Canucks GM Patrik Allvin talks free agency, Silovs’ future, and more

Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin joined John Shannon and Landon Ferraro on the 100% Canucks Podcast this week, offering candid insight into the club’s offseason decisions, the future of key players, and his outlook heading into 2024–25.

Allvin opened the conversation by addressing the overall volatility of this year’s free agent market.

“Free agency, you never know what’s going to come out of it,” Allvin said. “A lot of the players in the UFA pool signed with their teams before July 1st. Some of them expressed that Canada wasn’t a preferred destination.”

Despite those hurdles, Allvin expressed satisfaction with the team’s ability to retain three major pieces: Thatcher Demko, Conor Garland, and Brock Boeser.

“I was very pleased to get the three guys on contracts with Brock being the last guy. Having those three core players is big for us, not just this year but moving forward with the culture and standard, how Adam Foote wants to play and what those guys contribute to the Canucks and the community.”

On Boeser specifically, Allvin acknowledged the forward’s path to free agency and said the door to a return was never closed.

“I respect that he earned his way to free agency and wanted to explore it. It probably wasn’t an easy decision for him. We never closed the door, always continued to talk… Adam Foote reached out and talked about some tweaks with the way we want to play. That was a term and number where, in the end, it worked really well for both Brock and the team.”

Building Around Chytil, and the Value of Centre Depth

Centre depth has been a major topic for the Canucks all offseason, especially following the trade that sent J.T. Miller to New Jersey. Allvin didn’t downplay how important Filip Chytil will be in that equation.

“Centres are a priority for what you’re building your team around. Filip Chytil is still young, he missed some games, but I think he has the intangibles to play higher up in the lineup. He had a 60-point year, and that’s probably in line with some of the other second-line centres around the league,” Allvin said. “If you’re striving to get better and can find something that fits the criteria of a second-line centre, you might have the best three centres in the league if you have Chytil on your third line.”

Evander Kane and Adding Edge

Allvin called Evander Kane a “unicorn” in today’s NHL.

“He’s a bit of an old-school power forward. For a player his age, missing a full year then stepping in during the playoffs and contributing the way he did was very impressive. He’s fresh and healthy. Every team wants to be harder to play against and with Evander, he has the ability to score goals, push the pace, and be really hard to play against.”

On Last Year’s Inconsistencies

The Canucks missed the playoffs by a razor-thin margin last season, and Allvin pointed to injuries and inconsistency as the main culprits.

“You go through different pockets of the season, it’s never a linear line,” he said. “It’s a building process. It’s frustrating when you have key players injured- and we had a lot- but I never think you use excuses. There were very few games where we could go on a run and win multiple in a row. We went 7-1-1 before the break, beat Toronto at home, were second in the division, and then Demko and Quinn were injured and for whatever reason, we couldn’t find our game.”

Arturs Silovs and Goaltending Plans

With both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen signed for at least the next three years, questions have been raised about Silovs’ future with the club. 

“Arty is a young and extremely good goalie. He was just the MVP in the American League playoffs, outstanding. He’s played at the highest stage for Latvia and will be on their Olympic roster. We’ll see over the next couple of weeks if we carry the goalies to camp or if a decision is made prior to it.”

Confidence in the Forward Group

Finally, Allvin stressed his confidence in the roster’s composition.

“We feel our bottom six makes our team harder to play against. You have guys who can kill penalties and a bigger guy who was the top scorer in the AHL playoffs- Linus Karlsson- who is definitely fighting for an NHL spot. We have a good mix of speed and skill in our top six and speed, size, and grit in our bottom six.”

The Canucks GM made it clear: while there may still be work to do, the organization is confident in the foundation they’ve put in place.

You can listen to the full interview with Allvin by clicking here.