The Vancouver Canucks had their exit meetings earlier this week. Players emptied their lockers, then a day later they were followed by their superiors in management.

There was the usual series of non-commentary from the players, but nothing overly revealing. Management left more on the plate to chew on, discussing their shortcomings this season and ways that they might reverse them next. Getting healthy is a start, but there are obvious holes that need plugging and the Canucks appear keen to do so in free agency.

It’s the easiest method of roster development, but not without its drawbacks. The term and dollars afforded represent a serious long-term setback if not apportioned carefully. With that in mind, I asked the Canucks Army staff how they would approach free agency, were they in Jim Benning’s shoes.

I want them to make smart moves to bring in players that can mentor the youth of the team while still making an impact on the franchise. Especially on the back end, where a veteran presence (especially if Hamhuis leaves) would be vital, in mentoring Ben Hutton, Nikita Tryamkin and whoever else makes the team.

I’d like to see them do like Toronto has done these past years: target players who had off years, and hope to see them rebound into valuable assets at the trade deadline. 

We saw this past year that a lot of intriguing names were unsigned days or weeks after free agency, and ended up taking much cheaper deals than you’d expect. My ideal Canucks trade deadline would be to stand pat when all the big money deals are signed, and keep their cap space for later in free agency, or as an asset for use at the trade deadline.

Ok. So in free agency, I’m hoping the Canucks do something that may not be fun- but I’m hoping they try to lower their payroll, first and foremost.

I don’t necessarily think a full rebuild is necessary right now (or something that the team will approve, in any case) but if they truly want to move forward with the youth transition, they need to make completely sure that they’re financially ready for those players to graduate out of ELCs in a few years time. They’ll need the cash to both ink those players to extensions and to add quality free agents at that time, and this team hasn’t shown they’ll be ready for that.

Of course, it would be nice if they acted as sellers at the draft and tried to pick up a few more picks, but who are we kidding? At least they need to clear up more cap room.

Assuming that the team decides that “bottoming out” isn’t the prefered way to go through this rebuild, I agree with Dylan’s method of buying low on “damaged goods”. Names like Nikita Nikitin and Sam Gagner immediately come to mind as project signings that should command less (in Nikitin’s case, maybe 80-90% less) on 1 or 2 year deals that can support the younger core and, if the team isn’t playoff-ready (likely) can be short-sold at the deadline.

Given the team’s cap position and odds of success, there’s no need to swing now. Steven Stamkos doesn’t seem to have any incentive to head to BC. Milan Lucic is local and a fun player, but will likely have a huge contract in both term and salary attached to him.  If the Canucks wanted to go after a stud that can be moved after, Brian Campbell could be an option, but I imagine he’d want to stay in Florida and would be a risky 35+ muti-year deal if he chose not to. This will leave Vancouver with a boatload of space at the end of next season for them to make bigger, well-informed splashes while beginning to give the better youth their first sizable deals.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. They don’t have to start running backwards, but trying to be Usain Bolt when there’s a long road ahead can be costly.