Nearly a year ago, the Vancouver Canucks traded their 2021 third round pick to the Dallas Stars for Jason Dickinson.
He was what they needed. A right-handed centre who was solid defensively and good on the penalty kill. A few weeks after the trade, Dickinson signed a three-year contract worth 2.6 million dollars per season after filing for arbitration.
However, Dickinson has been a big disappointment with the Canucks. He was the opposite of what they expected of him and spent more time on the wing than at centre. The Canucks had one of the worst penalty kills in the entire league with him on it and he wasn’t much better defensively.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff put Dickinson along with Tanner Pearson at 18th on his trade targets list last week. However, Seravalli released his buyout list on Monday and he put Dickinson fifth on the list.
“How many times have we heard Canucks president Jim Rutherford talk about cap flexibility?” wrote Seravalli. ” One way to do that and create a little more space would be to move on from Dickinson, who netted just 11 points last season over 62 games. Yes, the dead cap space isn’t ideal, but the Canucks probably aren’t in a position to give up a lot of assets – and that way he’d only count for roughly one minimum salary roster spot, instead of the three or four he’s being paid now.”
The buyout window opens on July 1.
The implications of the Canucks potentially buying out Dickinson
Dickinson has not been a fit in Vancouver. What if the Canucks decide to buy him out this July? Well, I went used CapFriendly’s Buyout calculator to simulate what could happen.
Here is what I found out. If they decide to buyout Dickinson, he would be on the books for four years starting next season. The buyout would have a total cost of 3.9 million dollars and the Canucks would save 1.9 million.
In other words, the annual cost would be $991,667. As for the cap hit, it would cost the Canucks $941,667 in 2022-23, $391,667in 2023-24 and again $991,667 in 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Keep in mind, the Canucks bought out Jake Virtanen and Braden Holtby last offseason and because of that, they have 2.4 million dollars in dead cap for next season. There is also Jaroslav Halak’s 1.25 million dollar bonus which he earned after starting 10 games this past season. That also counts against the cap. So if they buyout Dickinson, along with the dead cap from Virtanen and Holtby’s buyouts and Halak’s bonus, there will be a 4.5 million dollars in dead cap for next season.
Should the Canucks buyout Dickinson?
It’s bad when you have to buyout a contract but it’s even worse if you buy the contract out after one season.
The Canucks probably shouldn’t buyout Dickinson. It would not good at all to have four years of dead cap. General Manager Patrik Allvin has spoken about creating more cap space in the year-end press conference but would he want Dickinson’s dead cap on the books for four years? Probably not. Yes, $991,667 is chump change in the hockey world and it creates some cap flexibility but it is still a lot of money nonetheless.
They should at least try to find a trade partner for him and take what they can. If the best offer is a low draft pick for Dickinson, the Canucks might as well take it.
If they don’t, they might as well see what he can do at training camp and preseason. Late in this past season, he looked better on the wing. There is the chance he could bounce back but if that doesn’t happen, he could just be sent down to the Abbotsford Canucks. That saves the Canucks about 1.5 million dollars in cap space. That’s better than nothing. Of course, there is the small chance Dickinson could get claimed off waivers.
Buying Dickinson out isn’t the way to go as tempting as it is.
Do you think the Canucks should buyout Dickinson? Let us know in the comments below or in the Facebook comments or on Twitter.