Canucks: How much cap space can be created?

By making a few roster changes, the Vancouver Canucks have the opportunity to create more cap space before the start of the season.

With the NHL aiming to start the 2020-2021 season in mid-January, there are still many questions surrounding the opening night roster of the Vancouver Canucks.

The team’s primary task is to become cap compliant, as they are currently $1.5 million over the threshold. However, it might surprise some people to know that the Canucks can easily get under the limit with a few moves and could open up some additional space to sign more free agents.

The first move would be to demote Sven Baertschi to the minors since Vancouver still has him listed on the team. After spending the majority of last season playing in the AHL, it’s safe to say that he will likely be cut this year as well. By demoting him, the Canucks would create just over a million dollars in cap space but would still be slightly above the threshold.

With that said, the biggest domino that’s yet to fall is Micheal Ferland, who only played in 14 games last season due to recurring concussion issues. At this point, it seems likely that he will start the year on LTIR, which means that his $3.5 million cap hit won’t be counted against Vancouver.

In other words, the team could actually create just over $3.1 million in cap space if they demote Baertschi and place Ferland on LTIR. If a rookie defenseman such as Olli Juolevi impresses in camp,  the roster will look something like this:

Both of these moves would result in Vancouver only having 21 players on their roster, so the Canucks will still need to fill in two more spots either internally or by signing free agents. With every organization cutting costs due to the absence of fans and low revenue expected this season, it won’t be surprising to see the Canucks elect to go cheaper and bring in some of their young prospects or league minimum players.

In the unlikely scenario that Vancouver decides to hunt for more free agents, the additional $3.1 million can be used to sign either a middle six forward or a veteran defenseman who’s capable of playing in the top 4. Due to the unprecedented buyers market this offseason, it might even be possible to do both at the same time, although the likelihood of that is probably close to zero.

Even if they open up extra cap space, the Canucks will probably decide to stand pat and fill out their roster with internal players rather than spend more on free agents. Perhaps this will be the best option, as it will ensure that the team will have enough room to sign both Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes to their behemoth second contracts next summer.