Earlier this week, Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said the Canucks will “definitely” address their needs at the centre position in the offseason, whether that be via trade or free agency. As we referred to in a previous article, few centremen jump off the page in the NHL’s upcoming unrestricted free agent market. As a result, the Canucks could need to get creative to find their much-needed top-six centre if they choose to go the route of free agency. So who is out there?
The first player that the Canucks, along with pretty much every other team in the NHL will likely have some interest in — assuming he even makes it to free agency — is Sam Bennett.
Sam Bennett
Bennett has come a long way from not being able to do a pull-up at the NHL Draft Combine back in 2014. The point totals might not be super exciting, scoring 40 or more in his last 4 seasons, with a career-high of 49. However, the intangibles Bennett brings to any team are what will make him a hot commodity in the market. The Ontario native earned a spot on Team Canada this year due to his gritty style of play, not only that, but he scored arguably the biggest goal for Canada in the tournament tying the game against the United States in the finals. Bennett also has gone on two straight Stanley Cup Finals runs with the Florida Panthers and was a big part of the Stanley Cup win for them last season.
His play style would fit very nicely with what the Canucks need in their top six, adding much-needed grit and high-end forechecking, which would be a great fit for Head Coach Rick Tocchet.
Bennett would likely cost the Canucks a very large chunk of their cap space to acquire, especially to pull him away from Florida, but if the team is hoping to be a true contender, adding a player like Bennett to their lineup would be a big step in the right direction.
After Bennett, there really isn’t a true top-six centreman that would fit the timeline, so the Canucks would need to take some chances if they want to acquire an impactful player that could have the chance to slot in and help them right away.
Jack Roslovic
Jack Roslovic would make sense as a Canucks target. Roslovic would immediately become the team’s only right-handed centre, which they have been wanting for some time now. He isn’t much of an upgrade over Filip Chytil, if at all, but could slide in as a high-end middle-six guy that can move up and down the lineup as needed. Roslovic has bounced around a fair bit in recent years, so offering term and some kind of modified no-trade clause could give him the security he would likely be looking for in free agency.
The Columbus, Ohio native has shown some promise with his scoring touch this season in Carolina, currently at 21 goals on the season, already one away from his career-high of 22. In the past he’s also shown that he’s a very skilled forward and a bit of an underrated threat offensively. His true fit may be best suited on the wing but he was a centreman when he played for his home town team with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and with Carolina this season, he has a faceoff percentage of 54.5 per cent.
Mason McTavish offer sheet
This, of course, wouldn’t be the splash free agent signing Canucks fans are hoping for but his ability to move up and down the lineup, paired with his goal scoring ability make him an interesting option to fill the middle-six centre slot for Vancouver.
The next option for the Canucks is where management would have to get a bit creative. Mason McTavish is an upcoming Rescricted Free Agent (RFA) for the Anaheim Ducks. The former third-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, is somewhat of a Sam Bennett lite. He’s a power forward that Tocchet would love and has already had 3 straight 40-plus point seasons in his NHL career.
The Ducks will likely re-sign him, but if the Canucks can do enough to entice the young forward, he may be willing to sign an offer sheet in Vancouver. We’ve seen this work out well in St. Louis after signing Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to contracts, stealing them from the Edmonton Oilers and giving them opportunities to excel while staying in the playoff race, and a player like McTavish could see a real opportunity here in Vancouver to develop as a top-six centreman on a playoff contending team. Of course, with all their cap space, the Ducks would be very likely to match on whatever offer the Canucks give McTavish.
Some other RFA’s the Canucks could target are Gabe Vilardi of the Winnipeg Jets and Marco Rossi of the Minnesota Wild, but McTavish’s age and play style make him a great fit for a Vancouver team that wants to play dump and chase hockey and build a contender for years to come.
Beyond that?
The market does dry up after this. Ryan Donato is another name the Canucks could go after, coming off a career year, but this year very much seems to be an outlier while playing on a bad Chicago Blackhawks team as his previous career-high is just 31 points.
There are some older players as well, like John Tavares, Claude Giroux and Brock Nelson, but with the team believed to be seeking an “age-appropriate centre” it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the team to go after these players.
Signing high-end free agents is always going to be tough for the Vancouver Canucks, with many players not wanting to come to Canadian markets, but Allvin and Jim Rutherford have not yet seemed to shy away from this challenge and will certainly look to add to the team’s centre depth this offseason.
Sponsored by bet365
