As we continue our "best and worst week" series at The Canuck Way and FanSided NHL, we will move on from the best jerseys and players of all time with the Vancouver Canucks. In today's edition, we will focus on the three worst contract signings in franchise history.
While there have been some bang-for-your-buck signings, there have been some bad and even horrendous deals. That said, who made it as the worst of the worst?
3. Sam Gagner
When it comes to Sam Gagner, it was a mix of paying too much to a bottom-six guy and terrible role deployment. The Canucks gave Gagner a three-year, $3.15 million average annual value (AAV) to a guy who had 18 goals and 50 points in the 2016-17 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
What helped Ganger get there was being on a sheltered line that was set to score more. Plus, he was the bumper guy on the Blue Jackets' top power play unit. Once he came over to the Canucks, his production dropped quickly. During the 2017-18 season, Ganger finished with 10 goals and 31 points in 74 games. He had a whopping three power-play goals that season.
Ganger was shuffled throughout the top nine while with the Canucks, and nothing seemed to work. He took on bigger roles, and his two-way game was exposed. He would eventually be traded after playing seven games with the Canucks the following year to the Edmonton Oilers. Ganger finished with 11 goals and 34 points in 81 total games. Out of his 11 goals, four came on the power play.
2. Loui Eriksson
If anyone mentions bad contracts regarding the Canucks, Loui Eriksson immediatly comes to mind. After finishing with 30 goals and 63 points in the 2015-16 season, the Canucks signed the Swedish forward to a six-year, $36 million deal. They thought he could bring that spark to the Canucks, along with the chemistry with the Sedins from their time with Sweden.
In five seasons, Eriksson never reached 15 goals or 30 points in a season. His best season was in 2018-19, when he had 11 goals and 29 points in 81 games. During his five years with the Canucks, Eriksson finished with 38 goals and 90 points in 252 games.
While he was fine defensively, his slow foot speed and lack of production torpedoed what could have been a slam-dunk signing for the Canucks and Eriksson. In the end, it was a dud deal that went nowhere. However, at least for Eriksson, his wasn't the worst deal of all time.
1. Mark Messier
If anyone utters the name Mark Messier in Vancouver, it's known right away how fans view him. Not only was he the villain in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, but he was also a huge reason for the darkest time in Canuck history. Outside of signing a five-year, $30 million deal, his wrongs during his time are about as long as a CVS receipt.
Outside of the fact that he took the captaincy from Trevor Linden or seeing team favorites like Kirk McLean, Martin Gelinas, Gino Odjick, and Dave Babych let go under Mike Keenan, who replaced Pat Quinn, Messier's on-ice performance was not great.
During three of the seasons he played with the Canucks, he finished with 52 goals and 162 points in 207 games. His "best" season was in 1997-08, when he had 22 goals and 60 points in 82 games. Messier never had a point- per-game season, which doesn't match the $6 million he was paid annually. He was overpaid, underperformed, and brought a dark cloud on the franchise for three years.
While these are the three worst contracts in Canucks history, they're on different levels of not working out in Vancouver. A couple of them could be considered overpays and production drops. One is considered an albatross of a deal that not only affected the on-ice performance but also the off-ice impact within the organization.
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