We start the week heading towards free agency with the confirmation that the Vancouver Canucks have waived left wing Chris Higgins for the purposes of buying out the final year of his contract.
Higgins came to the Canucks at the 2011 trade deadline from the Florida Panthers (where else?) in exchange for Evan Oberg and a third-rounder in the 2013 draft, who turned into Jimmy Lodge. He was a key part of the run to the Stanley Cup Final—three of his four goals were game-winners, the most of any player on the team.
Higgins signed his current contract extension in April of 2013, towards the end of the lockout year. His peak season came in the first year of his new deal, when he scored 17 goals and 39 points as a favourite of coach John Tortorella, but under Willie Desjardins he was used in more of a defensive role, and as a penalty killer.
Higgins' 2015-16 season got off to a terrible start when he broke his foot blocking a shot during the team's first exhibition game at Kraft Hockeyville. He didn't play his first game until November 4, and when he did get into the lineup his speed and mobility were diminished.
After shuffling in and out of the lineup, Higgins was placed on waivers last January and assigned to the Utica Comets, where he went 9-4-13 in 22 games. He was recalled by the Canucks in late March and played eight more games, scoring one goal, before a lower-body injury knocked him out of the lineup for the last four games of the season.
If he gets a good summer of training under his belt, Higgins might be able to catch on with another team as a value free-agent signing, but given that he was already offered around the league and put on waivers last season, I'm not sure there's a place for him in the NHL in 2016-17. Higgins was an important member of the Canucks during the best period in the franchise's history. I wish him all the best going forward.
The reason for the move? Here's one theory.
Jim Benning has previously said that he's hoping to acquire two unrestricted free agents—and some names beyond Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson did surface on Sunday.
We also have word that the team has inquired about Thomas Vanek. Agents for both Stamkos and New York Islanders' forward Frans Nielsen offered "no comment" when asked about their clients.
For a big picture look at what's happening in the marketplace today, check out
this article from Luke Fox of Sportsnet.
Let's go through the possibilities in the mix here, one by one:
Loui Eriksson—You know the deal with him. He'll be 31 next season, plays right wing, scored 30 goals last year and has scored more than 25 in five of eight seasons since he became a full-time NHLer. He also showed great chemistry with the Sedin twins when the three played together on Sweden's gold medal-winning team at the 2013 World Championships.
Eriksson's coming off a six-year contract that carried a cap hit of $4.25 million per season.
Mikkel Boedker—A native of Denmark who was drafted eighth overall in 2008, Boedker has soft hands and loads of speed, but is inconsistent. Despite his talent, he has never scored 20 goals in a season. His best year was 2013-14, when he went 19-32-51 with the Coyotes.
Boedker is one of the youngest UFAs available, at just 26. He put up four goals and 12 points in 18 games after being acquired by Colorado this spring for a playoff push, but the Avs fell well short of advancing to the postseason. Boedker also finished the season at -33—last in the league. He's coming off a one-year contract that paid him $3.75 million.
I like his youth and his speed, but coming out of Arizona, I see Boedker as a younger version of Radim Vrbata. Plenty of talent, and when he's good, he's very good. But then there's the rest of the time...
Darren Helm—A 29-year-old who has built an NHL career after being drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Red Wings, Helm is hard-working and versatile—he can play all forward positions and has good wheels. He also played for Willie Desjardins for three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers and was part of the group that won the WHL championship in 2006-07, with 22 points in 23 playoff games.
Injuries have been an issue in Helm's career, but he only missed five games last season.
Helm is coming off a four-year contract with the Red Wings that carried a cap hit of $2.125 million. He has never scored more than 15 goals and 33 points, so he'd be coming in to play a role as a grittier Chris Higgins.
He has been a good player for Detroit. I assume the main reason why they're not bringing him back is their difficult salary-cap situation.
Andrew Ladd—We've talked a fair amount about him. Local boy, from Maple Ridge, who's 30 years old. Good size at 6'3". Two-time Stanley Cup winner with Carolina in 2006 and Chicago in 2010.
Good leader—was named captain of the Atlanta Thrashers in November of 2010, just a few months after being acquired from Chicago, and held that captaincy right up until he was traded back to Chicago at this year's trade deadline.
Ladd has been a consistent 20+ goal scorer and is durable (but so was Brandon Sutter before he arrived in Vancouver). He's coming off a five-year contract with a cap hit of $4.4 million and it's expected that he'll command a big raise. He'll likely receive one of the biggest contracts handed out this summer, not counting Stamkos, of course.
Thomas Vanek—Now 32, Vanek is a tank of a player who has never quite lived up to the massive salaries that he has received. Drafted fifth overall in 2003, Vanek scored more than 40 goals twice in his early career with the Buffalo Sabres. The Edmonton Oilers signed him to an offer sheet during the summer of 2007, after his career-high 43-goal season, but the Sabres matched, giving him a seven-year deal with a cap hit of $7.14 million.
During the last year of his contract, the Sabres flipped Vanek to the New York Islanders early in the season, then he was moved to the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline. He was a major disappointment in Montreal in the 2014 playoffs and saw his icetime cut dramatically by the third round, when he registered just two assists as the Canadiens fell to the New York Rangers in six games.
Undeterred, the Minnesota Wild inked Vanek to a three-year contract with a $6.5 million cap hit, believing that his career would be rekindled when was reunited with his old Sabres teammate Jason Pominville in the state where he attended college for two years at the University of Minnesota.
Vanek underperformed, with seasons of 18 and 21 goals. Last week, he was bought out of the last year of his contract.
On a side note, Vanek's name was linked to an illegal gambling operation in Buffalo, where he was rumoured to have owed upwards of $10 million when the bookie went to trial in 2014, according to
Gary Craig of the
Democrat and Chronicle. Vanek's agent called the $10 million figure "complete fiction", but according to the story, "He estimated that the losses were closer to $1 million to $2 million earlier cited by sources familiar with the criminal case."
Still pretty big bucks, and an unsavoury situation to be involved with.
I'm also not a fan of Vanek's lack of mobility. He's a good shot-tipper who scores a lot of greasy goals in front of the slot. It's great when it works, but it limits how effective he can be in other game situations. I vote that the Canucks stay away from Vanek.
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