Vancouver Canucks face dilemma with Pius Suter this summer
Where would the Vancouver Canucks be without Pius Suter?
They surely wouldn’t still have an outside chance at making the playoffs. On the season, he’s scored 24 goals, second on the team, and has 45 points, tied for third among Canucks forwards.
With injuries ravaging the team’s centre depth over the past few weeks, Suter has stepped up massively. He’s got eight goals and 16 points in his last 14 games, many of which he’s been the team’s first-line centre for.
Beyond his counting stats, Suter also leads the Canucks in short-handed ice time and is fifth among forwards in power play time this year.
There’s no doubting his value to the team, and while he’s greatly benefited the Canucks, he’s also made things extremely tricky for them. Suter needs a new contract this summer, and after his incredible season, he won’t be cheap.
Hockey consulting company AFP Analytics predicted in January Suter’s next contract would be four years at $3.927 million per season. With the way he’s been playing, those numbers have surely gone up.
The combination of a weak free agency class and a sharply rising salary cap means prices could get silly this summer. There are just four pending free-agent centres who are under 30 years old and have scored at least 20 goals this year: Suter, Sam Bennett, Ryan Donato, and Jack Roslovic. That’s not a long list for teams to fight over.
If Suter wants to test the open market, it’s not inconceivable he’d find a team willing to offer five years at $5 million per season. That’s likely not a price the Canucks are willing to match with their roughly $14 million in cap space. There have been no reports that the two sides have ever been close on an extension, and he was reportedly nearly traded at the deadline.
Re-signing Suter isn’t risk-free. He’s shooting 19.2% this season, well above his career average of 13.2%. If he reverts back to his career average shooting percentage next season, is he still worth $5 million a year?
The Canucks biggest need is more quality centres. If they let Suter walk, they’ll be trusting Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil to lead the way. Both players have significant question marks, Pettersson with his consistency and Chytil with his health.
Having solid options behind those two is crucial for team success next season, and replacing Suter in free agency will either mean overpaying for a sure thing or taking on a player with some risk.
The Canucks are left with a difficult catch-22. Do they reward Suter’s career-best season with a big contract and hope he can do it again? Or do they look to free agency or the trade market, where getting a similar-level player likely means overpaying? Neither option is all that appealing, but with their centre position being so weak, they’ll need to explore one.