Ryan Johnson isn’t shopping like a team ready to splurge. He’s shopping like a general manager trying to build something sturdier, piece by piece, without getting trapped by bad money or long-term commitments.
That’s the reality for the Vancouver Canucks, even with $22 million in salary cap space. When free agency opens Wednesday, the plan is expected to lean toward short-term contracts, bargain-value adds and players who could be moved again at the trade deadline for assets. In other words: pragmatic roster building, not a frenzy.
The Canucks’ wish list is pretty clear. Johnson needs players with character, veterans who can steady and shield young defencemen, and enough physical edge to help shape the rebuild. That’s not the kind of market that usually sends free agents sprinting to the front of the line.
Still, Vancouver carries a certain pull for players who know the city and the hockey culture. Unrestricted free-agent defenceman Troy Stecher fits that bill. The Richmond native spent four seasons with the Canucks, and a return at age 32 would make for a neat full-circle finish.
“There would always be interest, especially with the guys in place now,” Stecher said, pointing to Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations, Manny Malhotra as head coach, and Johnson as GM.
Even so, there was buzz Monday that Stetcher could double his salary by signing an extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Brendan Gallagher also put Vancouver in the conversation. The 34-year-old culture carrier has one year left on his deal and was not seen as part of Montreal’s future. He could have been bought out to reach free agency, or dealt to a place where he made his name with the WHL Vancouver Giants.
“Certainly, Vancouver would be a great place,” Gallagher admitted.
Instead, the Canucks landed Gallagher on Monday after the Canadiens agreed to retain 50 per cent of his remaining $6.5 million salary cap hit, which carries $4 million in salary, in exchange for future considerations.
The roster math still matters. Vancouver already has a full roster under contract, so making room may require moving out trade candidates such as Jake DeBrusk, Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson. Nils Hoglander was dealt to Nashville on Monday for a 2029 third-round draft pick.
That’s the rebuild in plain terms: move players with value and bigger price tags, open space, and resist the temptation to get stuck with deals that don’t fit the timeline. The club also has to keep enough leadership around to help hold the whole thing together.
It’s a hard balance. But rebuilding is supposed to be hard.
If Johnson does dive into free agency, the names on the board point toward utility, structure and some sandpaper. A.J. Greer, Colton Scissons, Boone Jenner, Kevin Stenlund and Troy Stecher all surface as options, each with a different way of helping a team that needs more size, more stability and more reliability.
Greer, 29, brings a heavy forecheck and a physical edge. The 6-foot-3 winger scored 17 goals and 32 points in 78 games for Florida, led the Panthers with a plus-14 rating, and paced the club in hits with 203 and penalty minutes with 113.
He also fought six times. His rights were traded Monday to the Ducks for rights to Radko Gudas, and his expiring cap hit is $850,000.
Scissons, 32, is a North Vancouver native who would help on the penalty kill and at the faceoff dot. Vegas used him in 66 games, and he finished with six goals and 11 points.
He won 56.5 per cent of his draws and ranked second among club forwards in blocks. With Teddy Blueger headed to free agency, that kind of role becomes even more relevant.
His expiring cap hit is $2.85 million.
Jenner, 33, would bring a different layer of toughness and production. His offense dipped to 13 goals and 38 points in 67 games with Columbus, but he still led the Blue Jackets’ centers in hits and blocked shots.
He’s the kind of player who has long been a regular 20-goal threat and makes life miserable for opponents. The Canucks’ interest could also be shaped by Filip Chytil’s health and the possibility of a Pettersson trade.
His expiring cap hit is $3.75 million.
Stenlund, 29, checks a lot of the same boxes in a different package. He posted four goals and 24 points in 80 games for Utah, led the Mammoth in faceoff percentage at 54.2 per cent, and topped the club in shot blocks with 61 while handling the most shorthanded ice time.
He’d add structure, penalty-kill help and a guiding presence for a rebuilding team. His expiring cap hit is $2 million.
Stecher, meanwhile, remains the cleanest culture fit of the bunch. He played 58 games for Toronto, scoring three goals and 14 points, and stepped up after Chris Tanev was lost for the season.
He often logged more than 20 minutes a night and earned trust through mobility, hockey sense and professionalism. The Leafs clearly valued his work, and he’s reportedly close to an extension.
His expiring cap hit is $787,500.
One more name sits in the “nice to have” column: Beck Malenstyn. The 28-year-old winger is no longer available after re-signing with Buffalo on a six-year deal worth $2.917 million annually.
In Other News...
Manny Malhotras First Canucks Lines Hint At One Lingering Problem
Manny Malhotras first crack at shaping the Canucks forward group offers an early look at how much this roster could still change before training camp. The projections are built around last seasons roles and production, with the idea that a new coach will try to keep the most effective pieces together while sorting out the depth chart underneath them. It is the kind of early lineup sketch that tells you more about the teams priorities than its final form, and right now the priorities are pretty clear: balance, experience and a little more edge.
Brendan Gallagher is part of that conversation after arriving and saying the right things, but the bigger question is whether he can still consistently swing games after a seven-goal season in Montreal. The same goes for the rest of the supporting cast, because the Canucks still look like a team that could use another veteran center and another forward who brings some physicality in free agency. Those additions would not just round out the bottom six, they would also help answer the one lingering issue this lineup preview keeps circling back to. [Read more 🡒]
Former Flame Troy Stecher Lands Another NHL Opportunity
Troy Stecher has found another NHL landing spot, agreeing to a two-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs as he continues a career that has taken him through seven teams and into his 10th season in the league. For a player who built his reputation in Vancouver as a reliable, undersized defenseman with a steady edge, the latest contract is another sign that he still has a place in a league that keeps asking him to adapt.
Stecher sounded pleased with the arrangement and also clear-eyed about where his game sits now. He said he wants to sharpen his offensive touch without giving up the defensive details that have kept him around this long, a familiar balancing act for a veteran trying to stay useful as the league changes around him. [Read more 🡒]