As a team that is just entering its rebuild, it’s going to be difficult for the Vancouver Canucks to attract free agents. It was already becoming difficult for Canadian markets to lure in free agents due to high taxes. Now, pitching a vision to free agents to come to Vancouver and do a lot of losing isn’t going to be very attractive to players looking for a new home.

However, teams at the bottom of the barrel of the NHL standings can still pique players’ interest who are looking for more opportunity, ones who want to rebuild their value in hopes of a long-term contract with a contender the following year, or players at the end of their career looking to ride off into the sunset and help lead the next wave of youth during the rebuild.

Canucks GM Ryan Johnson joined John Shannon and Landon Ferraro on the 100% Canucks podcast on Friday. He discussed a variety of topics but gave us a little hint into what type of player the organization may want to target in free agency:

“Obviously, we’re being very strategic in the sense of knowing where we are and what the vision is,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to try to jump the line and spend without a purpose. We’ve got areas out of the gates that I think we need to improve on; some team identity and maybe role definition.

“I’ll look at opportunities of doing that maybe via other routes, but you’re not going to see us – unless our picture changes – July 1 sitting there spending a ton of money. We’re going to try to build this through the draft and do it slowly, do it right. And if there’s opportunities to add and it stays to the vision, sure, we will do it, but be very strategic with it.”

Johnson’s specific mention of team identity and role definition as areas the team needs to improve on was eye-opening. It also aligns with this regime’s messaging about changing the team’s culture. It appears Johnson will be looking for some veteran, character players who can be good leaders to help out the locker room.

The crop of free agents this summer is as weak as we’ve seen in some time. Alex Tuch and Darren Raddysh headline the class; however, there is a significant drop-off to Anthony Mantha and John Carlson after that. However, the market the Canucks will be dipping their toes into – the veteran leadership route – is quite rich.

Now, who knows if any of these players will want to go to a rebuilding team so late in their careers, but the list of veteran leadership-type players is: Claude Giroux, Anders Lee, Jamie Benn, Jacob Trouba, Ian Cole, Nick Foligno, Lars Eller, Jamie Oleksiak, Troy Stecher, and Kevin Hayes – to name a few.

However, if the free-agent pool doesn’t land them what they’re looking for, as Johnson mentioned, they can always explore other avenues, such as the trade market. There has already been significant buzz about potentially bringing Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher to Vancouver, who fits that veteran, leadership presence.

We’ll see what route Johnson leads the Canucks toward. Regardless of who they bring in, Johnson appears to be set on bringing in players who can play a role in helping find that culture and team identity again.