As the first National Hockey League buyout window of the offseason opens, the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/">Vancouver Canucks</a> are not expected to use the opportunity to free up cap space.
With the salary cap rising to $95 million, the Canucks are not in the pinch they have been in past years. According to <a href="http://puckpedia.com">Puckpedia.com</a>, the Canucks have approximately $83.3M committed for 21 contracts next season. That includes $4.76M allocated for Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s 2023 buyout and the final $712K in retained salary on Ilya Mikheyev who was traded to Chicago a year ago.
Obviously, the team needs upgrades at forward and that <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-notebook-trades-happening-connor-mcdavid-no-rush-extend-edmonton-oilers">will require adding significant pieces either via trade or free agency</a>. However, there appears to be enough wriggle room to make things happen. It’s possible the Canucks could free up more cap space, too, if they include a roster player (or players) in any trade activity in the coming weeks.
Outside of Elias Pettersson’s so-far-onerous $11.6M deal, it’s hard to find any other bloated contracts on the Canucks&#8217; books these days. Jake DeBrusk is currently the only other forward on the roster earning more than $5M. 
The Canucks have three defencemen who are paid more than $5M per season. Quinn Hughes remains one of the best value deals in hockey at $7.85M while Filip Hronek ($7.25M) and Marcus Pettersson ($5.5M) were both acquired by and re-signed by this management group and are seen as significant pieces of what this team is trying to put together. None of those contracts is getting bought out this year.
It’s conceivable 12 months from now the final year of Tyler Myers $3M extension could be bought out if the 35-year-old veteran is passed on the depth chart by the likes of Tom Willander and or Victor Mancini. But even that seems like a longshot given Myers’ respect and popularity among his teammates, the fact a buyout of that size wouldn’t create significant cap flexibility and the very real possibility Myers could still be one of the team’s top six blueliners a year from now.
So while the Vancouver Canucks are expected to be among the more aggressive and active teams in the league over the weeks to come, it appears they will not be among the clubs opting to use the buyout mechanism to position themselves to accomplish their offseason goals.
The NHL&#8217;s first buyout period began this morning and will remain open through June 30th. There will be a second buyout window for teams that go to arbitration with players later this summer.
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Tune in for The Sheet Draft Special, streaming live on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel on Friday, June 27th at 7 PM EST. Hosted by Jeff Marek, this live special will cover all the action from the 2025 Draft, including expert analysis of top prospects, team-by-team breakdowns, and real-time reactions to every pick. Whether you&#8217;re tracking your team’s future stars or just love the drama of draft night, this is your go-to destination for all things Draft.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin meets with the media at Rogers Arena.

As the first National Hockey League buyout window of the offseason opens, the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/">Vancouver Canucks</a> are not expected to use the opportunity to free up cap space.

With the salary cap rising to $95 million, the Canucks are not in the pinch they have been in past years. According to <a href="http://puckpedia.com">Puckpedia.com</a>, the Canucks have approximately $83.3M committed for 21 contracts next season. That includes $4.76M allocated for Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s 2023 buyout and the final $712K in retained salary on Ilya Mikheyev who was traded to Chicago a year ago.

Obviously, the team needs upgrades at forward and that <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-notebook-trades-happening-connor-mcdavid-no-rush-extend-edmonton-oilers">will require adding significant pieces either via trade or free agency</a>. However, there appears to be enough wriggle room to make things happen. It’s possible the Canucks could free up more cap space, too, if they include a roster player (or players) in any trade activity in the coming weeks.

Outside of Elias Pettersson’s so-far-onerous $11.6M deal, it’s hard to find any other bloated contracts on the Canucks' books these days. Jake DeBrusk is currently the only other forward on the roster earning more than $5M. 

The Canucks have three defencemen who are paid more than $5M per season. Quinn Hughes remains one of the best value deals in hockey at $7.85M while Filip Hronek ($7.25M) and Marcus Pettersson ($5.5M) were both acquired by and re-signed by this management group and are seen as significant pieces of what this team is trying to put together. None of those contracts is getting bought out this year.

It’s conceivable 12 months from now the final year of Tyler Myers $3M extension could be bought out if the 35-year-old veteran is passed on the depth chart by the likes of Tom Willander and or Victor Mancini. But even that seems like a longshot given Myers’ respect and popularity among his teammates, the fact a buyout of that size wouldn’t create significant cap flexibility and the very real possibility Myers could still be one of the team’s top six blueliners a year from now.

So while the Vancouver Canucks are expected to be among the more aggressive and active teams in the league over the weeks to come, it appears they will not be among the clubs opting to use the buyout mechanism to position themselves to accomplish their offseason goals.

The NHL's first buyout period began this morning and will remain open through June 30th. There will be a second buyout window for teams that go to arbitration with players later this summer.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-144935" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Draft2025-TheSheet_promo-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="728" height="404" /></a>

Tune in for The Sheet Draft Special, streaming live on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel on Friday, June 27th at 7 PM EST. Hosted by Jeff Marek, this live special will cover all the action from the 2025 Draft, including expert analysis of top prospects, team-by-team breakdowns, and real-time reactions to every pick. Whether you're tracking your team’s future stars or just love the drama of draft night, this is your go-to destination for all things Draft.

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