Friday Roundtable: Under the Radar Free Agents

7 years ago

The Vancouver Canucks enter free agency with no shortage of cap space and holes to fill on their roster, so it’s no surprise that they’re expected to be one of the more active teams therein. Before they can steal other teams top talents, they’ll have to decide what to do with their own. Namely, Dan Hamhuis.

After that is when things get interesting. Radim Vrbata is all but a certainty to leave for greener pastures. That leaves an opening on the wing and no shortage of options on the free market to plug it with. Milan Lucic, local hero and bully of a left winger if there ever was one, is the most mentioned of the lot. Loui Eriksson and Kyle Okposo aren’t far behind in terms of interest.

All these options are just way too obvious, though. So, I figured I would trouble the Canucks Army staff for which under the radar free agents they would like to see the Canucks pursue in free agency on July 1st.

Matt Henderson

I’d love to see them take a stab at David Perron. He fell out of favour in St. Louis and has bounced around a bit, but he put up decent offensive numbers in Anaheim this year, and at the right price he could be a mentor to some of the younger guys. But he’ll probably sign for massive numbers on July 1st, so hopefully not.

Jackson

This is a tremendously boring answer, but no, there isn’t really anybody I’d like them to pursue.

Free agents are for good clubs trying to add pieces and become great clubs. If you’re a contender, it makes sense to overspend to maximize competitiveness during your window. Vancouver is a bad club that could maybe be mediocre if they added a couple of free agents. I’d rather see them stay the course for another year, make due with what they have, and get another high draft pick before they start building back up again.

Having said that, there are a couple of lower-profile guys I wouldn’t mind seeing them sign to short term and hoping they can play well enough to be worth something at the deadline, like the leafs did last season. P.A. Parenteau or Alex Radulov could prove to be great reclamation projects. Don’t see that happening though.

Jeremy Davis

I wouldn’t encourage the Canucks to go swinging for the fences in free agency this year, but I wouldn’t mind them looking to upgrade in certain areas – such as a top six winger. I’d be interested in taking a crack at New York’s Kyle Okposo. The 27-year old power winger is coming off of a five year deal valued at $2.8 million per year and is due for a raise. He made $4.5 million in salary last year, and that’s probably closer to what he’d be worth on the open market this summer. Okposo has averaged about 22 goals and 60 points over the past three seasons and could provide some offence that could take the pressure off of the Sedins as well as the younger players who are working their way up.

There’s a decent chance that Okposo will be looking for four or five years (or longer), but given his age it would be preferable to get him in on a shorter term deal. Given his age and style of play, he’s probably not going to be in a position to be a core member of the Canucks when they make they’re eventual return to some sort of contention. He’d be more of a stop gap, and a sign from management to the fans (and the players themselves) that they aren’t just going to sit on their hands while the rebuild plays out. He also comes with the following added bonus: he’s one of Brock Boeser’s favourite players <and a guy that Boeser has modeled his game after>(http://www.nationalpost.com/m/gamer+brock+boeser+could+canucks+next+thing/11602716/story.html).

Who better to mentor Boeser when he arrives in 2017-18 than one of his idols?

And I mean actually mentor, like with style of play and skill building. Not the Derek Dorsett School of Shoulder Rubbing.

Tyler Horsfal

I would pretty much echo what Jeremy said. One name that has always intrigued me is Loui Eriksson given his play with the Sedins at international competitions and the fact he is a fairly solid winger.

Outside of Eriksson, Okposo, Lucic, and Perron, there are not many unrestricted free agents worth chasing. I would rather see the Canucks target some restricted free agents like defenceman Patrick Wiercioch.

Taylor Perry

Brian Campbell? I generally agree with jackson and the consensus that the FA class this year won’t be enough to really alter the Canuck’s immediate fortunes. That said, Campbell is still a top-4 guy (although he shoots left) and will probably take a significant discount from his current (overpaid) salary – say in the 5.5-6 million range as a 36 year old d-man. He’s still a positive possession player and he’s always been very good at moving the puck forward. On a 2-year deal, there is little risk and I would try it. Lord knows the Canucks need to improve their defense, although he may come at the expense of Hamhuis. In any case, worth a look