After signing Pius Suter to a two-year contract on Friday, the Vancouver Canucks are grappling with a challenging salary cap situation. The move has pushed them just over the $83.5 million cap limit by roughly $1 million and to navigate this issue, Patrick Johnston from The Province has put forward the idea of a necessary cost-cutting trade for the team.
Johnston points to the surplus of wingers on the Canucks’ roster, a concern that looms larger if Tanner Pearson fully recovers from his hand injury. Even with Pearson as a healthy scratch, there appears to be insufficient room for prominent players such as Nils Hoglander, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and Vasily Podkolzin. A tough decision will likely have to be made and Johnston points to a previous rumor regarding Tyler Myers as a possible solution.
Addressing this roster imbalance, Johnston singles out Myers as an ideal trade candidate. With his contract set to expire, the 33-year-old defenseman carries a $6 million cap hit, but his actual salary drops to $1 million after the Canucks disburse his $5 million signing bonus. There was recent talk that Myers had been linked to the San Jose Sharks in a trade for Kevin Labanc. That trade never materialized, reportedly due to uncertainty surrounding Erik Karlsson.
Are the Sharks Now in a Position to Make the Trade?
Given recent developments such as the San Jose Sharks’ trade of Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sharks may be in the market for a short-term defensive solution like Myers. While the Sharks took on additional salary this season to facilitate the Karlsson deal, the team still has around $3.9 million in space to add another piece. The Canucks might need to agree to retain half of Myers’ cap hit, and assuming he isn’t protected by his 10-team no-trade list, there’s no reason to think the Canucks wouldn’t oblige. Whether Labanc is included in any potential deal remains to be seen. It would be a challenge considering Labanc’s $4.75 million contract.
As the upcoming season draws closer, the Canucks are left with a critical decision to balance their roster and cap limitations, potentially involving a significant trade that could reshape the team’s defensive dynamics.
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