VANCOUVER — It won’t be viewed in the same way as trading away Bo Horvat or acquiring Filip Hronek, but the most important swap general manager Patrik Allvin has made for the Vancouver Canucks may be turning Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s cap hit into three players who will help the team next season.
In less than two hours of National Hockey League free agency on Saturday, Allvin signed middle-of-the-lineup defencemen Carson Soucy and Ian Cole, and checking centre Teddy Blueger.
Allvin is betting that Soucy and Cole can handle the equivalent of second-pairing minutes and Blueger will be good enough to play on the third line. All three players should help with leadership, team defence and a penalty kill that was not only the worst in the NHL last season but one of the most atrocious since the league began tracking shorthanded efficiency in the 1970s.
None of the free agents was exorbitant, Cole ($3 million) and Blueger ($1.9 million) signing for one season, while Soucy leveraged a three-year deal averaging $3.25 million. Their cumulative cap hit of $8.15-million is a little more than the $7.1-million the Canucks generated in cap-savings next season after the historic buyout of Ekman-Larsson on June 16.
But Allvin’s modest spending spree still erased the salary-cap flexibility the GM had finally created, and after two weeks of headroom the Canucks are again bumping their craniums up against the payroll ceiling.
var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-381222” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);
/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6330363101112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6330363101112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6330363101112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)
if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}
var DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”)
if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}
$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=\”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );
$( document ).one( “ready’, function() {
$( “#video_container-381222” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: true,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6330363101112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
section: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/6330363101112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/will-the-flat-cap-force-canucks-to-trade-players-for-future-considerations/”
});
});
var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-347691” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);
/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6330363101112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6330363101112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6330363101112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)
if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}
var DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”)
if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}
$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=\”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );
$( document ).one( “ready’, function() {
$( “#video_container-347691” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: false,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6330363101112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
section: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/6330363101112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/will-the-flat-cap-force-canucks-to-trade-players-for-future-considerations/”
});
});
.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::before {
content: “”;
position: absolute;
top: 45%;
left: 50%;
transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
height: 0px;
border-top: 14px solid transparent;
border-left: 22px solid #fff;
border-bottom: 14px solid transparent;
margin-left: 3px;
}
“Leading up to this day, you never know what’s going to happen,” Allvin told reporters at Rogers Arena. “One thing that we prioritized was our back end — getting a little bit bigger, heavier, PK guys. And in Carson Soucy and Ian Cole, their playoff experience and Cole a Cup-winning pedigree there and playing a real strong year in Tampa last year, we were happy.
“I don’t have much cap space but still have some there. Again, that’s where I felt it was important for us to not, you know, get into longer terms or get up in betting on some of the other players that were available. We felt pretty good with the players that our scouting staff had identified that we got this morning.”
Signing defencemen really wasn’t an option for the Canucks.
The $19.3-million buyout of Ekman-Larsson was a huge relief for the management regime that inherited the final 5 ½ years of his contract. But it still left Vancouver down a defenceman, and that hole got bigger when Canuck Ethan Bear required shoulder surgery after getting injured playing for Team Canada at the world championship in May. Allvin declined to make Bear a qualifying offer and the defenceman became an unrestricted free agent on Saturday.
The blue line became Vancouver’s top priority as Allvin pivoted away from the third-line centre spot to sign Soucy, 28, and Cole, 34, before spending what he had left on Blueger, 28.
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 200px 1fr;
gap: 20px;
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 16px;
border: 1px solid #CECECE;
background-color: #FFF;
border-radius: 4px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info a {
text-decoration: none;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-title {
color: #343434;
font-family: ‘roboto’;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: 600;
line-height: 22px;
margin-bottom: 10px;
top: -3px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-body {
color: #343434;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title {
display: inline-block;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
list-style-type: none;
width: auto;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title:not(:last-child):after {
content: ‘ | ‘;
color: #343434;
}
Cole was part of Stanley Cup-winning teams that Allvin helped Jim Rutherford, now the Canucks president, build in Pittsburgh. And Blueger was drafted by Allvin and developed into an NHL player with the Penguins.
But there is more than sentimentality to their signings.
Cole averaged 19:23 last season on an excellent defence in Tampa Bay, while Blueger was traded from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas and was a depth player on the Golden Knights’ Stanley-Cup winning team. Blueger was a healthy scratch in the final.
“I think the past knowledge is more characteristics, personality, maybe (more) so off the ice,” Allvin said of his history with Cole and Blueger. “I’m relying on my scouting staff, what they see, and the pro scouts did, again, phenomenal work identifying the players and the profiles and the style we were looking for.
“It made me really happy that so many players expressed their interest to come to Vancouver, and most based on (coaches) Rick Tocchet and (Sergei) Gonchar and (Adam) Foote (and) what I’ve done with the players up to this point. There was some hard discussions and decisions this morning to turn down some other players that expressed to want to be here.”
.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
The Canucks also signed defenceman Matt Irwin, a 35-year-old from Victoria, to a two-way contract for organizational depth, and 25-year-old minor-league goalie Zach Sawchenko. Allvin said he wanted to re-sign Vancouver native Kyle Burroughs, but the popular depth defenceman was allowed to get away to the San Jose Sharks on a three-year deal.
The only players remaining on Vancouver’s defence from the start of last season are superstar Quinn Hughes and veteran Tyler Myers, and Myers and his $6-million cap hit might have already been traded were it not for a $5-million signing bonus due in September.
Allvin refuted a report that the Canucks and Sharks have agreed on a trade for Myers but have yet to execute it.
“If that was a deal out there on the table, why wouldn’t the deal be done if that was the case?” Allvin said. “No. We talked about options to improving our team but when I . . . was standing here in front of you guys last week, I made it pretty clear that Tyler was part of our team moving forward.”
Allvin also said he expects winger Tanner Pearson, whose six-week hand injury turned into a lost season and intervention by the NHL Players’ Association into the Canucks’ handing of his medical treatment, to be part of the team at training camp in September.
The Canucks open their player-development camp for prospects and draft picks on Sunday.
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
