The Canuck Way Mailbag: Schmidt, Virtanen, free agency, more

Free agency and moving salary

I see the Canucks making at least one more move to augment their top-six. Losing Toffoli was a huge blow there, and they need someone to fill his role. He was only part of the team for 17 games but made a huge impact on the team regardless. For them to be successful in the rumoured all-Canadian division in 2020-21, they will need a strong forward group to win games. That’s why they need to make a move to replace him.

In an ideal world Benning would also trade for David Savard of the Columbus Blue Jackets or Erik Cernak of the Tampa Bay Lightning to further strengthen the defence core, but given his inability to move out salary so far, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But the offseason is a long one, so I look forward to the day that I am proven wrong.

If those things do not happen, two of Rathbone, Juolevi, Rafferty, Jalen Chatfield or Ashton Sautner will be pressed into action as minute munchers on the bottom pairing, and the top-six role will be given to one of Virtanen, Hoglander, Kole Lind or even Sven Baertschi if he comes to camp with a chip on his shoulder. Those options aren’t horrible, but there are a lot more questions than answers in that group.

As I mentioned earlier, despite his best efforts, Benning has not moved out any salary this offseason. But he’s not alone, as no one except Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has been able to move out significant money so far. Despite all that, I still believe he will be able to strike a deal with someone before the 2020-21 season begins.

I still believe Baertschi, Brandon Sutter or Loui Eriksson will be moved out in the next couple of months. Sutter and Eriksson are still useful players in the bottom-six and with a change of scenery, Baertschi could be a bounce-back candidate on a team with a lack of depth on offence. I just find it hard to believe that no teams would be willing to take on at least one of them to be a veteran presence in their lineup.

As for what they would bring back, I don’t see anything significant unless the Canucks throw in a sweetener like a draft pick or mid-range prospect. If that happens, I really want them to target the Ottawa Senators, who have a ridiculous amount of cap space right now.

Chris Tierney is a restricted free agent (RFA) that could be a perfect fit on the third line with Gaudette. He can win faceoffs, play on both special teams, and chip in with the occasional goal. He also fits with the current core group of forwards at only 26 years of age.

That brings us to the end of another mailbag here at The Canuck Way. For all your Canucks news and analysis, follow us on Twitter @FSTheCanuckWay and look out for the tweet announcing the next one!