In this edition of the Vancouver Canucks News & Rumors, the Canucks bought out Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Meanwhile, Anthony Beauvillier emerges as a trade piece for the club. Also, Ethan Bear will now be out until December.
Canucks Buyout Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced the organization bought defenceman Ekman-Larsson out on Friday.
“We would like to thank Oliver for the time he spent in Vancouver,” Allvin said. “The business of hockey is very complex and tough decisions have to be made if you want to remain competitive. Buying out Oliver gives us a lot more flexibility and cap space the next couple of years and significantly reduces his hit in the subsequent seasons. It is our expectation that following this year, the cap will also raise considerably making this the right time to execute this buyout. Our organization is committed to do whatever it needs to do to improve, get better on and off the ice, and move forward in a positive direction.”
As a result, the organization will have a $20.533 million cap hit spread out over the next eight seasons. His cap hit is $146,667 for next season but increases in the second year to $2.367 million and peaks in years three and four at $4.767 million. In the final four seasons, the organization will have a $2.127 million cap hit in each season. The Canucks free up $7.1 million and now have $6.444 million in cap space. The organization has room to improve its roster and extend Elias Pettersson this offseason before he heads into the final year of his contract.
The club traded for Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland after the 2020-21 season. They moved Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, the ninth overall pick in 2021, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick. The trade is turning out to be one of the worst in franchise history as the Canucks only had to wait a short time before Eriksson, Beagle, and Roussel’s contracts were up, and they lost out on a much-needed top-10 draft pick. Meanwhile, Ekman-Larsson isn’t the only player the Canucks are trying to move, as the organization has been trying to ship Garland for some time.
Beauvillier a New Trade Candidate for Canucks
On Thursday, TSN’s Darren Dreger joined Sekeres and Price and confirmed Brock Boeser, Tyler Myers, Garland and Beauvillier are in play. The two hosts discussed Beauvillier as the easiest player to move from the group. The Canucks have attempted to move Boeser, Garland and Myers for some time, while Beauvillier is a new name added to that group. Boeser, Garland and Myers have a cap hit which seems tough to move, while Beauvillier has a $4.150 million cap hit with a year remaining on his deal.
Related: Canucks Need 60 Plus Games From Thatcher Demko
The Canucks acquired Beauvillier in the Bo Horvat trade with the New York Islanders during the regular season. The 26-year-old scored nine goals and posted 20 points in 33 games for the Canucks last season and has 111 goals and 229 points in 490 NHL games.
Bear Officially Out Until December
Bear is officially out for six months after having shoulder surgery, which means the Canucks will be without the blueliner until December. Previously, Bear was expected to be out for four or five months, which meant he’d return in October or November. Instead, the Canucks will need to find a replacement for him to start the season.
Additionally, he is a restricted free agent, and the organization can give him a qualifying offer of $2.2 million and retain his rights, or they can allow him to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and join another team. If Bear accepts the qualifying offer, the Canucks can place him on long-term injured reserve to start the season.
Meanwhile, Rick Dhaliwal provided an update on other Canucks free-agent defencemen. He said there haven’t been any talks with Kyle Burroughs, and they are talking with UFA Noah Juulsen about a contract extension. The organization will likely attempt to bring one of the two right-shot defenders back with Bear out.
