Grading the Canucks offseason (So far)

Free agency: C

With not much cap space, it did not look like the Canucks were going to be active in free agency. But it turns out, the opposite happened.

Rutherford spoke about wanting more “sandpaper” on the team on the DFO Rundown podcast back in June. The two players they signed definitely brought sandpaper.

Curtis Lazar was a player I wanted the Canucks to sign and they got him. The Salmon Arm native is a very good defensive centre/right-winger and also does well on the penalty kill. He was a player the Canucks needed, especially with the fact that he is right-handed. Lazar seems like a good fit on the bottom six, especially with a one million dollar cap hit for three years.

Ilya Mikheyev was the biggest Canucks signing of the day. He brings sandpaper and speed. Mikheyev also is good in his own end and on the PK and isn’t afraid to get physical. He is coming off a career-high season which included 21 goals.

As much as I like Mikheyev, the contract raises some eyebrows. At four years and 4.75 million dollars a season, the Canucks are gambling here. Is his 21-goal, 32-point season a sign of the start of something bigger or is it just a mirage? If it’s the latter, the Canucks could have another anchor contract on their hands. Here’s hoping that isn’t the case.

The Canucks also made the Andrei Kuzmenko signing official on the first day of free agency. After beating out numerous teams in signing him, Vancouver got him in June. Kuzmenko is an excellent skater and playmaker but it looks like he’s a boom or bust player. On a one-year deal, he gets to prove that he belongs with the Canucks and in the NHL next season.

There were also some depth signings the Canucks made. Those players signed were left winger Dakota Joshua, defenceman Wyatt Kalinuk, goaltender Collin Delia and defenceman Christian Wolanin.

These players are expected to be in Abbotsford. However, Joshua seems the most likely to make the NHL roster next season. He is a physical player standing at 6’3″ and can provide a bit of offence. Allvin spoke about Joshua a lot during his media availability on the first day of free agency.

The biggest reason why I’m giving free agency a C grade for the Canucks (other than Mikheyev’s contract) is they didn’t address the defence. A lot of right-handed defencemen signed for cheap cap hits including Ilya Lyubushkin, Colin Miller and Troy Stecher.

It looks like the Canucks will have to fix the defence by trade…

Trades: I (For now)

Spoiler alert: The Canucks did not make any trades. Well, not yet anyway. There were lots of trade rumours surrounding the team for months, particularly J.T. Miller. Allvin and company are most definitely not done this offseason and could make trades in the coming weeks or months.

Overall offseason grade: C

It’s hard not to get underwhelmed with the Canucks offseason so far. Allvin and Rutherford talked about creating cap space and improving the team but haven’t done a whole lot.

Yes, the Canucks are a better team with Mikheyev and Lazar and they had a good draft. But the defence is still the same and it was not good at all last season. They cannot go with the same defence heading into next season.

But as said above, it doesn’t seem like they’ll do that. Rutherford was asked about the fans being impatient on a Miller trade Friday’s edition of Donnie and Dhali.

“Well, I’ll ask you what are they impatient about?” said Rutherford. “Our best forward, we still have in our lineup, what’s the impatience for?”

It looks like the Canucks are still waiting for the right offer for Miller and other players. Again, they can’t make a trade just because they have to. They need to be smart with it and that’s the right approach.

It’s hard not to blame fans for being impatience and underwhelmed. But as I Tweeted out on Friday, I think Canucks fans are also having PTSD from the old regime and fear Miller will walk away for nothing or get signed to a big contract that will look bad in a few years.

However, the Canucks path to contention won’t happen in just one offseason. It’s going to take time to clean up the previous regime’s messes.

Rutherford even said in the Donnie and Dhali interview that it could take two to three years to turn things around.

So I think the Canucks have improved the forward core and they have a decent shot at the playoffs next year. But the defence still scares me and that could prevent them from making the playoffs. Thatcher Demko and Spencer Martin are going to have their work cut out for them if the same defensive core returns.

I’ll admit I am underwhelmed by the Canucks moves so far which is why they get a C. But at the same time, I’m patient.

What grade would you give the Canucks offseason so far? Let us know in the comments below, in the Facebook comments or on Twitter.