Within the next week or so, our Canuck news cycle is going to slow to a trickle.
Most of the housekeeping work for next season will be done, so some vacation time will be in order for all parties concerned before preparations for the Young Stars tournament and training camp in Prince George kick into high gear towards the end of August.
So—I'll kick myself for this soon enough but for today, here's what I think is a controversy-free "just the facts" wrap-up of some of the lower-level activity that has happened around the team beneath the hum of drama that has enveloped the past week.
Signings—three more RFAs are now under contract (all numbers from
General Fanager):
• Alexander Grenier - one-year, two-way deal with an NHL cap hit of $585,000 and an AHL salary of $90,000.
Though Grenier was a key figure in the Utica Comets' Calder Cup run and has a real chance to make the Canucks at right wing next season, the contract actually represents a drop from his previous deal.
Under the Gillis/Gilman regime, Grenier's last contract was a two-year deal with a $640,000 NHL cap hit. Maybe it doesn't matter much, since Grenier has yet to play his first NHL game and his AHL salary was actually lower—just $67,500. But his previous deal offered significant signing bonuses—$80,000 in the first year and $75,000 in the second—as well as some large performance bonuses. I'd assume the signing bonuses, at least, would still be payable even if the player stayed in the minors, but not sure about the performance bonuses.
This time around, Grenier's signing bonus is just a token $10,000. So, no overspending here on a player that Jim Benning has spoken warmly about on more than one occasion.
I'm not sure *how* the team was able to resign Grenier for less money than his previous contract. According to the CBA, accessible in its entirely at
this link, I believe these are the terms that would apply to Grenier's qualifying offer (pages 30 and 31, if you'd care to look for yourself):
(A) if the Player's prior year's Paragraph 1 NHL Salary is less than or
equal to $660,000 for that League Year, 110% of the prior year's
Paragraph 1 NHL Salary.
(D) if a Player is eligible to receive a Two-Way Qualifying Offer, the
Paragraph 1 Minor League Salary component shall not be less than
the higher of the Player's prior year's Paragraph 1 Minor League
Salary, if any, or the minimum Minor League salary.
Maybe the need to offer the 10 percent raise on the NHL salary is negated by the fact that he gets a raise on the AHL side, from $67,500 to $90,000? I can't tell if *both* these terms need to apply, or if the Two-Way situation outlined in item (D) voids item (A). And that's why I didn't pursue the field of law!
• Adam Clendening - one-year, two-way deal with a cap hit of $761,250 at the NHL level and $70,000 in the AHL. That's a raise of just over 23 percent from his last deal at the NHL level, and the same as his previous AHL salary.
Maybe his situation is different because he played 21 NHL games last season?
• Frank Corrado - one-year, two-year deal with a cap hit of $632,500 at the NHL level and $67,500 at the AHL level. That's exactly a 10 percent raise for Corrado at the NHL level, and the same AHL salary as last year.
Remember how concerned everyone was about Mike Gillis burning a year of Corrado's entry-level contract when he appeared in all four playoff games against the Sharks in 2013? That has turned out to be a bit of a non-issue now that he has just been extended for another year at basically the same money as his entry-level deal.
Corrado has accumulated 28 games of regular-season NHL experience as well as those four playoff games. Last year, he had one assist during the 10 games he dressed for with the Canucks in two separate call-ups.
With those signings complete, the Canucks now have 22 NHL players under contract—12 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies. With $2.8 million in cap space, there's just one remaining order of business—a contract for Sven Baertschi.
I would also expect to see Baertschi locked down within the next week. I'm not too worried about the one-way/two-way distinction, since he's waiver eligible anyway. If the Canucks tried to shuffle him down to Utica, he'd almost certainly get claimed—that's not what Benning had in mind when he traded away a second-round draft pick at the deadline.
As the signings continue around the league, the Canucks are dropping down the overall salary cap list. Last week, I think they were as high as second or third overall. Now, they're down to sixth—and some other teams will definitely still be moving up the chart.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»