As I attempt to read the tea leaves, I'm not especially hopeful that the Vancouver Canucks are going to be able to create additional salary-cap space by moving out Loui Eriksson and his $6 million cap hit before the beginning of the season.
Kevin Woodley runs down the current state of affairs in
this article for NHL.com.
In his chat with reporters on Thursday, Jim Benning said that he had finally caught up with Eriksson, a couple of months after he made comments in the Swedish media about not getting along with coach Travis Green.
"I think his comments, I don't think they were as egregious as people think," Benning said. "He is just trying to be honest with the situation, but we had a really good conversation and that will stay between Loui and I and we will continue to talk and work things out."
That doesn't necessarily mean that Eriksson will be gone by opening night.
"He's still a useful player for us," Benning added. "He can kill penalties, play a matchup role against other team's top lines, he's a good two-way player, so we'll continue to look at our options and see if something makes sense and talk to Loui and see where he's at and go from there."
Eriksson's agent, J.P. Barry, sounds like he does want a fresh start for his client—and thinks a bad-contract-for-bad-contract swap is probably the way to go.
"It's gone past any kind of request," Barry told TSN Radio 1040 on Wednesday. "I think we're all just working together to look for a solution, really, is what we've been doing. It's not an easy thing. I think any kind of transaction would have to involve a player on another team in a similar situation, and we all know that, so we've all looked around the League and this could be the time of year, when after you get through free agency, after you get a better idea of everyone's [NHL salary cap] positions, that those kind of changes could still happen over the next several weeks."
In his column in The Athletic this week,
Eric Duhatschek mused that the Canucks' signing of Micheal Ferland probably means there's no room for Milan Lucic in Vancouver anymore—and wonders if the Oilers and Flames could swing a deal where James Neal goes the other way. There was some talk of a possible three-way trade involving all those parties earlier this summer, with Lucic coming to Vancouver, Neal going to Edmonton and Eriksson landing in Calgary.
Neal couldn't lock down a quality roster spot in Calgary last year, so I feel like he could bounce back to his 20-goal form in the right situation. But on the other hand, he turns 32 in September—and he's a big boy who has always been more of a 'park yourself in front of the net' guy than a 'blaze down the ice and score off the rush' player. So....maybe his performance in Calgary last season is a harbinger of what's to come.
Is there another player on a bloated contract—who isn't Lucic—that you'd like to see the Canucks try to swap for Eriksson?
The "Comparables" tool at
CapFriendly is full of suggestions—starting with Eriksson's mates from the free-agent class of 2016, Lucic, David Backes and Andrew Ladd.
What about Kyle Turris? He could be expendable in Nashville now that Matt Duchene has arrived. His six-year deal goes all the way through 2024 but he's a little younger—he'll turn 30 in August, while Eriksson is now 33. A B.C. boy, Turris played just 55 games last season, missing time with two separate injuries. He was also healthy-scratched by the Predators for two games in March.
I was surprised to see him named captain of Team Canada at the World Championship this year—his second straight appearance for the Canadians. He had a decent tournament, tying with Jonathan Marchessault for third in team scoring with four goals and 10 points and a team-leading plus-11 in 10 games and winning a silver medal.
I know the Canucks don't exactly need another centre, but I feel like Turris has a better chance of bouncing back than some of the other $6 million men out there.
Is there anybody else who catches your eye for this type of swap?
Speaking of B.C. boys, I've been up in Penticton this week, hanging out with family and spying a bit on the Okanagan Hockey Academy. On the ice for the past five days: a defense camp led by one-time Canucks blueliner Robert Dirk.
Now 52, Dirk logged 402 games in his NHL career, with 217 of those played in Vancouver. His son Jagger, now 25, was born here in Penticton and spent last season as a defenseman in the Canucks' farm system. He played nine games with the Utica Comets and was 4-17-21 in 49 games with the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL.
On Friday, the organizers outdid themselves in my estimation when they brought in winner-of-everything Scott Niedermayer for an autograph signing.
Cranbrook-born Niedermayer, now 45, is one of just 29 players in the
Triple Gold Club, with a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Gold Medal, and World Championship gold, but that's the beginning of his long list of achievements.
In addition to four Stanley Cups, two Olympic golds and one World Championship gold, Niedermayer also has gold medals from World Juniors and the World Cup of Hockey, two WHL championships, a Memorial Cup, a Norris Trophy and a Conn Smythe Trophy.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 and the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2015.
Niedermayer has been living in Penticton lately; his 18-year-old son Jackson was a right winger for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL last season, where he put up 2-4-6 in 36 games. Son Joshua, 15, also played Bantam on defense this past season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy.
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