The Vancouver Canucks have seen a lot of success under the leadership of Patrik Allvin so far. Since he was hired as general manager (GM) on Jan. 26, 2022, they have a 110-71-23 record and not only made the playoffs last season but won the Pacific Division and were one win away from the Western Conference Final.
Related: Vancouver Canucks’ Player Milestones for the 2024-25 Season
Of course, it’s a team game and not only Allvin should be praised for that success, but his moves in free agency are a huge reason why they have emerged from the darkness and become contenders again. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at his major signings and the difference they have made in the Canucks’ fortunes to this point.
2022 Free Agency
Home Run: Dakota Joshua
One of Allvin’s first free agent signings, Dakota Joshua, has panned out big time. He was added as grit for the fourth line then but has become much more than that. Now one of the anchors of arguably the Canucks best line of 2023-24, he has not only turned into a scoring threat but a multi-faceted winger capable of changing the tide of a game. Allvin signed him for two years at $825,000 average annual value (AAV) and he finished that contract with 29 goals and 55 points in 142 games, including a career-high 18 goals and 32 points last season.
Joshua brought so much to the table that $825,000 became a steal of a deal. He provided offence and made Conor Garland a high-level threat again, as the two developed Sedin-like chemistry last season. From no-look passes to seemingly knowing exactly where the other was going to be in the offensive zone, they were one of the most exciting duos to watch night in and night out. He also brought the pain physically with a team-leading 245 hits, all while missing a large chunk of the season after injuring his hand in a fight against the Chicago Blackhawks in February. Finally, he became one of head coach Rick Tocchet’s go-to forwards on the penalty kill, with 1:50 of shorthanded ice time per game.
Of course, Joshua is no longer a bargain, as his play rightfully earned him a four-year extension at $3.25 million AAV. But the point still stands, Allvin hit a home run with Joshua and he now has a game-changing talent in his middle-six for the foreseeable future.
Miss (But Was It Really?): Ilya Mikheyev
Signing Ilya Mikheyev to a lucrative four-year $4.75 million AAV contract has been probably Allvin’s only misstep in free agency so far. Having said that, I have to cut him some slack on this one, considering Mikheyev was never 100 percent the entire time he was a Canuck. He nearly tore his ACL in his first preseason with the team and played through it until he was shut down in January. Then, he had to rehab it the rest of the season and into the offseason, not returning until Oct. 21, missing all of training camp and the preseason.
Mikheyev rarely looked like the speedy, two-way scoring threat he was in Toronto, and that’s what Allvin was banking on when he signed him. While he was a great penalty killer and defensive forward, that’s not what the Canucks were expecting with the $4.75 million they invested in him. If he had been healthy, this section would read a lot differently, as I fully believe he would be a difference-maker with his trademark speed that he displayed as a Maple Leaf. He also likely wouldn’t have been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks to clear cap space.
Hit: Curtis Lazar
While Curtis Lazar is no longer a Canuck and was traded at the 2022 Trade Deadline, he was a solid signing at the time. Before getting dealt to the New Jersey Devils, he played 45 games with the Canucks and was a physical two-way presence in the bottom six. He was good on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle and finished with three goals and five points along with 124 hits. The three-year $1 million AAV contract might have been a little long, but after Nils Aman emerged as almost the same player, Allvin made the right decision to trade him and get a draft pick while also saving a bit of money. All in all, a hit.
2023 Free Agency
Hit: Carson Soucy
Allvin went into free agency in 2023 with one thing in mind: upgrade his defence corps. His first move was signing Carson Soucy to a three-year contract worth $3.25 million AAV. Previously with the Seattle Kraken, where he was one of their best two-way defenders, the 6-foot-5 veteran was brought in to potentially play with Quinn Hughes or Filip Hronek and round out the top-four.
Unfortunately, Soucy’s first season with the Canucks was full of injuries – and not just minor ones. After missing the first two games of the season with a leg injury, he injured his foot in November which caused him to miss another 23 games. Then, in January, he fractured his knuckle after taking a shot to the hand, leading to 17 more games on the sidelines. But, when he was in the lineup, he showed everyone why Allvin signed him to a long-term deal. He showcased calm, no-nonsense defending, and fully bought into what Tocchet, Adam Foote, and Sergei Gonchar were selling. The Canucks’ record speaks for itself, as they were 27-9-4 when he dressed for a game. Hopefully, he can stay healthy this season and provide that type of defence for more than just 40 games.
Hit: Ian Cole
Despite Ian Cole’s struggles in the postseason, he was one of Allvin’s hits in free agency last season. The veteran of 826 games and two Stanley Cups came as advertised all season long – a physical, shot-blocking penalty killer that brought grit and leadership to the dressing room. He was in Pittsburgh when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 and was very familiar to Allvin and president Jim Rutherford. As expected, he led all blueliners in blocked shots with 166 and was the most-deployed defender on the penalty kill with a team-leading 207:09 (average of 2:39 per game) of ice time shorthanded.
Ignoring the playoffs, especially the second round against the Edmonton Oilers where he was directly responsible for quite a few goals against, he was a big reason why the Canucks finished with their best record since 2011-12. It’s also important to remember that he was playing injured, too, which limited his effectiveness. All in all, I would argue his signing was one of Allvin’s best of free agency in 2023.
Hit: Teddy Blueger
Allvin’s third straight hit of 2023, Teddy Blueger, became more than just a fourth-liner very early in his tenure. He too was injured in the preseason and didn’t debut with the Canucks until Nov. 12 against the Montreal Canadiens. He played his first game on the fourth line alongside Anthony Beauvillier and Sam Lafferty, but after Pius Suter got injured in that same game, he got elevated to the third line with none other than the dynamic duo of Joshua and Garland.
The trio developed quick chemistry, and the rest is history. They became one of the Canucks’ best lines and at times could have been called the second line. Blueger became the Brendan Morrison to Garland’s Markus Naslund and Joshua’s Todd Bertuzzi as the responsible two-way center that wins draws and does the little things defensively. Again, Allvin hit another double with the Blueger signing, and it will be paying off again this season as he just signed a new two-year deal worth a modest $1.8 million AAV.
Hit: Pius Suter
Allvin went quiet on the free agent market for about a month before signing Pius Suter on Aug. 11 to a two-year deal worth $3.25 million. He had just finished a season with the Detroit Red Wings where he put up 14 goals and 24 points in 79 games, and was surprisingly still on the market late in the offseason. And like every signing in 2023, he became a key part of the roster and a reason for their success. While he ultimately lost his spot on the third line between Joshua and Garland, he ended up finding chemistry with Miller and Boeser in the top six. He also took regular reps on the power play and penalty kill, becoming an all-around center/winger for Tocchet to utilize throughout his lineup.
Will Allvin’s Hit Streak Continue in 2024-25?
Going into his third offseason as Canucks GM, Allvin was faced with the task of dealing with nine unrestricted free agents (UFAs). While he wasn’t able to re-sign the likes of Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, he still locked up key 2022 and 2023 free-agent signings Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger and restricted free agent Filip Hronek. He also seemingly continued his streak of adding important players in free agency with Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbort, Vincent Desharnais, Danton Heinen, and Daniel Sprong, all for relatively budget-friendly cap hits. It remains to be seen if all five are as successful as his 2023 class, but considering his track record so far, fans should be confident that they will make an impact on the roster as the Canucks try again to become Stanley Cup champions for the first time.
