Jannik Hansen signed through 2013-2014

Following his first full NHL season, The Canucks rewarded Jannik Hansen with a 3 year deal and in the process avoided a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for July 29th. The energetic forward played in all 82 regular season games, recording 9 goals and 20 assists and played a key role on the Canucks penalty kill. During the Canucks run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Hansen contributed 3 goals and 6 assists in 25 games and played perhaps his best hockey in a Canucks uniform, making big plays in big spots and continuing to play with an edge.

The cap hit on the contract comes out at an affordable $1.35 million, a bargain for a 25 year old who figures to continue developing into a better offensive player (with his speed 20 goals is a possibility) while maintaining an effective defensive game. The length of the deal is a positive for both sides. Hansen wanted a contract that assured some long term stability while the Canucks were able to save some salary cap space and sign a player they clearly like for an extended period of time.

Hansen does what every bottom six forward should strive to do: he skates hard every shift and he forechecks aggressively at every opportunity. It helps that Hansen has exceptional speed and is unafraid to throw his body around. He's an ideal complement to Manny Malhotra on the Canucks third line and an important piece if the Canucks hope to play in mid June again next season. The only remaining free agent that saw considerable time with the Canucks last season is RFA Victor Oreskovich, the soon to be 25 year old winger who shares many similar traits with Hansen and will likely be back next season as a full time fourth liner.

The Canucks after the frenzy

Who's (back) in: Kevin Bieksa (re-signed to a 5 year deal worth 23M with a no-trade clause), Maxim Lapierre (re-signed to a 2 year deal worth 2M), Andrew Alberts (re-signed to a 2 year 2.45M contract), Sami Salo (re-signed for 1 year at 2M), Chris Higgins (re-signed to a 2 year 3.8M deal), Mark Mancari (1 year at 525K), Marco Sturm (signed for 1 year at 2.25M), Andrew Ebbett (525K deal is 1 year), Nolan Baumgartner (signed for 1 year at 525K on a two way deal)

Please see article below for analysis of the re-signings of Bieksa and Lapierre.

Salo is a veteran defenseman, 36, and while he seems to be cursed with injuries, the bottom line is this deal gives the Canucks depth on the blueline. A one year contract is a safe signing with a small cap hit in case he does go down with an injury or two. Alberts offers a 6'5” frame and even more depth on the Vancouver blueline corps, which is something the Canucks seem to always need at their disposal. Both Salo and Alberts are solid depth signings as the likes of Chris Tanev and possibly Kevin Connauton are emerging on the blueline. And to quote Gillis, “I think Keith Ballard is going to be a good player for us next year and I think Chris Tanev can step up and play more minutes and have a more active role.”

Higgins gave Vancouver some jam in the top 9 during the playoffs, but he's been a goal scorer during his career and it's hoped he can gain back some of his old scoring touch with MTL where he had a 27 goal season. Mancari is a 6'4” 225lbs minor league goal scorer one goal away from averaging three 30 goal season in the AHL. He could spot duty on the Canucks roster, but he has yet to prove he's an established NHLer. Sturm isn't the answer for VAN's second line winger, but he adds a veteran presence with some scoring pop. Pretty good signing for a depth scorer. Ebbett gives Vancouver another depth role player. He's undersized but brings speed and feistiness to the lineup.

Who's out: Christian Ehrhoff (traded to NYI and signed by BUF for 10 years 40M), Raffi Torres (signed by PHX to a 2 year 3M deal), Alex Bolduc (signed with PHX for 1 year on a two-way deal worth 575K), Sergei Shirokov (signed a 3 year deal with CSKA Moscow), Tanner Glass (signed with WPG for 750K), Jeff Tambellini (Europe), Lee Sweatt (unknown), Mario Bliznak (Czech Republic), Rick Rypien (signed by WPG for one year at 700K)

Mike Gillis was offering Ehrhoff 4.5M-4.9M to stay in VAN, but Ehrhoff wouldn't take it. That begs the question, why wouldn't he sign here? Well, the contract may not have been to his liking: the number of years on his new contract is 10, Gillis wasn't offering that. 18M of the contract is also given within the first two years, which offers security for Ehrhoff should the NHL, God forbid, enter another lockout. He will be missed on Vancouver's blueline but 10 year deals rarely pay-off even with a low salary in the final 3 years.

Torres departed for PHX for a 2 year contract which, again, gives a little more security to a player's future than the one year deal Gillis was offering. Torres gave the Canucks some bite and little scoring, but with the emergence and expected signings of Victor Oreskovich and Jannik Hansen, Raffi's services are replaceable. Bolduc was only a NHL fourth liner here and there. With Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder in need of NHL development in the coming years, Bolduc became expendable and is no longer needed in a depth role. Shirokov has gone back to Russia after only playing 8 games for the Canucks where he contributed one goal. His minor league scoring would have been missed but the Mancari signing is actually an upgrade in that department. Glass was a pretty good fourth liner but is in the same situation as Torres in that Oreskovich and Hansen can replace what he brings. Tambellini, when he was scoring, provided an energetic game with a nice scoring compliment, but that side of his game eroded and stronger and tougher players on the Canucks roster replaced him on the fourth line.

Undecided: Jannik Hansen, Victor Oreskovich, Jonas Andersson, Guillaume Desbiens, Nathan Paetsch, Andrew Peters, MacGregor Sharp, and Tyler Weiman

Updated depth chart available on The Hockey News website.

Behind the scenes: According to Eklund, NHLSourcesSay, Farhan Lalji, News 1130 Sports, TSN, the Vancouver Sun, and Jim Jamieson.

Canucks had interest in John Madden, Michael Rupp, and Michal Handzus. Gillis also called Joel Ward, Sean Bergenheim, Anthony Stewart, and Rick Rypien. He did not talk to Tomas Fleischmann. The Canucks offered Ville Leino a multi year deal over 2M. Also looked/looking at a possible trade that may involve NYR and NJ as Gillis has hinted a defenseman may not be on the free agent market that can help the Canucks. Gillis has tenured qualifying offers to Jannik Hansen and Victor Oreskovich. Tanner Glass would have liked to re-sign in VAN but two other teams talked to him before he got signed. Sergei Shirokov did receive a qualifying offer while Lee Sweatt and Mario Bliznak both did not.

NHL Realignment

The Jets open the regular season at home against Montreal

 

The current NHL divisional construct may be headed into its final season. The establishment of the Winnipeg Jets franchise, who will retain the Thrashers spot in the Southeast division for the entire 2011-2012 season, has led the NHL to seriously consider a significant league wide realignment for the 2012-2013 season. Detroit, a member of the Western Conference since its formation for the 1993-1994 season, has long lobbied for a move to the Eastern Conference. Nashville and Columbus have also indicated a preference to play in the East. For the fans longing for the days of the Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe divisions, the proposed realignment would include four divisions, two containing eight teams and two containing seven. How might these divisions look? Here’s my best guess.

Division A

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida Panthers

New York Islanders

New York Rangers

Pittsburgh Penguins

Philadelphia Flyers

Tampa Bay Lightning

Washington Capitals

Division B

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

Columbus Blue Jackets

Detroit Red Wings

Montreal Canadiens

New Jersey Devils

Ottawa Senators

Toronto Maple Leafs

Division C

Chicago Blackhawks

Colorado Avalanche

Dallas Stars

Minnesota Wild

Nashville Predators

Phoenix Coyotes

St. Louis Blues

Division D

Anaheim Ducks

Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers

Los Angeles Kings

San Jose Sharks

Vancouver Canucks

Winnipeg Jets

The obvious flaw with the NHL’s radical realignment plan is the uneven number of teams per division, giving a pronounced advantage to the teams in Division C and Division D. The league has other, less drastic options to accommodate Winnipeg’s move to the Western Conference. The simplest transition would involve four teams making logical geographic moves and would preserve the NHL’s current six division format. 

Northeast

Status Quo

Atlantic 

Status Quo

Southeast

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida Panthers

Tampa Bay Lightning

Washington Capitals

Nashville Predators (From Central)

Central

Chicago Blackhawks

Columbus Blue Jackets

Detroit Red Wings

St. Louis Blue

Dallas Stars (From Pacific)

Pacific

Anaheim Ducks

Los Angeles Kings

Phoenix Coyotes

San Jose Sharks

Colorado Avalanche (From Northwest)

Northwest

Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers

Minnesota Wild

Vancouver Canucks

Winnipeg Jets (From Southeast – Atlanta Thrashers)

The Nordiques would love to follow in the footsteps of the Jets

The league can align itself any way it likes, ultimately the Canucks will always be at a disadvantage in terms of travel. The geographic rivalries with Edmonton and Calgary would be retained, and former Smythe division foe Winnipeg would be a welcomed addition to the division. If the NHL does follow through with the proposed four division format, the inclusion of Anaheim, San Jose, and Los Angeles would be advantageous to Vancouver because of all four cities are located in the Pacific Time zone. If the league is seriously considering installing a divisional construct that includes four divisions, the best option would be to further expand into Canada; adding a team in Southern Ontario and a team in Quebec City would give the NHL thirty-two teams to split evenly into four divisions.

Kevin Bieksa

Bieksa has spent the entirety of his NHL career in Vancouver

Kevin Bieksa has committed his services to the Vancouver Canucks for the foreseeable future. Bieksa and the Canucks agreed to a five year, 23 million dollar deal, four days before July 1^st, when Bieksa was set to become an unrestricted free agent. The 30 year old defencemen played a key role in the Canucks run to the Stanley Cup finals and had indicated he would take something of a “hometown discount” to stay in Vancouver. Bieksa’s cap hit is a manageable 4.6 million, a figure that should give the Canucks enough cap space to retain Christian Ehrhoff. When paired with Dan Hamhuis, Bieksa was at his absolute best, free to operate in a more offensive role. Now, Hamhuis and Bieksa are both signed through the 2015-2016 season and they provide the Canucks with a reliable defensive pairing to use against their opponents top line. The question with Bieksa has always been a health related issue. He has missed 101 regular season games over the past four seasons, having twice suffered unfortunate and inexplicable leg injuries, the result of two separate skate related wounds. When healthy, Bieksa is an integral part of the Canucks lineup and it’s the obvious reason that the front office decided resigning him was a priority. 

Kevin Bieksa wasn’t the only Canucks player signed on Monday. Trade deadline acquisition Maxim Lapierre returns in the form of a two year, 2 million dollar contract. Lapierre filled in admirably for Manny Malhotra as the third line centre when Malhotra was sidelined with a serious eye injury. Lapierre won’t contribute much offensively (only one goal in 19 regular season games following the trade from Anaheim,) but he is a dependable bottom six forward and will likely be Vancouver’s fourth line centre for the 2011-2012 season. 

Ehrhoff could command upwards of 5 million dollars on the open market

Now the attention of the Canucks front office moves to Ehrhoff. The soon to be 29 year old defenceman is coming off his first 50 point season and has been awarded the Babe Pratt trophy for the Canucks best defenceman (or in Vancouver’s case, healthiest defenceman,) in consecutive seasons. All signs point to Ehrhoff testing free agency and it is likely that he will receive a significant offer from another team in need of a puck moving, power play pivot. If Ehrhoff chooses to take slightly less and resign with Vancouver, it would be hard to argue against the quality of the Canucks defensive corps.

Canucks Offseason Outlook

2010-2011 Vancouver Canucks Roster Contract Situation

FORWARDS

Ryan Kesler (5 years, 5.0M cap hit)

Daniel Sedin (3 years, 6.1M cap hit)

Henrik Sedin (3 years, 6.1M cap hit)

Manny Malhotra (2 years, 2.5M cap hit)

Alex Burrows (2 years, 2.0M cap hit)

Mason Raymond (1 year, 2.55M cap hit)

Mikael Samuelsson (1 year, 2.5M cap hit)

Jannik Hansen (RFA)

Maxim Lapierre (RFA)

Victor Oreskovich (RFA)

Chris Higgins (UFA)

Raffi Torres (UFA)

Tanner Glass (UFA)

Jeff Tambellini (UFA)

DEFENCEMEN

Dan Hamhuis (5 years, 4.5M cap hit)

Keith Ballard (4 years, 4.2M cap hit)

Alex Edler (2 years, 3.25M cap hit)

Aaron Rome (1 year, 750k cap hit)

Lee Sweat (RFA)

Kevin Bieksa (UFA)

Christian Ehrhoff (UFA)

Sami Salo (UFA)

Andrew Alberts (UFA)

GOALTENDERS

Roberto Luongo (11 years, 5.3M cap hit)

Cory Schneider (1 year, 900k cap hit)

The Canucks made it all the way to game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, a mere sixty minutes away from hockey’s holy grail, but four goals against later and the Canucks enter the offseason of Cup-less season number 41 with their share of decisions to make. The immediate (and completely irrational) reaction is to want to make significant changes to the roster. I can assure you that will not be the case. If Mike Gillis has proven anything during his tenure as general manager, it has been the ability not to overreact to the fan base’s impulsive demands. Vancouver’s cap space is near fourteen million, but that number is due to rise to close to nineteen million if the reports of a substantial increase in the salary cap (from 59 million to 64 million according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie) are valid.

The common Canucks fan will point to Roberto Luongo as the sole reason for the team’s inability to win the Stanley Cup. Clearly Bobby Lou was not at his best in games six and seven but neither was the rest of the squad, generating a meager 8 goals over the seven game series. The Bruins did what any good opponent should strive to do. They successfully stifled the Canucks game plan and Vancouver’s inability to respond handed the series – and the Cup – to Boston. Articles, like this one written by the Toronto Star's Damien Cox, suggests the Canucks key offseason decision is to trade Luongo, but Cox conveniently forgets Luongo’s full no trade clause. The Canucks pressing free agency issue pertains to the defensive corps. Sami Salo, Christian Ehrhoff, and Kevin Bieksa are all unrestricted free agents. The rise in the salary cap would be a major benefit for Vancouver. It would allow them to keep Hoff and Juice (both have said they would take less to stay in Vancouver). Salo has also indicated he would like to return to Vancouver, but he will be thirty-seven by the time the 2011-2011 season arrives, and if re-signed, would likely be considered a depth player. Restricted free agent Shea Weber has been a name Canucks fans have wanted for a number of years, but it is unlikely the Predators captain will leave Nashville any time soon. Dan Hamhuis, whose absence was undoubtedly felt during the Stanley Cup Finals, is signed through 2015-2016 at 4.5 million dollars per year. The much maligned defenceman Keith Ballard is under contract for four more years and a 4.2 million dollar cap hit. For the first time in his career, Ballard failed to record over 20 points and his average ice time dropped from twenty-two minutes played to sixteen. He never completely gained the trust of coach Alain Vigneault and is a suitable candidate for a trade if the organization doesn’t believe he is the right fit. Alex Edler is a legitimate top four defenceman. Chris Tanev could figure in a larger role next season.

Vancouver’s free agency decisions regarding their forwards are limited to the third and fourth lines. The Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler are entrenched in their positions on the first and second lines for the foreseeable future. Alex Burrows is also signed through 2012-2013 at a team friendly two million dollar cap hit. Second liners Mikael Samuelsson and Mason Raymond (who suffered a broken vertebrae in game six of the Stanley Cup and is headed for a lengthy recovery period,) are signed for next season. The organization could resign Chris Higgins as insurance for the top six but their priority should be retaining RFA’s Jannik Hansen and Victor Oreskovich. Hansen and Oreskovich impressed during the Canucks playoff run and would fit amicably on the third line next season with Manny Malhotra. I would also like the Canucks to keep Tanner Glass in a fourth line role and would not be opposed to welcoming back Maxim Lapierre, but in the role that he was intended to fill when he was acquired at the trade deadline, as the fourth line center.

Contrary to the mindset expressed by Cox in his column, I don’t predict an immense drop-off for the Canucks. It is my belief that the Canucks will return next season as a stronger post-season threat and contend for the Stanley Cup.