Canucks are actively looking to free up cap space

While the majority of unrestricted free agent activity has already happened, there are a handful of players of some significance still looking for new homes.  But at this point, some teams will need to free up cap space if they want to add anyone off the open market.  It appears the Canucks are one of those as Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver is monitoring a couple of players still on the open market and are actively working to open up cap space before they could sign one.

The Canucks have been busy in recent weeks but a lot of their moves have been to either re-sign pending free agents or signing players to early extensions that kick in starting in 2026-27.  In the former category, blueliner Derek Forbort was re-signed last month to a one-year, $2M pact while winger Brock Boeser inked a seven-year, $50.75M contract just as free agency opened up.  Meanwhile, winger Conor Garland (six years, $36M) and goaltender Thatcher Demko (three years, $25.5M) inked extensions on the first day they were eligible.

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been a lot of roster turnover from last season.  Vancouver picked up winger Evander Kane from Edmonton in a cap-clearing move from the Oilers while losing center Pius Suter to St. Louis and defenseman Noah Juulsen to Philadelphia in free agency.  They also recently moved goaltender Arturs Silovs to Pittsburgh, knowing they were going to lose him on waivers in the fall.

But for the most part, the bulk of the core group remains intact from last season, one that saw them lose 19 points in the standings, going from winning the Pacific Division in 2023-24 to finishing fifth last season, missing the playoffs altogether.

However, if GM Patrik Allvin wants to add to his roster, he will definitely need to open up some extra cap flexibility while their current roster flexibility is somewhat limited as well.  Per PuckPedia, the Canucks have just $795K in cap space which doesn’t leave much wiggle room for in-season injury recalls let alone other moves.

Who could be moved is a matter of some question, however.  Center Teddy Blueger is in the final year of his deal at an affordable $1.8M cap hit but he outperformed his contract a year ago so he might not be someone they want to move.  Nils Hoglander begins a new three-year, $9M deal this season and took a step back offensively last year which probably doesn’t help his value.  Meanwhile, Dakota Joshua had a tough year after returning from testicular cancer so the three years and $9.75M left on his deal could be viewed as problematic.

While there’s a belief that the Canucks underachieved last season, they haven’t done much to change up the core that finished off the year.  But if they want to add any other pieces to their group to help their chances of getting back into the playoffs, they need to create some cap room beforehand, a process that already appears to be underway.