Canucks: Grading the 2021 offseason

#3: Acquiring Jason Dickinson from the Dallas Stars

One of Jim Benning’s slickest moves this offseason came just prior to the league-wide roster freeze ahead of the expansion draft. In this move he acquired Dallas Stars centre Jason Dickinson in exchange for a third round pick (no. 73 overall) in the 2021 draft.

Whilst Dickinson may not be a household name across the NHL, he played a vital role in the Stars run to the 2020 Stanley Cup final, and will continue that role on the Canucks 3rd line this upcoming season. Dickinson is a two-way centre, a highly under-rated tool that lacks amongst players nowadays, and should get lots of ice time against opposing teams top offensive lines. He’s never excelled at being a point producer. whilst in the NHL, but being highly efficient at blanking the other teams top lines on most nights is extremely valuable.

The Canucks recently announced that they had come to terms with the centremen on a three year contract extension.

The deal comes in at 7.95 million dollars over three years, meaning a 2.65 million dollar AAV per season. For a reliable, consistent third line defensive centremen who has proven himself in the playoffs, the trade and contract extension come in at good value.

Grade: A-

#4: Depth signings/re-signings in Travis Hamonic, Tucker Poolman, and Jaroslav Halak

As with any offseason for any team, depth signings to fill out the roster are necessary, however must be carefully measured before committing to them.  I believe that the Canucks main crop of depth signings this summer, which includes Travis Hamonic, Tucker Poolman, and Jaroslav Halak, has some positives, but also carry some worrying negatives along with it.

Hamonic came into the last season as an experienced NHL veteran playing on a cheap one-year, 1.25 million dollar contract After achieving 10 points in 38 games, playing top-four defensive minutes, and being only a -3 on a poor Canucks team, Hamonic lived up to expectations in his first year in Vancouver. However, given he’ll be 31 going into next season, was it really necessary to bring him back on a two-year contract with a three million dollar AAV? It seemed it was unnecessary money with an unnecessary term for a depth player.

After bringing back Hamonic, the Canucks brought in another right handed defencemen in ex-Winnipeg Jet Tucker Poolman. Despite only playing in 120 career NHL regular games, and being an average 3rd pairing defencemen in Winnipeg, Poolman secured himself a four-year contract with a 2.5 million dollar contract from the Canucks. This deal rightfully received lots of criticism from Canucks nation, as both the term and money seem excessive in this situation. A large commitment to a relatively unproven player is a gamble that seems very risky for a re-tooling team.

After buying out the contract of Braden Holtby, a back-up goaltender to Thatcher Demko was of key priority for the Canucks this offseason. By completing the signing of veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak, Vancouver made one of its best signings of the summer. Halak comes into the team on a one-year, three million dollar contract, and will be a stellar stalwart in the Vancouver goal this season in relief of Demko. The 36-year-old comes into Vancouver on the back of a career .916 save percentage, a 2.48 GAA, and is showing no signs of regression. He’ll become a fan favourite in Vancouver in no time.

Grade: C+

#5: Trading Nate Schmidt to the Winnipeg Jets

After being acquired in October of 2020 for a 3rd round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights, defencemen Nate Schmidt failed to live up to expectations in his first year with the Canucks. Coming into last year, Schmidt had five years left on his contract at a rate of 5.950 million dollars per season. Being 30-years-old meant that Schmidt would need consistent play early and often in his Canucks career in order to live up to his standards set by his contract. Unfortunately, Schmidt displayed the opposite of that. The defencemen looked lethargic, was turnover prone, and overall, looked like a shell of the player he was in Vegas for a few years. Schmidt racked up only 15 points in 54 games, and a -7 rating whilst averaging north of 20 minutes a night on the blue line.

Schmidt’s albatross contract was an issue coming into the offseason for a cap-tight team like the Canucks, and dealing it was a necessity. To give up on player like Schmidt after just one season when you know he has the talent was probably difficult, but props must be given to the Canucks for swallowing their pride and doing what was best for the future of the organization. The work of Benning to quickly deal his contract on the day before the first day of free agency, to make sure no salary was retained and to recuperate the 3rd round pick they dealt for him 10 months prior was exceptional work that was overlooked by the fans.

Grade: A+

What are your thoughts on the grades handed out to the Canucks moves this offseason? How do you think the Canucks did this offseason? Did they get better? Did they get worse? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comment section!