The Canuck Way Mailbag: Ekman-Larsson, Hoglander, free agency, more

The Vancouver Canucks trade rumours are ramping up and free agency is around the corner too so that means more questions for this edition of the mailbag!

Similar to last week’s mailbag, the Vancouver Canucks remain in a holding pattern with all of their unrestricted free agents including Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Markstrom, and Chris Tanev. Now trade rumours have begun in earnest with a surprising name at the forefront, Arizona Coyotes’ captain and smooth-skating defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He has reportedly only included two teams on his list of accepted destinations and the Canucks are one of them.

So in addition to his work of re-signing his free agents, Jim Benning is also on the phone attempting to acquire a top-four defenceman. Matt Dumba has already been in the rumours, so why not OEL too? You know what they say, where there’s smoke there’s fire, so I would not be surprised to see him ultimately acquire another puck-moving defenceman through trade or free agency before the offseason comes to an end.

With the news and rumours about to hit a fever pitch in the coming weeks, let’s get to some more of your questions for The Canuck Way mailbag!

Of course, our first question is about Ekman-Larsson. He is the news of the day, so of course, he’s a huge talking point on every radio show and social media platform right now. If he joins the team, I really see him as a second pairing defenceman with Alex Edler. I realize that they are both left-side defenceman, but I think one of them should be able to switch and play their offside.

As for making Quinn Hughes play on the right, I really think he is smart enough to do it. He’s primarily a left-side defenceman, but with his skating and edge work paired with his otherworldly hockey IQ, he should be able to adjust quite quickly.

Continuing our discussion on additions to the blueline, Surrey native Brenden Dillon could be a good option as a replacement for Tanev. He plays a simple, gritty game from the backend and he skates well for a 6-foot-4, 225-pound man. His size and physicality would be a welcome sight on the backend that could be losing the warrior-like mentality of Tanev.

Dillon blocks a lot of shots and was a mainstay on the penalty kill for both the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. Without the presence of Tanev and potentially Oscar Fantenberg, the Canucks are going to need another defenceman to step up and eat those minutes. He could be the one to do it.

The question, like everything these days, is about money and term. Dillon’s last contract was for $3.5 million in average annual value (AAV), so I would expect him to want more than that. However, with the flat cap and the uncertainty of COVID-19’s effect on the coming seasons, he might have to take a short-term, budget-friendly deal to have a team to skate with for 2020-21. Regardless, the Canucks appear to be a preferred destination for him, as he praised the team in a recent interview on TSN 1040 (per Rob Williams at Daily Hive)

"Any Surrey hometown kid that grew up watching the Canucks would love to play for the Canucks…I think from an organization standpoint, to the players that you talk to that have played for the Canucks, to the fanbase, to the arena, it’s obviously got to be a great place to play and would definitely be a place that I’d be interested in."

Dillon, like Ekman-Larsson, sees the vast potential of the Canucks moving forward, so I am not surprised that he wants to be a part of it. Unfortunately, the money might not make sense, especially for a third-pairing defenceman like himself. He is also a left-side defence, which does not replace Tanev’s right side presence. He may be able to step into his penalty killing shoes, but may not be a natural fit on a team that likes the balance of left and right side defencemen playing their proper sides.