Canucks Continue to Search Market For More Trades

Even though the team made a big move to send Tanner Pearson to the Montreal Canadiens, the Vancouver Canucks are far from finished with their roster adjustments and salary cap maneuvering, affirmed by the team’s President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford. Addressing the ongoing efforts to reshape the team, Rutherford stated, “We still have work to do, we’re not sitting here saying we’re where we need to be.”

The Canucks’ salary cap situation has been a topic of concern and discussion within the hockey community, as they work diligently to navigate the constraints imposed by the league’s salary cap. Rutherford commented, “Based on what we had to deal with, we’re still working through the cap. I think we’ve almost got it unraveled. We’re probably a contract or two away from getting to where we want to be and then we can really move forward the way we want to.”

Although Rutherford refrained from specifying names, it’s widely believed that expiring contracts for players like Tyler Myers, who carries a $6 million cap hit, along with Brock Boeser (2 years remaining at $6.65 million) and Conor Garland (3 years remaining at $4.95 million) are under scrutiny and have surfaced in numerous trade rumors. GM Patrik Allvin said this week, however, that the team has no intention of trading Tyler Myers.

It’s A Flat Salary Cap Issue

Rutherford emphasized the unique challenge posed by the flat salary cap, noting, “Moves that were made prior to us coming here, I don’t even disagree with them. People were making moves on teams thinking the cap would keep going up. And if the cap kept going up, we’re not sittin’ having this conversation. It’s been a flat cap since COVID.” However, he expressed optimism about the future, stating, “That’s going to change next year and also we’re going to be at the point where we’re out of some contracts that we would prefer not to have.”