NHL free agency has come and gone – for the most part - with Canuck Nation trying to determine whether or not their team were winners or losers after the dust had settled.
Vancouver was definitely active as they signed the likes of Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood, Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais.
Meanwhile former Canucks Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Ian Cole and Casey DeSmith all took their talents elsewhere.
Also departing are Ilya Mikheyev and Sam Lafferty, who were traded to Chicago in a salary dump.
So we decided to ask Canuck Nation on ‘X’ “Are the Canucks a better team now than the one that finished last season?”
540 votes later, the result was split right down the middle with 50 per cent replying yes and 50 per cent replying no.
I guess it’s up to me and channel my inner Kevin Costner from “Swing Vote” to break the deadlock.
The Canucks lost two defensemen in Zadorov and Cole that brought some valuable intangibles. Zadorov endeared himself to Vancouver fans with his humor but it was his toughness that helped the Canucks on the ice last season. Even though Cole’s play deteriorated as the season progressed, he brought a calming veteran dressing-room presence to a team that desperately needed it.
Desharnais and Forbort are players that will provide depth but their skill set isn’t at the same level as Zadorov and Cole nor do they bring the aforementioned intangibles.
“Both are big guys (Forbort is 6-4 while Desharnais is 6-7) but neither really has a mean streak,” one NHL executive told me.
Losing Lindholm was a blow as the Swede was an outstanding penalty-killer and good on the draw while providing secondary offense while DeBrusk is viewed as a player who doesn’t have one outstanding skill but does everything well.
The bonus with DeBrusk becoming a Canuck is the possible ripple effect of making Elias Pettersson better if they play on the same line, so there is that to consider. It will be interesting to see what head coach Rick Tocchet does with the forward lines and whether or not he elects to pair DeBrusk with Pettersson or someone else.
Heinen and Sherwood are energy guys who, much like Desharnais and Forbort with the blueline, will provide depth. Heinen, who is from Langley, is coming off a 36-point season with Boston while Sherwood finally established himself as a regular in the NHL with Nashville last year, recording 27 points in the process.
“DeBrusk is a solid player who always shows up for the big games and has played well in the playoffs. He’ll be a solid addition to that team. As for Sherwood, we really liked him. He’s a good fourth-line guy who plays with a lot of energy and size. He’s got a lot of jam. If he ups his hockey IQ, he’ll be even better than anticipated,” said the same NHL exec.
As for additional moves, Vancouver has 23 players rostered totaling $87,759,167 million and is up against the salary cap with only with only $240,833 remaining according to Capfriendly.com. That total, however, doesn’t include the $2.5 million the club would have to play with should defenseman Tucker Poolman be placed on long-term injured reserve. Poolman didn’t play a single game last season as he is recovering from migraines.
The good news with all of these Canuck signings is that all of them have been responsible deals.
None of these contracts can be considered long-term risks or eventual anchors.
Even DeBrusk’s deal at $5.5 million per for the next seven seasons could age well considering the salary cap will continue to rise and that DeBrusk will be 28 when the season starts.
As for that single vote to break the tie?
I’ll vote ‘no’ because I believe the Canucks for the simple reason that they are not as strong on the blueline as when the season ended.
I will, however, add a caveat.
To quote Brian Burke, we don’t play a game until October.
OVERTIME
* You know you’re old when…you are coaching your old roommate’s kid. Tocchet and Louie DeBrusk were roommates back in the late 90’s when both were playing in Phoenix. Now he gets to coach Louie’s offspring.
* The National Hockey League released the 2024-25 schedule on Wednesday and the Canucks will open the season at home on October 9 versus the Calgary Flames. Vancouver’s schedule is fairly balanced in that they have two six-game road trips with their longest homestand being six games – which pales in comparison to this past March’s nine-game stretch at Rogers Arena.
* For dates to circle in the coming season, Toronto visits on Saturday, Feb. 8; Montreal is in town on Tuesday, March 11; Boston plays in Vancouver on Saturday, Dec. 14 and the Canucks entertain Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Canucks are also slated to play nine back-to-back games.
* The Canucks will be playing four home games during Grey Cup week in Vancouver including a game on Sunday, Nov. 17 versus Nashville at 5pm. The 111th Grey Cup is scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m. at BC Place. Go figure.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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