Which Canucks regular is most at risk of getting cut?
Preseason is upon us and there are plenty of things to look for from a Vancouver Canucks perspective.
Goaltending has been under the microscope for the better part of the last month, and expect that to continue, as everyone analyzes the play of Arturs Silovs and Kevin Lankinen. On defence, we’ll see what pairings emerge and if Quinn Hughes sticks with or splits from Filip Hronek.
Then there are the forward lines. Will Danton Heinen win the job of playing with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser? Who gets to play with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk? What other formations will we see?
It remains to be seen if there’ll be a surprise addition to the roster, like Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Arshdeep Bains, or Aatu Räty.
“I mean it’s hard to say, but there [are] spots open,” Rick Tocchet insisted this morning when asked by a reporter how many roster spots were available. “This week, you’re looking for guys to really show us they want a job, or they want that spot. I think it’s important.”
The problem with a surprise addition making the big club out of camp is there aren’t any obvious open spots to claim. That was part of the reason Vasily Podkolzin was traded to Edmonton last month.
It’s not impossible, but barring injury, it’ll take a surprise cut.
Even if Tocchet decides to go with the status quo with his lineup, the Canucks could choose to carry fewer than the maximum 23 players on their NHL roster for salary cap purposes.
So whose spot in the lineup might be in jeopardy?
Because of the salary cap, it’ll likely be a player that makes $1.15 million or less, given that’s the maximum amount of salary that can be buried in the minors.
Let’s assume that doesn’t include Nils Höglander, despite his $1.1 million cap hit, given he’s coming off a 24-goal season. Let’s also assume that doesn’t include Silovs or Lankinen, given Thatcher Demko is still recovering from an injury.
So who’s left?
Nils Åman ($825,000) could be on the chopping block. The 6-foot-2 centre has youth on his side given he’s only 24 years old, but he didn’t produce much offence last season — seven points (3-4-7) in 43 games.
What about Phil Di Giuseppe? He turns 31 next month and though his style of play is a great fit for Tocchet’s system, he only produced 10 points (5-5-10) in 51 games last season.
Daniel Sprong ($975,000) is a newcomer to the lineup, and he scored 43 points (18-25-43) with the Detroit Red Wings last season. It would be a surprise if he doesn’t get a spot in the opening-night lineup, but he’ll also need to win over Tocchet with his play on the defensive side of the puck.
Perhaps a surprise cut will come on defence.
Noah Juulsen and Mark Friedman each make $775,000 and are pencilled in to be healthy scratches to start the season. That means they don’t have much room for error.
Juulsen played 54 games last season and was a nice story, but the 27-year-old Abbotsford product has been primarily an AHL player through most of his career.
Friedman, 28, appeared in just 23 games with Vancouver last season. As it stands now, he’s #8 on the defence depth chart.
The Canucks have six preseason games scheduled this year, beginning tonight against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Arena. They play the Calgary Flames in Abbotsford tomorrow night.
The puck drops on the regular season at home on October 9, against Calgary.