make sense for Benning if he loses his key free agents. If he retains Markstrom and/or Tanev or even Toffoli, then the offer sheet will not be an option.

But Benning knows there’s a chance he loses his top goalie, a top four blueliner and a top six forward. The Vancouver GM has to be prepared for anything, including the opportunity to submit an offer sheet to one of the many big-named RFAs for 2020.