THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: Comebacks, Upsets and D.B. Sweeney Conor Garland [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk3NTIzOTk4NDEyNjQ2Mjk5/usatsi_20367015.jpg] Conor Garland The Vancouver Canucks enter this off-season needing to bolster their blueline depth and add a reliable third-line center. To address those issues, they'll have to shed some salary. With next season's salary cap projected to be $83.5 million, CapFriendly [https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/canucks] shows the Canucks with $85.166 million already invested in 19 roster players. They're allowed to exceed the cap by 10 percent in the off-season but must be compliant before the start of 2023-24. Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/canucks-off-season-priorities-push-to-extend-pettersson-find-third-line-centre/] believes the most inefficient contracts belong to aging defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers. He acknowledged Ekman-Larsson's deal ($7.26-million annual cap hit through 2026-27) is untradeable, while buying him out would result in eight years of dead cap money. MacIntyre suggested Myers ($6 million for 2023-24) might be movable once his $5 million signing bonus is paid. However, that's not due until Sept. 15, which could complicate the timing of a trade. The 32-year-old blueliner also has a 10-team no-trade clause. The Athletic's Thomas Drance [https://theathletic.com/4400315/2023/04/14/drance-vancouver-canucks-future/] wondered if the Canucks might revisit their rumored trade-deadline efforts to move J.T. Miller before his seven-year, $56-million contract (with a full no-movement clause) kicks in on July 1. Given Miller's chemistry with emerging superstar Elias Pettersson, it could be an option they're less likely to consider unless they receive a mind-blowing offer. Drance and colleague Harman Dayal [https://theathletic.com/4423478/2023/04/18/canucks-roster-jt-miller/] suggested Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Anthony Beauvillier as cost-cutting trade candidates. They're in their mid-to-late 20s with average annual values between $4.15 million to $6.65 million. MacIntyre also felt Boeser or Garland (maybe both) could get moved. Boeser recently expressed his relief that he wasn't moved at the trade deadline. However, his desire to remain a Canuck might not be enough to keep him in Vancouver.
