"It wasn't a fit": Allvin explains why Canucks didn't sign Phil Kessel
After weeks of anticipation, today the Vancouver Canucks revealed they would not be signing Phil Kessel. The forward was skating in Abbotsford and the team had until today at noon PT to offer him a contract where he would still be eligible to play in the postseason. They declined to do so.
“I think Phil is a great person and well-respected player. What he has done in the league, a three-time cup winner,” said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin during a post-trade deadline press conference at Rogers Arena today. “[He] wanted to come back to play and, as I said, with LTIR, roster complications, and how we want to play, unfortunately at this point it wasn’t a fit for us.”
Perhaps the roster complications that Allvin was referring to included the team’s financial picture.
The Canucks entered today with enough cap space to add just $125,000 in salary commitments per CapFriendly. The team’s tight money situation made it difficult for them to pull off any transactions, be it signings or trades.
A one-year minimum salary contract for Kessel would have cost the club $775,000 in full-year cap commitments. This means that they needed to clear up $650,000 in salary. They achieved this by sending Vasily Podkolzin to the AHL earlier today, but it’s clear that they’ve been impressed with his game and want him back with the big club immediately.
“Very pleased,” said Allvin today when discussing the young Russian forward’s recent progress.
The Canucks have also placed a premium on playing faster this season, something that Kessel was not known for, even in his prime. At 36 years old, it’s a question as to whether a player who was never known for his footspeed would be able to play the way that head coach Rick Tocchet desires. This is also something that Allvin alluded to in his comments about the team’s playing style.
It was a quiet trade deadline day for the Canucks as they didn’t make a single move. The team made its additions earlier in the calendar year and now will prepare for a playoff push as they continue to hold onto the top spot in the Western Conference.