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    Lyle Richardson
    Lyle Richardson
    Apr 26, 2023, 14:26

    The Vancouver Canucks will have to make a cost-cutting move or two this off-season. Who goes is the big question.

    The Vancouver Canucks will have to make a cost-cutting move or two this off-season. Who goes is the big question.

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    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 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 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 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 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.