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The Canuck Way Mailbag: Golden Knights, Markstrom, Myers, more

By Matthew Zator

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 17: The Vancouver Canucks celebrate a goal by J.T. Miller #9 (C) against the St. Louis Blues at 40 seconds of the second period in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 17, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 17: The Vancouver Canucks celebrate a goal by J.T. Miller #9 (C) against the St. Louis Blues at 40 seconds of the second period in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 17, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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EDMONTON, ALBERTA – AUGUST 19: Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a third period save as Brayden Schenn #10 of the St. Louis Blues looks for the rebound in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 19, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – AUGUST 19: Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks makes a third period save as Brayden Schenn #10 of the St. Louis Blues looks for the rebound in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 19, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /

Re-signing free agents

Oscar Fantenberg‘s performance in the postseason so far has been very impressive. He’s averaging 15:07 in ice time, leads all defencemen in hits with 18, and is a plus-one. He has quietly done his job as a member of the third pairing with Benn and has also done an admirable job of penalty killing too. So, all-in-all, he’s been a solid addition to the defence core since he was signed in the 2019 offseason as a free agent.

Everyone thought that he would be the seventh defenceman on the Canucks when he arrived, but like Alex Biega before him, he impressed Green enough to consistently get into the lineup. In fact, when Alex Edler returned from injury during the regular season, it was Benn that became a healthy scratch, not Fantenberg. Since then, he’s been a regular in the lineup and has deserved every second of ice time he has received from the coaching staff.

As you can tell by now, I am all for re-signing Fantenberg in the offseason. He is a solid number six/seven defenceman who isn’t afraid to throw the body and block shots, and he’s mobile too, which is just the icing on the cake for a depth defenceman.

I wouldn’t give more than a two-year term with a $1 to 2 million average annual value (AAV), though. With all the cap issues the Canucks are going to have in the offseason, you can’t spend too much on a bottom pairing defenceman, especially with cheap entry-level contracts arriving soon in Jack Rathbone and Olli Juolevi.

Keeping with the theme of re-signing players, I think Markstrom has to be a priority for general manager Jim Benning in the offseason. He has already shown his value to the team in the regular season and has just continued lt in the postseason. He is arguably the best goaltender left in the Western Conference bubble and could be the difference-maker in the upcoming series against the Golden Knights. Thatcher Demko will be a great goaltender in the NHL, but I still think he needs at least a couple of seasons as a backup before he takes the reigns.

Right now, Markstrom is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and the Canucks cannot let him go quietly into the night as a free agent. His AAV will probably come in around $6.5 to 7 million, so it will be a struggle to fit him under the new flat salary cap, but it would be a mistake if Benning didn’t at least try to get something done.

Chris Tanev, who has stayed relatively healthy throughout the season and the playoffs, will be tough to fit in as well. He has been a warrior for the Canucks for a long time and is a key part of the run they are on right now. His leadership and connection to this young core cannot be overstated, and I think it would be a detriment to the locker room if he was allowed to leave. He won’t be cheap, and I’m sure other teams will be knocking on his door with more money and term, but I’m banking on a hometown discount from the man the young guns call “Dad”.

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