The Vancouver Canucks have already made one of the biggest moves of their offseason, sending Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers for a conditional first-round pick that is top-10 protected.
That deal also required Pettersson to waive his no-trade clause, and it let Vancouver clear the rest of his contract. From the Canucks’ side, that part of the transaction looks like a clean win. But the bigger question hanging over everything is simple: is this enough?
When free agency opened on July 1, Vancouver started filling the hole on its blue line by bringing in Jamie Oleksiak, Luke Schenn and Paul Cotter. Oleksiak arrives after five seasons in Seattle and brings a long NHL track record with him - 758 games.
He also gives the Canucks some breathing room financially, since his cap hit is two years at five million compared with Pettersson’s five years at $5.5 million. On top of that, he adds a veteran presence who can handle different situations on the ice.
Schenn is another familiar name for Canucks fans. He previously played in Vancouver in 2019 and again from 2021 to 2023, and this time he signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal. He brings 1122 NHL games of experience with him.
Vancouver did not bring back Ian Cole, who had a strong 2023-24 season with the club.
Still, the concern is obvious: the Canucks may have gotten thinner after moving Pettersson. Thomas Drance said on the Donnie and Dhali show that “ going from Marcus Petterson to Jaime Oleksiak like that’s a material downgrade, right?
So, this team effectively, with what they brought in and what they subtracted, also got materially worse, right? Like they did nothing to prevent them from being at the bottom of the NHL standings this season.”
That’s why the conversation around Vancouver’s defense is far from finished. Drance has also pointed out that the Canucks need more help on the back end to make up for Pettersson’s departure.
There are still names available, too. Travis Hamonic is one of them, and the question now is whether Vancouver takes a shot on another veteran or two.
Johnson’s additions of Oleksiak and Schenn were clearly meant to support a young defensive group that includes Elias Pettersson, Tom Willander and Zeev Buium. That trio still has a lot to prove at the NHL level. Elias Pettersson has 98 NHL games, Willander has 70 and Buium has 76.
That makes more moves feel necessary, especially over the course of a long season where injuries and wear can pile up fast.
Filip Hronek is now the team’s top defenseman, and he is good, but the Canucks still need depth if injuries hit. Schenn projects as no more than a third-pairing option, while Oleksiak fits higher in the lineup.
Ben Hutton is another possibility, and his cap hit was $975,000 with the Vegas Golden Knights last year. Vancouver drafted Hutton in 2012, and he played for the club from 2015 to 2019.
Spotrac’s list of free-agent defensemen also includes Carson Soucy, who signed his current three-year deal with Vancouver in 2023. That contract is now expiring. Soucy is described as an experiment gone bad from the previous Canuck regime under Rutherford, and he is still listed as a free agent according to Offside.
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