What’s a fair deal for Canucks target Erik Haula?

The Vancouver Canucks are rumoured to be interested in Erik Haula, but what type of deal would be fair for both sides?

Over the past few days, many Vancouver Canucks fans have been focused on the team’s interest in defenceman Travis Hamonic, which has caused most to forget that they have also been linked to a different free agent: Erik Haula.

This rumour was reported by Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic (subscription required), who said that the Canucks were interested in Haula earlier in the offseason but haven’t had much discussion about him recently.

With that said, it wouldn’t be surprising if Vancouver circles back on him before the start of the season since the team is in need of another middle-six option due to Tyler Toffoli’s departure. As I’ve outlined in a previous article, the Canucks can create about $3.1 million in cap space for a 21 man roster if the team sends Sven Baertschi down to the minors and puts Micheal Ferland on LTIR.

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If Haula and the Canucks have mutual interest, the question then becomes what type of contract he will most likely sign.

Haula’s inconsistent play over the past few seasons have seen him produce point per game rates ranging from 0.36 to 0.72, so it’s tough to gauge just how potent he is offensively. However, it seems fair to expect him to score at about half a point per game, which is roughly the pace he was on last year.

Players who have produced at a similar pace have signed contracts this offseason starting as low as $975,000 to $2.25 million. Haula will likely demand a deal closer to the second number and could use Cody Eakin and Alexander Wennberg as comparables, both of whom landed contracts for that exact amount.

Unfortunately for Haula, both of those players signed in October when teams had more cap space available, so it’s unlikely that he’ll receive similar offers. Moreover, a forward such as Anthony Duclair coming off a career season was only able to sign for $1.7 million, so it seems certain that Haula will make less than that.

His recent injury history will further lower his value, and I could see Haula signing for as low as $1.25 million on a short term contract. If the Canucks are still interested, a one-year deal seems the most likely, as Haula will want to net a larger contract next summer while the team will need cap space available after this season when a few RFAs are due for raises.

If this were to happen, Vancouver will still be roughly $1.85 million below the salary cap, which could be spent on a depth defenseman to round out the 23-man roster. In fact, that number is more than enough to sign Hamonic too, since he would likely cost less than $1.5 million as well.

However, signing both Haula and Hamonic is an unrealistic proposition given the team’s cash crunch, and the organization seems more inclined to promote internally with cheaper options. Leaving some cap space unused could also come in handy at the trade deadline if Vancouver decides to make some moves then.

Even with Haula’s inconsistent play and injury history, I still believe that the Canucks should consider signing him since he would provide the team with more firepower up front. On a short-term deal, there would be minimal risk involved, and the depth he would bring is crucial given the upcoming season’s truncated schedule.