Canucks Free Agent “Frenzy” Preview: 3 ways to affordably shore up the forward ranks

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Wednesday marks the start of a new league year and the opening of the unrestricted free agent market, with all of the frenzied activity and the bloated deals that come with it.

The Canucks are expected to have a quiet July 1, and will most likely just look to upgrade their organizational depth. With that in mind, here are some cheap options that the Canucks could pursue to bolster their forward ranks.

This is not the sort of signing that the Canucks can make on July 1, but every year we see a few useful NHL-caliber pieces linger unwanted on the free agent market for several weeks. 

Eventually these players end up signing cheap one-year deals, and often, they provide good value. Whether it’s Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik, Derek Roy, or Mike Ribiero; there are usually affordable and useful pieces left over. These are pieces that a smart dumpster-diving general manager can put to decent use.

It’s not always easy to work out precisely which players these will be in advance. We might also note that an increasing analytical awareness among NHL front offices could fundamental reshape this common marketplace.

A quick glance at the pool of available unrestricted free agents yields a few intriguing candidates as possible mid-July players. It’s a list that includes Sean Bergenheim, Lee Stempniak, Steve Downie and Eric Condra.

Bergenheim has had a tough go of it in recent seasons. The Finnish winger was dynamite for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs a few years ago and parlayed that run into a contract with the Florida Panthers. That relationship never really worked. Bergenehim clashed frequently with then head coach Kevin Dineen, and when the Panthers tried to avoid paying an injured Bergenheim during the NHL lockout, that was sort of it. 

Following a midseason trade to the playoff-bound Minnesota Wild, Bergenheim struggled to get into the lineup and was a regular healthy scratch during the postseason. Combine Bergenheim’s reputation as a malcontent (whether that’s deserved or not) with his feeble playoff performance, and you have a recipe for a guy that could be had on the cheap.

At a bargain price, Bergenheim can be a helpful player. Over the past three years he’s generated shots and goals at a first-line rate, which may help the Canucks offset the probable loss of Shawn Matthias and take some pressure off Sven Baertschi. 

Downie and Stempniak are sort of your classic NHL vagabonds, but they’ve stuck around for a reason: they’re credible NHL depth players. Neither is going to be a key part of an elite third-line or anything, but they’re both helpful two-way pieces, and can play up the lineup effectively in short bursts.

Condra is probably more accurately described as a bottom-six forward, rather than as a middle-six guy. Though he’s not quite at the level of a replacement level offensive forward and has managed multiple 20 point seasons in his career, he’s close to an offensive zero. He’s not a particularly big player, he’s a non-fighter, and he doesn’t score much, generally a recipe to be overlooked in free agency.

What does Condra do though? He drives play. Of the 14 Senators skaters with whom Condra has spent at least 200 minutes playing alongside at 5-on-5, 12 have done better with Condra than without by Corsi For percentage, and he’d helped 11 outscore opponents by a wider margin at even strength. 

A smart team that ignores Condra’s individual deficiencies and just focuses on his ability to help his team control play and outscore opponents could reap the benefits, and possibly at an affordable price point (though he’s reportedly seeking a three-year deal).

The problem with the players we’ve listed, of course, is that they’re all wingers, and Vancouver has a glut of useful middle-six pieces that play along the wall. There aren’t many centremen in this category though because pivots are premium assets. Even Jay Beagle – a pure fourth-line centre – is a nearly $2 million player now, and don’t be surprised if Mark Letestu and Brad Richardson end up with deals in same basic neighbourhood.

In terms of an undervalued centremen who could prove helpful, I’ve previously listed Trevor Smith as a player who the Canucks should consider pursuing in the past because of his respectable defensive game and faceoff ability. Ideally the team would find a right-handed centremen to win some draws though, insurance in case Linden Vey can’t improve his faceoff percentage in his sophomore NHL campaign.

Another guy to put on the list might be oft-waived, pint-sized forward Mark Arcobello, who was recently non-tendered by the Arizona Coyotes. Arcobello is really small, obviously, but he’s a right-handed shooter who has won over 50 percent of his most recent 1300 draws the past two seasons. That could prove helpful and he surely won’t be expensive.

There are actually a variety of decent young forward who went non-tendered on Monday who still have some time to reach their ceiling. 

Some of those players have a connection to Benning from his Boston days, including maddeningly inconsistent forward Jordan Caron – a former Boston Bruins first-round pick. Caron has the size and speed to be an effective checking forward at the NHL level, but he’s never been able to put it all together.

Another name, in a similar vein, is Craig Cunningham who was non-tendered by the Coyotes on Monday. Cunningham has the Boston connection and hails from Trail, B.C.. He’s been a modestly successful AHL contributor and he’s the sort of player that might be worth bringing in to compete for a spot at training camp. At the very least, if he makes it through waivers, he’d help the Comets.

Jason Akeson, 25, is another player that might be worth a look. The 25-year-old is a Group VI unrestricted player and has been extremely productive in the American Hockey League. He also hasn’t looked out of place when the Flyers have given him a cup of coffee.

Pressed up against the cap, with a mandate to make the playoffs, and treading water as the rest of the Pacific Division improves, the Canucks are going to need to place a few low-cost, high-upside bets. And one of the best ways to do that is to gamble on an aging veteran coming off of a disappointing season who is looking to rebuild their value.

A few names that stand out to me here are Michael Ryder and Martin Erat. 

Ryder battled through an injury plagued season with the New Jersey Devils, and hasn’t been a big time point producer since he potted 30 for the Dallas Stars back in 2011-12. Since the lockout though Ryder has managed to contribute offense at a bona fide second-line rate, and I’ve always thought that his heavy right-handed wrist shot would be an interesting compliment with the Sedin twins (even if he only got a look their situationally). 

Erat is no longer the consistent 50 point guy that he was in the prime of his career with the Nashville Predators, but I suspect he’s still got some game left in him. Though he didn’t score much (no Coyotes forward did, really), Erat led all Coyotes regulars in shot attempt differential and team-relative shot attempt differential. He’s also still a crafty playmaker, and managed to generate 5-on-5 assists (and first assists) at a solid first-line rate. On a cheap one-year deal, Erat could prove to be a useful secondary offensive piece.