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Should the Canucks pursue Brenden Dillon in Free Agency?

By Brayden Ursel

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 20: Brenden Dillon #4 of the Washington Capitals looks on against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Capital One Arena on February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 20: Brenden Dillon #4 of the Washington Capitals looks on against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Capital One Arena on February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Vancouver Canucks are likely to shake things up on their blueline this offseason. Should Jim Benning take a swing at BC boy Brenden Dillon?

Home is where the heart is.

Brenden Dillon, a Surrey BC native, says that he would be very interested in signing and playing hockey for the Vancouver Canucks. According to insider Rick Dhaliwal of TSN, the soon-to-be 29-year-old does indeed have the Canucks on his wishlist. And why wouldn’t he? Vancouver is a beautiful city, he’s from the area, and the Canucks are an up and coming team just about to open their window to Stanley Cup contention.

Dillon could prove to be a good choice for the Canucks in the right situation. The team isn’t exactly in dire need of another left-handed blueliner, but he’s a local guy and he would bring some much-needed size to the back end. Think of him as a larger, meaner but less mobile version of Chris Tanev.

At 6’4 and 225 pounds he’s a bigger body on the ice and he wouldn’t cost too much money on a multi-year contract. His last contract was inked in San Jose that saw him make $3.27 million annually over a stretch of five seasons. With a flat cap and many teams looking to shed salary, I can’t see him making much more than that on the open market this year. Maybe a contract around $3.5 million but nothing more. At least not from the pockets of Francesco Aquilini.

The latest rumours say that the Canucks are going hard in the paint to acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes (my colleague Alex Hoegler wrote about it here), but if that doesn’t pan out, Dillon could make for a much cheaper acquisition with a lot less risk in terms of term and dollar amount.

The Canucks have to do what they can to find help filling in the right side on defence. I personally don’t think it’s a huge deal when a team has to play a defender on the opposite side of how he shoots, but Travis Green sure does. If he can stray away from that, Dillon might just be the guy you want to add back there.

With the way this team is filled out at the moment, Dillon doesn’t perfectly fit the mould. He wouldn’t be my first choice for cheaper options, but he’s still relatively high on my list. If the price is right, why not? But it has to make sense. The Capitals gave up a second and third-round pick as a rental for a Cup run. They didn’t go far, but that proves to me that other teams recognize that he has value.

Next. Canucks: Keeping an eye on Oliver Ekman-Larsson. dark

Keep your eyes on The Canuck Way for all the up to date news as NHL free agency is right around the corner.

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