How much Boeser and other Vancouver Canucks free agents are projected to make this summer
The Vancouver Canucks are about to enter one of their most important summers in recent memory.
A disappointing season saw them finish outside the playoff picture despite starting the year with Stanley Cup aspirations. Now they need to return to contender status within two years or likely watch captain Quinn Hughes leave for greener pastures.
The first step is deciding on their pending free agents. Brock Boeser, Pius Suter, Derek Forbort, and Noah Juulsen are all set to hit the open market on July 1. The Canucks are projected to have just over $14 million in cap space for next season.
Hockey consulting company AFP Analytics has unveiled its updated contract projections ahead of July 1. Several Canucks pending free agents have seen an adjustment to their projected deals since the last update in January. This is what they see the four players getting on the open market.
Boeser’s projected contract trends downwards
- AFP projection: $8.49 million for six years
Boeser is not only the best Canucks player hitting free agency, he’s also set to be one of the most coveted players across the entire league on July 1. While he didn’t repeat last year’s 40-goal season, he scored 25 goals in 75 games, giving him his fourth season with at least 25 goals.
Boeser’s projected contract has decreased quite significantly since January. AFP sees him getting one fewer year and about $250,000 less per season. That’s because the American sniper struggled in the second half of the year, especially after his regular centre, J.T. Miller, was traded.
Boeser is a great goal-scorer, but he’s not an elite play driver. He plays best alongside a center who can carry the puck and find him in open spots. The Canucks are lacking players like that right now and thus it’ll be interesting to see what they decide on Boeser.
The disagreement between Boeser and the Canucks to this point has been the term of a new contract. If the demand for Boeser has softened over the past few months, perhaps his camp would be more willing to compromise.
Suter stands to triple his salary
- AFP projection: $4.98 million for four years
While Boeser’s projected contract is trending downwards, the opposite is happening for Suter. He’s added more than $1 million per season in projected value by AFP since January. He made just $1.6 million last year, so the nearly $5 million he’s projected for represents a huge raise.
Suter proved to be one of the Canucks most important players down the stretch. He finished the year with a career-high 25 goals and 46 points, playing in all situations.
The Canucks must be wary of the fact Suter shot 18.1 per cent this season, well above his career average of 13.1 per cent. That will likely drop next season, and he’s unlikely to repeat his 25-goal performance. However, Suter still proved to be a very valuable player and if the Canucks don’t give him a significant raise, another team will surely.
Forbort looks like a smart depth add
- AFP projection: $1.53 million for one year
Forbort was a veteran addition by the Canucks last summer which turned out well. While he played just 54 games because of various reasons, including injury and his dad’s passing, the 33-year-old was a steady bottom-pairing defensive defenceman when in the lineup.
The 6-foot-4 blueliner was also a key part of the penalty kill, which finished third overall. The Canucks have a youth movement on the blue line that will push Forbort for minutes but bringing him back as a veteran leader and penalty kill specialist seems to make a lot of sense, especially considering the relatively cheap projected price tag.
Juulsen could be back for cheap
- AFP projection: $775,000 for one year
Juulsen played just 35 games this past season before getting injured. The Canucks have revamped their blueline and have plenty of young talent pushing for NHL spots on the backend.
If the Canucks decide to re-sign Juulsen, it’ll likely be for a minimum contract like AFP projects. There’s no guaranteed NHL spot left for Juulsen, who will have to battle off players like Victor Mancini and possibly Tom Willander.