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The Canucks should offer Anthony Duclair a one-year contract

By Brayden Ursel

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 17: Anthony Duclair #10 of the Ottawa Senators waits for a faceoff in the first period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on October 17, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Senators 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 17: Anthony Duclair #10 of the Ottawa Senators waits for a faceoff in the first period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on October 17, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Senators 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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NHL free agency has been open for over six weeks and there are still plenty of quality players available. The Vancouver Canucks should target Anthony Duclair.

Anthony Duclair is an unrestricted free agent winger and if the Vancouver Canucks can find a way to make the money work, they should offer him a contract. He’s one of the best scorers still in search of a new deal.

The COVID-19 backlash has hit hard in the NHL. Particularly, in terms of players in search of new contracts, it’s the restricted free agents who have taken the brunt of it financially.

Teams who couldn’t afford to send qualifying offers to their RFA’s lost them to free agency, but when the RFA’s turned UFA’s, interested teams weren’t exactly forking out big money deals and massive contracts. In fact, a lot of players have been forced to take fairly sizeable pay cuts just to make sure they have a place to play hockey next year.

Troy Stecher is the perfect example of that. His qualifying offer from the Canucks would have been $2.35 million, but Vancouver passed on him and he signed with the Detroit Red Wings for a $1.75 million average annual salary on a two-year deal.

Duclair, a left-winger who didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Ottawa Senators (mindblowing, I know), scored 23 goals last season playing for one of the NHL’s worst teams of 2019-20. Inside the Canucks top-six, Duclair could really explode as an offensive scoring threat.

As for the Canucks, they could really use another player helping out the middle-six. Duclair is a player who can play the puck both ways, scores his fair share of goals, and can pitch in on the penalty kill. Last season, he slipped two goals past the opposition while down a man.

Duclair could be the perfect fill-in after the Canucks lost a lot of talented players over the fall break. Tyler Toffoli and Josh Leivo were excellent in their roles as members of the supporting cast and Vancouver might want to find a quick upgrade before training camp.

As for Duclair, the Sens likely didn’t send him a qualifying offer of $1.65 million because they knew he’d take the team to an unaffordable arbitration hearing. His 23 goals could have earned him big money any other year, but the pandemic has most certainly thrown him a curveball.

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The longer he waits it out, the more his value drops. If the price is right, it’s a no-brainer for Jim Benning to pick up the phone and make the call. Who knows, maybe a chance to play with Elias Pettersson is enough to sway him to Canada’s west coast.

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What do you think Canucks Nation? Is Duclair a smart target for the Vancouver Canucks?

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