Five depth forwards the Canucks could target in free agency
By Joshua Rey
The draft is now over and free agency is on the horizon for the Vancouver Canucks.
The free agency period begins on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.
#NHL Critical Dates
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 10, 2022
Mon. July 11, 5pm ET: Qualifying offers due to RFAs.
Tues. July 12: RFAs can be contacted for off. sheet discussion.
Tues. 5pm: 1st buyout window closes.
Tues. 11:59pm: UFAs lose ability to re-sign for 8 yrs.
Wed. July 13, 12noon: UFA/RFA signing period opens.
For the Canucks, other than making picks they were quiet on draft day. The roster is still the same as last season. They are still a “mid” team as a lot of kids say these days. Not a single trade was made but they still can make some in the coming days.
However, this article isn’t about a potential J.T. Miller trade or any other potential Canucks trades. As you read by the title, we are going to take a look at five free agent forwards the Canucks could target in free agency. These players would help Vancouver’s bottom six.
According to CapFriendly, the Canucks have a projected cap space of 2.14 million dollars. But thanks to Micheal Ferland on LTIR, their projected cap space is around five million dollars. That’s not a lot but here’s hoping more cap space can be created with some trades.
#1: Colin White
Colin White was bought out by the Ottawa Senators on July 5. His contract had three years remaining at a 4.75 million dollar cap hit.
It’s safe to say he won’t be making that amount of money next season. There is interest in White and according to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Montreal Canadiens are one of them.
There should be interest in Colin White. Shorter term, lower dollar. Let him reset. Montreal will be among the clubs most interested. Hughes and company know Colin well.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 5, 2022
Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported that 14 teams have shown interest in White already.
Hearing 14 teams showed interest in Colin White in the last few months. At the right price, you have to expect lots of teams are going to try to signed him on July 13.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) July 5, 2022
White was drafted by the Senators in 2015 at 21st overall. He had a career-high 41 point (14 goals and 27 assists) season in 2018-19 which earned him that six-year contract. (White was on a line with Mark Stone for a large part of that season.) Since signing that deal, White’s offensive numbers have declined.
However, his defensive game improved.
Colin White, bought out by OTT, is a bottom six forward who has struggled to produce since signing a long-term deal with the Senators. Might be a useful pickup on a show-me deal. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/WCaLH7eFjS
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 5, 2022
White is a centre but can also play right wing. He is also right-handed. The Canucks need a right-handed centre who can play on the third line.
White has the capabilities of a third-line centre with his defensive play. He has shown he can put up offence before but consistency is an issue.
https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1511519806800936961
The one thing that makes White an intriguing player is his hockey sense which explains why his defensive game has been good.
The biggest issue with White is he is prone to injuries. He missed a large chunk of last season due to a dislocated shoulder.
However, it wouldn’t hurt for the Canucks to sign White on a cheap one-year deal. Perhaps a fresh start is something he needs. White has proven he can handle third-line duties before and he may or may not replicate that in Vancouver.
If the Canucks do sign White, it gives signs of low-risk high reward.