Being stuck inside the house for roughly 23 hours a day gives you a lot of time to think. My thought process circulates around the pressing issues of the world – specifically, how the Canucks can rearrange their salary cap for the 2020-21 season to better set themselves up for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes’ first-of-many substantial paydays. After watching the virus-halted 2019-20 campaign, the Canucks are seemingly ahead of their ‘retooling’ schedule (or just playing out of their minds); they have to try and balance giving their young core an opportunity to play and develop, and pushing to be a cup contender in a bizarre Pacific division. It’s a fine line, which has the wonderfully toxic Vancouver hockey-fanbase mired in ambivalence. “Don’t sell the future!” on one side, and “don’t lose, we’re sick of it!” on the other; it’s always a delicious conversation piece. In my mind, some bad contracts, some question marks and some continued growth is all that separates them from being a contender. Furthermore, as of 2020, the armchair-GM is the #1 employed occupation according to Stats Canada, and even though I may exercise daily, I still pound away at my keyboard for hours on end attempting to reinvent the hockey puck – if that analogy makes any sense. Without further ado, I offer my opinion on how their roster should/may/won’t look like come September 2020.

*Note: I have calculated this based on the liberal-thinking that the 2020-21 cap will reach $88.2-million, up from $81.5-million in 2019-20. This would mean a full 5% inflator trigger by the NHLPA, compared to the 1% inflator in 2019-20.

*Note 2: I have tried as best as I can to calculate this equation, with help from here. I believe it to be accurate!

Forwards:

Up front, not too much changed in terms of personnel. With five pending RFA’s, I have the Canucks resigning all of them: Adam Gaudette, Josh Leivo, Jake Virtanen, Tyler Motte and Zack MacEwen. As far as the coveted trade deadline acquisition, I projected that they resigned UFA Tyler Toffoli.

When it came to Gaudette and Leivo, it seemed fair to give them similar salary for their contracts. Gaudette showed well in his second season in the league and continued to refine his two-way game to become that modern-day 3rd line center. I’m a big Gaudette fan: he plays with his heart on his sleeve, can play on the powerplay and gets around the ice sheet. Leivo’s injury was an unfortunate bounce, as he was getting a fair shot at making a name for himself. Regardless, his size, skating ability and reliability in the 200-foot game is exactly what coach Travis Green wants his team to look like.

Shotgun Jake impressed this year by showing that he’s capable of scoring at the NHL level. Though some may disagree, I prefer him to be in the bottom-six; his physicality and speed would make him a matchup nightmare in years to come, especially on a team that can roll four lines deep – something the Canucks are working towards. His salary took me awhile to calculate: there’s no doubt he’s due for a raise, but there are still questions about his consistency as he’s still learning what makes him productive. I decided to pencil him in at a three year $9-million contract, slightly less than teammate Micheal Ferland, whom I believe Virtanen compares fairly to. I also used Toronto Maple Leaf Kasperi Kapanen as a comparable, both as a player and his contract.

Motte and MacEwen were no brainers to bring back. Motte emerged as a buzz saw on the fourth line, providing energy and physicality (2nd on the team in hits when play ceased) as well as rounding into a top unit penalty killer; throw in the fact that he’s a cheap contract. MacEwen, on the other hand, was just rounding into form before the season was paused. GM Jim Benning loves him; therefore, he stays. His physicality, partnered with a nose for sticking up for his teammates, gives him immense value on a team looking to be tough to play against.

As it’s expected that the salary cap will rise, it made it easier to bring back Toffoli. In his brief stint with the 2019-20 Canucks he showed exactly what was rumored he would: a 200-foot game with fantastic offensive capabilities. With true top-six forwards being excruciatingly tough to sign for fair deals in free agency, Toffoli offers an opportunity that the Canucks cannot turn down. He’s proven to have chemistry with best-friend Tanner Pearson, though he surprisingly didn’t play alongside him – rather skating with Miller and Pettersson (which in its own right was a treat to take in). I estimated he would get a term along the lines of five-six years at $6-million per year, comparable to that of Jason Zucker’s. A fair deal.

As for the rest of the forward group, I am hopeful that Micheal Ferland can lace them up, albeit with a clean bill of health. Looking at things optimistically, Ferland would skate on their third line and provide the fear to their bottom-six they had hoped for upon signing him last offseason.

Source: capfriendly.com

I’m sure you’re wondering, where’s Brandon Sutter and Loui Eriksson? Or maybe you’re not. Either way I’ve managed to relieve the Canucks of both of those contracts. Here’s how it would breakdown:

Brandon Sutter:

For the Canucks, a buyout of Sutter would be their best option (if no trade can come about). I realize he only has one year left on his contract and a buyout would mean that he would stay on their payroll for the next two seasons. However, saving the $2.33-million in the 2020-21 season would be better than forcing a young, developing player to sit in the press box. Bearing in mind that his cap hit in 2021-22 would be reduced to $1.16-million, I think it would be a justifiable move by the Canucks.

Source: capfriendly.com

Loui Eriksson:

Now, I know the bulk of people think that nobody in their right mind would take on the final two years of Eriksson’s deal, but in my utopia, the Devils are thrilled to help out Vancouver. The Canucks would throw in a 2021 2nd round pick as the real prize for New Jersey, while receiving a 4th round pick in this year’s draft (trade would be made before the draft this year) a pick that the Devils got via Boston. Eriksson would fit into the Devils plans going forward (it appears): he’s a veteran player that would provide some leadership to a very young team going through a rebuild; also, whether you like him or not, he does do a lot of little things (yes, I know) that go unseen out on the ice. As it stands currently, the Devils have loads of cap space and will have even more going forward with the likes of Travis Zajac, among others, on expiring contracts in the next two off seasons. A chance to pick up a 2nd round pick and add a veteran piece to their locker room? Why not NJ!

Canucks draft pick breakdown following trade:

Source: capfriendly.com

Defense:

The backend would have a couple new additions. Brogan Rafferty has proven in Utica that he deserves a shot at being an NHL defenseman. I would ultimately give him that chance, as he could bring some offensive upside with him. Though listed as a scratch, I see Olli Juolevi getting his shot as well. The former 1st round pick has had some seasoning in the minors and it seems as though the patience of the fanbase is dwindling. The Canucks need to give him a look, and he could rotate in for Jordie Benn in their third pairing.

It appeared to me that the Canucks need to pick between either Tanev or Stecher to resign, not both. Stecher was a common name swirling in trade rumors this past deadline, and I believe a team will pay him a well-earned, hefty paycheck in the summer. With bringing back Tanev it would have put the Canucks in a difficult spot to resign Stecher, having more affordable options waiting in Utica. Stecher would get an opportunity to play an expanded role elsewhere, the Canucks retain Tanev, everybody goes home happy. I would put Tanev in the four year $20-million contract range, something just shy of Edler and Myers’ deals, given their offensive histories.

Yes, that is former Canucks Yannick Weber you see! I was looking for a free agent defenseman that would fit into the roster and Weber would offer the Vancouver blue-line a cheap veteran who can slot in their third pairing. He skates well, and had his best season in the NHL with the Canucks (HE SCORED 11 GOALS IN 2014-15!) so I assumed bringing him back to Vancouver would bode well.

Source: capfriendly.com

Goaltending:

Another hot-button topic (that really shouldn’t be a discussion) is whether or not to bring back Vezina-caliber goalie Jacob Markstrom. I wholeheartedly believe he’s a player that can help bring a Stanley Cup to town, given his play this past season. He’s still only 30 years old, and a four year $24.4-million contract wouldn’t hurt the Canucks in the slightest. I decided his contract to be similar to Corey Crawford’s in 2013: Crawford was coming off a career year as well. Understanding that Markstrom doesn’t have the playoff resume (it’s not his fault) he’s still deserving of the deal.

Thatcher Demko is going to be a great goalie one day, but is still too green to take on the reigns fulltime. Having Markstrom around for four more years would provide Demko with the time he needs to round into a starter, or give the Canucks a viable trade piece, given that Mikey DiPietro will be coming along as well. At the end of the day, Markstrom would get the security he is looking for, along with a deserved payday.

Source: capfriendly.com

Roster Size:

I have the roster currently at 24 players, which would mean one player would have to be sent down to the minors, or in the instance of an injury, placed on LTIR. As is, I would lean towards Juolevi being that guy going to Utica.

Source: capfriendly.com

Outlook:

This roster would leave the Canucks with $5,845,128 in salary cap space. Now, if you’re screaming why the heck would you not spend that money, I have a plausible answer. The Canucks can roster a lineup that will compete for the Pacific division even without spending that money, we’ve experienced it. Let’s all remember, this team is realistically ahead of their rebuild schedule. Who could’ve expected the impact that J.T. Miller has had, or Elias Pettersson, or Quinn Hughes. The Canucks are playing with house money when it comes to their success – despite what management will say, there couldn’t have been division title aspirations this year. In the grand scheme, importance remains on keeping their core pieces around for years and years to come: Pettersson, Hughes, Horvat, Boeser (add in Miller if you’d like). The 2020-21 offseason will be massive, with Pettersson and Hughes moving on from ELC’s and the Canucks will more than need that cap space. As well, this would offer them the opportunity to acquire a rental player come next season’s trade deadline if they find themselves in a formidable position. Furthermore, Alex Edler could choose to retire, as his contract expires after next season, and could bring in $6-million more of wiggle room.

At the end of the day, under Travis Green’s authority, this mix of players would fit his style, as well as offer management the leeway they need moving forward.

Carter is a hockey player, formerly in the WHL for the Vancouver Giants, currently at the University of British Columbia. You can follow him on Twitter @carter_popoff.

You can follow Hit the Cut on Twitter @hitthecutblog.