Welcome Matt: Will Canucks go bargain hunting for late free-agent defenceman signing?

Our buddy Rick Dhaliwal reporting today that the Canucks may still land a free-agent defenceman.

No, not P.K. Subban, but Calvin de Haan, a 31-year-old who can play the left or right side. De Haan had just eight points (four goals) for the Chicago Blackhawks last year, the final season of a deal that paid him $4.55 million.

Surely he will be cheaper in mid-August and in a free agent season effectively locked by the flat salary cap.

And as we always say, if it’s a one-year deal of $1.125 million or less, then all the salary can be buried in the minors if the player doesn’t work out, and there is no cap cost to the Canucks, just to ownership’s wallet. I support any signing on these terms.

Think it’s also evident why Canucks management wanted to clear salary cap space heading into this summer.

They failed, and thus weren’t able to be players at the start of free agency, winger Ilya Mikeheyev notwithstanding. But now on the secondary free agent market, there are still good players available like Paul Stastny, former Canuck Tyler Motte, winger Zach Aston-Reese (a former college free agent whom Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin signed to the Pittsburgh Penguins) and others.

Perhaps the pressure will mount and some of these players (not Stastny) will accept one-year deals near that magic $1.125 million mark. And that means the Canucks could still get better yet.

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