Earlier this week, when Healthy-Scratch asked me to handicap the Canucks' options for a free-agent centre to sign on July 1, I admitted that I was still in the denial phase on this topic, hoping that the Tyler Bozak chatter would stop.
Though Bozak's name had been linked to the Canucks for months, I couldn't get behind the idea of offering significant money and term to a 32-year-old at this stage of the rebuild.
Imagine my relief now that it looks like my dream has come true:
There's some talk on Twitter—though not from any of our trusted sources—that Bozak's looking for as much as $6 million a year. With the extra cap space that's floating around throughout the league thanks to the big salary-cap jump, I wonder if there's a team that would meet that price. Would the Leafs bring him back at that number if they miss out on John Tavares?
If no team meets Bozak's price, the landscape could still change. For now, I'll assume that Bozak and Vancouver are not a match.
At this point, the most smoke in the Vancouver camp seems to surround Riley Nash. Originally a first-round draft pick by Edmonton back in 2007 (the same year the Oilers took Sam Gagner with the sixth pick), Nash was dealt to Carolina as he was finishing up his third year at Cornell in 2010. He spent six seasons with the Hurricanes organization before signing as a UFA with Boston two years ago. That deal carried a cap hit of just $900,000 a season, so the Bruins got a bargain when Nash delivered career highs in goals (15) and points (41) last season.
The increase in production came when Nash moved up the lineup to help fill in for injured Patrice Bergeron. He was solid but maybe it's not so surprising that he was able to put up points while playing with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
Wherever he lands, Nash isn't sweating it. Ben Kuzma tracked him down on holiday in Capetown, South Africa a few days ago.
Nash told Kuzma that he's intrigued by Vancouver.
We’ve done our research and it’s pretty interesting. We’re obviously aware of what’s going on in Vancouver and I think they have a pretty good future ahead of them.
It (turnaround) might come faster than a lot of people think. Boeser had a great year until he got hurt and proved he could put up a lot of goals (29) and points (55). Pettersson is obviously a world-class talent and I’ve heard a lot of good stories on him.
“They’re not that far off and I don’t think it will be a long rebuild. We came out there (6-1 loss Feb. 17) and were playing some of our best hockey and it (result) just showed just how close they were.
There are some suggestions that teams should be wary of signing Nash, but Boston coach Bruce Cassidy believes what he did last season was real.
“He really elevated his game,” said Cassidy. “It’s always been in him. It’s up to the player to go bring it out.”
Nash's season runs along the same plotline as the Vegas Golden Knights—a longtime depth player who showed what he could do when he was given more opportunity. I think that could translate to a new team, too.
I'm more interested in the idea of a centre showing upside than I am in somebody like Jay Beagle—another 32-year-old whose defensive specialization fit perfectly into Washington's depth chart during their run to the Stanley Cup. I have faith that Travis Green is going to wring defensive responsibility out of his players. If the Canucks are going to spend money on a free-agent center—and will need to outbid other teams in order to do so—I hope they prioritize traits like offensive upside and the ability to play up and down the lineup over faceoff prowess.
One other note about Nash: his agent is Kurt Overhardt, known around these parts for having repped Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa. A fierce negotiator, Overhardt's not usually a guy who leaves money on the table. He could be aiming very high on a deal for Nash.
I didn't mind hearing the Canucks linked to Tobias Rieder, either. Chosen in the fourth round by Edmonton in 2011 out of Germany, Rieder's just 25. He was reasonably productive in Arizona, putting up 37 points in 2015-16 and scoring 16 goals one year later.
Rieder was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline in the deal that brought Darcy Kuemper to Arizona. After collecting six points in 20 games in L.A., the Kings decided not to issue him a qualifying offer on his expiring deal that carried a cap hit of $2.225 million and a base salary of $2.45 million last season. I assume that decision was mostly about freeing up cap space for Ilya Kovalchuk.
Now, Rieder's agent seems to be doing an outstanding job of setting up a bidding war.
Trevor Linden told Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet this week that the Canucks' plan for this week is to be prudent.
“We’ve gotten to a place now where we’ve got a very good group of exciting young players, and that continues to build,” Linden told MacIntyre. “It’s just a matter of being patient and sticking with it now. July 1 is not a day to build. You can add some pieces. But if you look at good teams, the core is usually drafted.
“We need to think about getting better from within. We need to get our young players to take a step and be better. Our wins next year will be from the growth of young players. That’s where we are. July 1 isn’t a day where we’re going to build our team. It’s a patient day for us.”
Last year, the Canucks were active on July 1, bringing in Gagner, Michael Del Zotto, Anders Nilsson, Alexander Burmistrov and Patrick Wiercioch as well as re-signing Anton Rodin. Their best free-agent deal of the summer didn't come until two months later, when they snagged Thomas Vanek for just $2 million on September 1.
I expect we'll see far less action on Sunday.
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