The price point wasn't as high as originally feared, but the Vancouver Canucks did indeed kick off the 2019 NHL free-agency window with a big contract for big defenseman Tyler Myers.
The 2010 Calder Trophy winner will join current Calder winner Elias Pettersson on the Vancouver roster.
As discussed in the last blog, the value of the contract is less than that seven years @ $7 million a season projection that first made the rounds.
The Canucks get Myers, who will turn 30 next February, for five years at $6 million a season.
Here's a quick rundown of how that salary is structured:
CapFriendly lays this out a little more clearly. Dreger also tweeted out the no-trade details on the contract. Here's how it all shakes down:
2019-20: $1 million base salary, $6 million signing bonus, no-movement clause
2020-21: $4.5 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2021-22: $2 million base salary, no signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2022-23: $4.5 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus, 10-team no-trade list
2023-24: $2 million base salary, no signing bonus, 10-team no-trade list
It's good to see Myers' trade protection diminish over the length of the contract—situations can certainly change over time. With just $5 million in bonus money paid during the final three years of the contract, that makes the deal less buyout-proof than, say, Loui Eriksson's contract. And a real cost of $2 million in the contract's final year could make it more palatable for another team to acquire in a trade.
Considering the Canucks seemed absolutely determined to go down this path, I think this is about as good a structure as we could have hoped for.
Myers is coming off a seven-year deal that carried a cap hit of $5.5 million a season—an extension signed in Buffalo in September of 2011, before the last lockout, which took effect after his entry-level contract expired. He was traded to Winnipeg in the third year of that deal on February 11, 2015, as part of the return for Evander Kane.
Myers hit a career low with 20:21 of ice time last season, but was still good for nine goals and 31 points, both of which would have ranked him second among Canucks' defensemen, behind only Alex Edler.
One thing I'll say on Myers' deal—I think it compares pretty favourably when you consider that 32-year-old Anton Stralman got three years at $5.5 million per season from Florida.
It'll be interesting to see where Jake Gardiner ends up landing. All's quiet around him so far.
The Canucks also signed two other defensemen on Monday:
Again, Jordie Benn was no surprise. The soon to be 32-year-old Victoria native joins the team on a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2 million a season—a tidy raise from the $1.1 million he made over the last three years. That also seems reasonable considering that Patrik Nemeth, another rumoured Canucks target, got two years at $3 million per season from Detroit.
Known primarily for his play on the defensive side of the puck, Benn hit a career high with 5-17-22 last season. That would have put him third among Canucks' defensemen, behind Alex Edler (34 points) and Troy Stecher (23 points). Benn also had 128 blocked shots last season and a career high 124 hits.
An interesting detail on Benn, who seemed well-liked in Montreal.
I wonder if that offer was still on the table in Montreal this week? The Habs were madly clearing cap space so they could drop an offer sheet on Sebastian Aho—although I imagine that space will become available again when Carolina matches.
I also wonder if Jordie's arrival in Vancouver will further fuel the rumours that brother Jamie could land here someday?
For now, word is that Jamie was actively involved in the Stars' successful free-agent pitches for Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry, so it seems like the wounds that were opened when team president Jim Lites went on his tirade last Christmas have healed for the time being.
The third defenseman signed by the Canucks on Monday was Oscar Fantenberg. The 27-year-old Swede made the jump to the North America two years ago, splitting his rookie season between the Los Angeles Kings and the Ontario Reign. He was dealt to the Calgary Flames for a conditional fourth-round pick at the trade deadline—presumably to give the team extra defensive depth in anticipation of a long playoff run. He was an occasional healthy scratch in both Calgary and Los Angeles.
Fantenberg's a lefty and has good size at six feet at 206 pounds. He has 13 points in 88 career NHL games.
The Canucks get him on a one-year, one-way deal that pays him $850,000. That's a nice upgrade for him on his two-way deal from last year that paid $650,000 at the NHL level.
On their way out: Luke Schenn, who took at one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning at $700,000, and Ben Hutton, who hasn't found a home yet.
So...the revamped blue line will look something like this?
...EDITED - and most likely edited many more times over the course of the season...
Edler - Myers
Hughes - Tanev
Benn - Stecher
Spares: Fantenberg and Biega
Of course, injuries will happen. But all these signings suggest that not only are the Canucks not expecting to see Olli Juolevi in a full-time role in Vancouver this season, they're also not keen to bring up kids like Guillaume Brisebois or Ashton Sautner, or leave room for the college players Josh Teves and Brogan Rafferty, who were signed at the end of last season.
With three new primary faces including Hughes, though, the blue line will finally look different from what we saw last season.
Up front, the Canucks signed just one depth player. Tyler Graovac is a big 26-year-old centre, listed at 6'5" and 208 pounds. Drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round in 2011, his biggest NHL season was 2016-17, when he had nine points in 52 games for the Wild. He was dealt to Washington during the summer of 2017, then spent most of the following season in the minors. The Calgary Flames signed him to a two-way deal last year, and he had a pretty solid season with the Stockton Heat.
Graovac's new contract is also a two-way deal. Details have not yet been released.
After not receiving a qualifying offer from the Canucks earlier in the week, Markus Granlund has landed with the Edmonton Oilers, where it's hoped he'll help their abysmal penalty kill.
The money is less than the $1.475 million that Granlund made in Vancouver last season. Considering Dave Tippett's traditional commitment to defensive hockey, I could see him becoming a favourite of the new Edmonton coach.
Last year at this time, the Canucks had way too many forwards signed. This year, it's too many defensemen. According to
CapFriendly, the Canucks now have 24 players on their roster for next season, including 10 defensemen, and have just $8.7 million in available cap space with six RFAs still to sign: Boeser, Goldobin, Leivo, Motte, Teves and Rafferty.
So—the wheeling and dealing isn't over yet.
As Boeser waits for his new deal with the Canucks, he'll be returning to his usual summer team starting next week.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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