The biggest names in hockey media check out for the summer as soon as their July 1 duties are complete.
But it sounds like Jim Benning's work is far from finished. He has RFAs still to sign — and sounds determined to try to free up more money so he can go after one of the top-six wingers still on the UFA market.
That won't be easy though. It's not like other GMs are beating down his door to make a deal — at least, not one he's comfortable with.
Even when the "trade Tanev" talk was at its peak a couple of years ago, it seemed like the rumoured return was never enough to justify getting rid of a very useful player. I felt like Tanev's low-key nature played into that—a quiet guy, who plays on the west coast, and who doesn't put up many points but is a stealthily effective defensive defenseman.
Since folks in other markets started paying attention, they've now determined that he also gets hurt a lot—not untrue, but I still don't see that as his defining characteristic. I have long appreciated what he has brought to the team—and the pain threshold that has allowed him to play through many ailments, too. His $4.45 million cap hit is far from outrageous for what he brings.
Would Benning be looking to go 1-for-1 for a cheaper defenseman, just to free up more money? The last thing he needs is *more" bodies — maybe he can bundle in a Tim Schaller, too? Who would you like to see come back in return?
With Tanev one year away from unrestricted free agency, my preferred approach would be to hang onto him until the trade deadline. If he is healthy, I think he could fetch a solid return from a playoff-bound team. If the Canucks are in the playoff hunt, though, I could see how he'd become an 'own rental' and stick around if he was still on the roster in late February.
As for Loui Eriksson, budget-minded Ottawa has long been floated as a team that might be willing to take on the last three years of his contract—which costs $9 million in real dollars, but carries an $18 million total cap hit. But after their July 1 dealings, they're barely a million dollars below the salary-cap floor, with four roster spots still to fill.
Ottawa is still thin at forward, so they'd have roster room for Eriksson. But they have a long list of prospects in their system who could jump up next season. It's not like they *need* him on the ice or on their salary list — so why wouldn't Pierre Dorion see if he can squeeze an asset out of the Canucks as well?
I hate to say it, but Toronto gave up a first-rounder just to get one year of Patrick Marleau off their books. What's the cost for three years of similar cap relief? Especially when Dorion may also have other suitors trying to negotiate for that same cap space?
Looking at the bottom of the
CapFriendly salary chart on their home page, Colorado and Winnipeg are the other two teams that are currently below the cap floor. But that's by design in both cases—the Avs has six RFAs to sign, including Mikko Rantanen, and the Jets have five, including Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor.
Could Columbus be interested in taking Eriksson? The Blue Jackets have $17 million in cap space and Zach Werenski is their only name RFA who needs a new deal. Word is that they'd like to get out from under Alexander Wennberg's contract. He's a former first-round draft pick who had 59 points when he signed his six-year deal for $4.9 million a season, but dropped to 25 last year. I've wondered for awhile if he could have a Will Bill Karlsson-like resurgence once he gets to a new home. But he's a centre—and until Brandon Sutter gets moved, the Canucks are now overloaded at that position with Horvat, Pettersson, Gaudette and Beagle also on the roster.
I wonder if the Blue Jackets would swap Wennberg for Sutter, one-for-one — a trade of players currently at low value? But I guess that doesn't get the Canucks any closer to their immediate goals. Wennberg makes just over $500,000 a year more than Sutter, is signed for two years longer, and wouldn't relieve the logjam down the middle. He's one of the very few Blue Jackets forwards who is designated as a centre only, and hasn't been used on the wing.
As we wait to see if Benning can pull any rabbits out of his hat this summer, a couple of transactions have taken place since my last blog.
The Canucks' final free-agent signing of the day on Monday was a one-year, two-way deal for soon-to-be 27-year-old goaltender Zane McIntyre. Drafted in the sixth round by Boston in 2010, he played eight games for the NHL Bruins in 2016-17 but has spent most of his time in Providence since turning pro in 2015. He was with the Bruins during their recent run to the Stanley Cup Final.
McIntyre is a native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, so naturally he went to UND. He was teammates with Troy Stecher for two seasons, but left just before Brock Boeser arrived in the fall of 2015.
On Tuesday, the Canucks inked restricted free agent Tyler Motte to a one-year deal with a cap hit of $975,000. That's a raise of $50,000 from the entry-level contract he signed with Chicago in 2016, after his three years at Michigan.
Perceived as a throw-in when Thomas Vanek was dealt to Columbus at the 2018 trade deadline, Motte more than doubled his NHL career totals last season with 9-7-16 in 74 games with Vancouver. Not bad for just 12:46 of average ice time per game, including 1:43 on the penalty kill. I imagine that will increase next season with Markus Granlund—and possibly Loui Eriksson and Brandon Sutter—gone. Two of Motte's goals last season came shorthanded, tying him with Bo Horvat for the team lead in that category.
To wrap up today, a quick rundown of ex-Canucks who have found new landing spots over the past few days.
In addition to Granlund signing with the Oilers and Luke Schenn landing with Tampa Bay, we saw Derrick Pouliot sign a one-year, two-way deal with the St. Louis Blues, Brendan Gaunce sign a one-year, two-way deal with Boston and Jayson Megna sign a one-year, two-way deal with Colorado, while Brendan Leipsic got a one-way deal with Washington.
Michael Del Zotto, Ben Hutton, Luca Sbisa and Thomas Vanek all remain unsigned.
Also, Utica Comets centre Tanner Kero signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Dallas Stars, but the Comets inked center Carter Camper to an AHL deal after he put up 50 points with Grand Rapids last season. On NHL deals, Reid Boucher and new acquisition Francis Perron are RFAs awaiting new contracts, with the expectation that they'll also join the Comets this fall.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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