When it comes to the Vancouver Canucks cap space situation, they have $17.814 million left. It's clear that the Canucks front office doesn't want to spend it all. Especially if they're open to making moves throughout the season or big free-agent signings next offseason.
That said, they have the money to make a sneaky addition to the roster, which could also be cost-effective. The Canucks, a couple of seasons ago, took a chance on Pius Suter, signing him to a two-year, $3.2 million deal in 2023-24. He ended up being an underrated move at the time.
Fast forward to the offseason before the 2026-27 season, and the Canucks could be in that position again. However, it won't be for a center, but for a winger. Enter Finnish forward Eeli Tolvanen.
Eeli Tolvanen as a Canuck makes sense
In the case of Tolvanen to the Canucks, a potential signing makes sense. He just finished a two-year, $6.95 million deal with the Seattle Kraken. Tolvanen is a solid two-way forward who hits everything that moves. The Canucks need thump in their lineup, and he brings that. For Tolvanen, it's more than just scoring. He is someone who is not afraid to throw the body.
Back on Friday, Aug. 7, Rick Dhaliwal on the Canucks Conversation Podcast mentioned that some guys were interested in joining Vancouver. Turns out Tolvanen is one of them. On top of that, Trevor Beggs from Locked On Canucks had some solid points on how Tolvanen could fit in well.
Over his eight-year NHL career split between the Nashville Predators and Kraken, he has 92 goals and 190 points in 423 games. What really stands out is that Tolvanen has 985 career hits. That is an 82-game average of 191. In 2025-26 alone, he had 187 hits. That's after having 210 in 2023-24 and 237 in 2024-25. Compared to the Canucks last season, Tolvanen would have been second on the team after Kiefer Sherwood's 210.
In terms of stats last season, Tolvanen had 12 goals and 36 points in 78 games. He did have 23 goals and 35 points in 81 games the season before, after having 16 goals and 41 points in 2023-24. While there was a slight dip, Tolvanen can be a sneaky good player when played correctly. Furthermore, Tolvanen's 36 points would have put him fifth on the Canucks in scoring.
Tolvanen last season under Lane Lambert averaged 16:03 of ice time, the most of his career. However, he has not been given top-six minutes or top power-play time. Beggs on Locked On Canucks made the case for sliding Tolvanen into the top six and seeing what he can do with more responsibility and a bigger role. Frankly, he might be onto something.
As it stands now, the top six could feature Liam Ohgren with Marco Rossi and Brock Boeser, while Jake DeBrusk could be with Elias Pettersson and either Brendan Gallagher or Linus Karlsson. Beggs mentioned that if Tolvanen slides onto a second line with Ohgren and Rossi, while moving up Boeser with DeBrusk and Pettersson, that line could be sneaky good.
Furthermore, the fact that Tolvanen has a high motor, a get-after-it attitude, plus the addition of physicality and scoring could be something the Canucks truly needed. Plus, he won't cost much for the Canucks in the long run. According to AFP Analytics, the projection shows Tolvanen signing a two-year, $7.333 million deal. Meaning the average annual value (AAV) could be $3.666 million per season.
Suter, at the time of his signing, was projected to make $3.5 million per season. He ended up signing for $1.6 million per season. A bargain-bin steal for the Canucks. If they can sign Tolvanen to half of his projections or even a $3.5 million to $4 million deal, it would still be a solid move.
Either way, it's a low-risk, medium-to-high-reward move for the Canucks. Plus, it could give Tolvanen a chance to prove that he can help lead younger players in a rebuild. He is 27 years old and could be a bridge guy in the locker room between the younger guys and the veterans on the Canucks. All in all, this could be an underrated win-win move if the Canucks do sign Tolvanen to a two- or three-year deal.
All that remains, will a deal get done before training camp or the season begins for the Canucks?
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