Canucks Roundtable: Predicting next year’s opening night roster
With the Vancouver Canucks still battling it out for a 2021 playoff spot, it seems a bit early to be looking ahead to next season. Nonetheless, The Canuck Way has round-up the troops for another roundtable article!
This week, we take a glance at what the opening night roster could possibly look like for the start of the 2021-22 season. With a lot of moving parts at play this summer (Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes contract extensions and the Seattle Kraken expansion draft), there are a lot of different ways it could go. Let’s dive into our writers’ predictions!
Brayden Ursel – Site Expert
My very early prediction as to what the Canucks roster could look like on opening night next year... An estimated $2.5 million in cap space with Jake Virtanen lost to expansion and Loui Eriksson calling it a career. pic.twitter.com/IdNU5gRvoS
— Brayden Ursel (@bkursel23) April 20, 2021
Next season’s opening night roster could look a lot like this year’s team, with a few adjustments being made to fit the roster under the 2021-22 NHL salary cap. First off, I believe there is enough room to sign both Pettersson and Hughes to long-term deals. $8 million apiece, with a matching six-year term. Don’t think that’s enough? Cap them out at $9 million each.
In terms of other forwards to fill gaps in the lineup, Jim Benning should be able to lock down all of Jimmy Vesey, Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich for $1 million or less. With Vasili Podkolzin being the final forward on the roster, officially signing his entry-level deal and becoming an impact player for the Canucks.
Jake Virtanen is left unprotected in the Expansion Draft, ultimately being scooped up by the Seattle Kraken. Loui Eriksson retires or refuses to report to the AHL, and Antoine Roussel is either bought out or sent to the farm team to play out the final year of his four-year $12 million deal.
As for the blueline, Hughes becomes the highest-paid defender and locks up his defensive partner, Travis Hamonic, in a team-friendly two-year deal worth an average annual value of $3 million. Alex Edler takes a 50 percent pay cut to remain in Vancouver, Olli Juolevi re-ups for $1 million or less, and Nikita Tryamkin returns to the NHL for $2 million.
The Canucks’ crease remains the same, with Thatcher Demko seeing the majority of starts. Braden Holtby playing back-up, and Mikey DiPietro potentially seeing starts by the end of the season.
Tanjot Purewal – Contributor
An early look at what the Canucks lineup could look like on opening night next season. Virtanen is off to Seattle in this scenario and Eriksson's contract is buried in the AHL providing slight cap relief. About ~2M in cap space. pic.twitter.com/0n4yfWC4Wq
— tanjot (@tanjotpurewal) April 21, 2021
It’s difficult to imagine the Canucks lineup looking a lot different or better come opening night next season. The team will be working under some cap constraints with Pettersson and Hughes needing contract extensions. And when you factor in the already limited wiggle room they have to work with, there aren’t many solutions to improving the team.
The Canucks must look for in-house solutions by freeing the kids. It is time to let Vasili Podkolzin, Kole Lind, and Juolevi off the leash and let them play. The Canucks best chance to improve next season is having prospects on entry-level contracts contributing.
In my very early opening night prediction for next season, I have both Podkolzin and Lind being in the top nine as Vancouver opens the 2021-’22 season. Lind has done everything in the AHL to prove he deserves a shot with the Canucks, and he’s going to get it. As for Podkolzin, the prized prospect comes to the organization oozing with limitless potential.
As for the rest of the lineup, the elephant in the room is the contract extensions of Pettersson and Hughes. Due to the Canucks cap problems, both will likely be signing bridge deals. I have both of them coming into camp with three-year extensions. Pettersson with an $8 million annual average hit and Hughes with a $6.75 million annual value.
The blueline is a huge question mark, and Edler is a Canuck-lifer, so it only makes sense to bring him back on a one-year extension at $2.75, maybe $3 million. That won’t be enough though, after scouring the free-agent market, Jon Merill makes a tonne of sense as a low-risk bottom pairing addition.
The roster does not look a lot different on paper, but the added punch of Lind and Podkolzin could give the team some youthful exuberance to take the next step.
Jamey Vinnick – Contributor
@FSTheCanuckWay pic.twitter.com/q7xKmewN77
— Jamey Vinnick (@jameyvinnick9) April 23, 2021
One of the questions that has loomed around the Vancouver Canucks all year long is what the future holds for a team that has seen a year of turmoil. Between the head-scratching decisions by Jim Benning, the poor start to the season, the injury to Pettersson and most recently the COVID outbreak, it has been anything but drama-free in Vancity this season.
And there is still a lot of uncertainty to come. Vancouver is pressed right up against the cap and still will have to figure out a way to re-sign Pettersson and Hughes while also upgrading a roster with significant holes.
So what may that look like? Well, the front office is going to have to get creative. Micheal Ferland and Jay Beagle will likely be on LTIR, which keeps them from counting against the Canucks cap. Brandon Sutter and Edler are off the books, and the Canucks could look to find a way to bury portions of Loui Eriksson and Roussel’s contracts in the minors and move Virtanen.
In this scenario, the Canucks do exactly that. They limit the cap hit on Eriksson and Roussel and incentivize Seattle to select Virtanen in the expansion draft. That allows Vancouver to re-sign Pettersson and Hughes for 8 million apiece and Juolevi for 850,000.
The Canucks also bring back Travis Boyd and Vesey on the cheap as serviceable bottom-six forwards. Podkolzin comes overseas as well, and the Canucks use the added cap space to bring in Jon Merrill, a reliable veteran blueliner.
The bottom pairing of Juolevi and Jack Rathbone might have some serious growing pains early on, but each still has enough upside to make it work.
Lind and Gadjovich have paid their dues in the AHL and are cheap options to step into the Canuck lineup as everyday players. The results may not be there immediately, but this does offer the possibility to set the Canucks up for the future, getting young guys some game action.
Bill Huan – Site Expert
Here's a realistic look at next year's #Canucks roster. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty...
— Bill Huan (@bill_huan) April 23, 2021
This isn't what I want to see, but what's most likely to happen. Virtanen's gone to Seattle or traded and most of the team's free agents are re-signed, with Bogosian the only new addition pic.twitter.com/ArSMyEfxGU
The lineup I’ve constructed isn’t what I want to see, but what I think is mostly to happen. Virtanen is gone either via the expansion draft or through a trade, opening up about $2.5 million in cap room to allow the team to re-sign most of its free agents.
The Canucks will need to squeeze out every penny of cap space to fill out its 23 man roster, beginning by retaining Hamonic and Sutter while signing Podkolzin and Lind to entry-level deals.
The only new face would be a bottom-pairing right-handed defenceman, and I went with Zach Bogosian here due to his veteran presence and experience (Jani Hakanpaa could also be a fit). This is far from a playoff team and might be even worse than this year’s squad, but that’s what happens when inefficient contracts are given out like candy.
Vancouver will ultimately need to wait until the 2022-23 season for their window to open, if it ever does.
Final thoughts…
Next. The Canucks have been entertaining since return. dark
The money will be tight, but still, a lot of things could happen to this Canucks roster this summer. What do you think Canucks Nation? Do you have any predictions for next season’s opening night roster? Let us know in the comments.