On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed the ongoing stalemate between the Vancouver Canucks and 2023 first-round pick Tom Willander, who has yet to sign his entry-level contract (ELC). Despite the organization’s internal turmoil, signing their top defence prospect seemed like an easy win- yet it hasn’t happened.

Quads opened the segment by questioning why this hasn’t been resolved.

“It should be a layup when you have all this turmoil and talk of ownership, management- all the negativity surrounding it, your head coach is leaving and they didn’t want him to,” said Quads. “With all that happening, it would be so easy to say, ‘hey, we signed Tom Willander.’ Budging on the $200,000 seems like not a bad idea at this stage.”

Harm added that it could have been a much-needed PR win for the organization.

“It would be a huge, necessary PR win for them,” Dayal said. “I asked Rutherford outright a couple days ago about why there’s been a complication getting him signed to that ELC. It really does come down to those bonuses– both Rutherford and Willander have talked about it being the primary point of contention.”

“In the Canucks’ minds, they have an internal structure for how they feel bonuses should be allocated to prospects based on where they’re drafted. That amount is a little below the current market climate looking at some of the recent highly-touted prospects that have come out of the NCAA.”

According to Harm, Vancouver seems to believe Willander will cave due to the opportunity cost of delaying his NHL career.

“From the organization’s perspective, they seem insistent on this idea that Willander is going to bend because of the opportunity cost—not only making a few million over the next two or three years and starting that process, but signing for next season gets you a step closer to accruing a full year of NHL service, which is progress towards reaching unrestricted free agency and players care about that,” said Harm. “I understand that angle, but to me it’s bizarre they’re being this stubborn. It’s not worth it for you to hardball your top prospects.”

Quads pointed out the longer-term consequences of this approach.

“It’s about the relationship between the player and team,” he said. “You’re getting it off to a bad start. For their reason, I’m sure they believe that and might even be right, but you don’t think this is leaving a bad taste in Tom Willander’s mouth? The Canucks seem like they’re ready to wait for him to bend, but he doesn’t sound like a guy who will bend.”

While the guys believe Willander will eventually sign, Harm stressed how poorly the situation has been handled.

“When two sides are in a stalemate like this, it often takes getting closer to the actual decision deadline for one side to blink. It’s easier to play it cool when you’ve got months before a decision actually has to be made, but once you get close to that deadline, it forces decisions,” said Harm. “We’ll see—it could still take time to play out and resolve. Ultimately, I still think it’s more likely than not that he does sign an ELC to play here next season, but it just doesn’t make sense for it to drag on this long and potentially start the relationship on a sour note.”

Harm then floated a (completely unfounded, yet viable) theory that the team’s hardline approach might be partially strategic.

“The thought has crept into the back of my mind that, hey, what if the organization looked at the goals they need to accomplish this summer—namely a top-six centre—thought deeply about what it will cost asset-wise to acquire that calibre of player, realized it possibly involves shipping out Willander, and went, ‘that’s going to be a tough sell in this market, so that further incentivizes us to dig our heels in.’ Not that they think they’re going to trade him so they’re intentionally not going to sign him, but more from the standpoint of: we can afford to play hardball because it doesn’t hurt us that much and it preps the fanbase for the possibility of us having to move him.”

Harm expanded on the optics of how Willander’s debut might have changed public perception.

“What happens when you have a team in a situation like the Canucks this past season, when you’re playing meaningless games and missing the playoffs?” said Harm. “The most exciting thing for any team in that situation is to have NCAA prospects sign, join your team, give hope, and play a few NHL games. What would’ve happened is Willander would’ve signed, played in a game or two or gone down to Abbotsford and played a significant role in their deep playoff run.”

“We all would’ve spent a week dissecting Willander and his play, hyping him up, casual fans would be getting excited about him, and then it becomes harder to move him optics-wise because this is a guy who as recently as a couple months ago, this fanbase was extra excited about.”

“I’m not suggesting he’s going to be traded or that’s their plan, but you can, if you’re management, afford to play hardball and be more stubborn knowing he may be a trade chip in the summer anyway.”

You can watch the full replay of the show below: