One pending free agent the Canucks can steal from their Pacific Division rivals in the 2024 offseason
The Vancouver Canucks are one of the NHL’s best teams, but can they get even better in the 2024 offseason regardless of whether they win the Stanley Cup?
With nearly $25 million worth of cap space, the Vancouver Canucks could have enough saved up to further improve their already elite lineup. Sure, general manager Patrik Allvin will need to be mindful of the team’s finances after he potentially re-signs players like Dakota Joshua, Vasily Podkolzin, Tyler Myers, Filip Hronek, Arturs Silovs, and perhaps even Nikita Zadorov, and not all of the names mentioned will come cheap.
This will leave Allvin with far less cap space to work with than the currently projected number, but it also doesn’t mean he won’t have the finances to ink one more big-name (or small-name) free agent and bring them to British Columbia.
Allvin may not even need to look far, as there are some compelling players in the Pacific Division who could be up for grabs in the 2024 offseason.
Jakob Silfverberg, Forward/Anaheim Ducks
Starting off with one team that just didn’t have much selection, the Anaheim Ducks would have had a prime name here in Adam Henrique had he not been traded to Edmonton. As a consolation prize, Ducks alternate captain Jakob Silfverberg brings more experience to British Columbia if he doesn’t return to Anaheim for a 12th season.
It would be tough to see the rebuilding Ducks bring him back unless he is more than willing to help oversee a team in transition. But the aging Silfverberg has yet to win a Cup, and an organization like the Vancouver Canucks is in much better shape to contend next season than Anaheim.
Since Vancouver is more than proficient in scoring, the Canucks would use the defensive forward on the lower lines, and bottom-six minutes is what we have seen from Silfverberg this season. That said, he would have no issues with accepting lesser ice time in British Columbia if he jumped to a division rival.
And he would be a major help in the defensive zone since, despite Anaheim’s pedestrian play defensively, Silfverberg’s on-ice save percentage at 5-on-5 is an incredible 95.4. He’s also logging a Corsi For of 51.4 with just two weeks left in the season for what has been a bad hockey team.