General manager Patrik Allvin heads into the 2024 offseason looking to turn the Vancouver Canucks into a contender.

The Vancouver Canucks held their media availability on Thursday, which included GM Patrik Allvin. Despite a successful season, the Canucks GM was disappointed with the way the 2023-24 campaign concluded as Vancouver fell in Game 7 to the Edmonton Oilers. With the season now complete, Allvin turns his focus to the 2024 offseason, which will feature plenty of tough decisions.

Allvin started his press conference by stating his displeasure with the Canucks exit from the playoffs. When asked about the season and playoff run, Allvin answered, "I'm not happy sitting here today. Definitely not satisfied. We lost our last game, and it was only in round two." Later in his answer, Allvin also said, "You don't know how many chances you're going to have to play in a Game 7. My message to the players is this is something you've got to bear with you the whole summer that we lost our last game, and it was only round two. It's just going to get harder."

Allvin's answer may have seemed harsh, but it is the right mentality needed for a team with the desire to hoist the Stanley Cup. Yes, playoff experience is important, but the players and organization should not be satisfied with only winning a round. The good news is this mindset seems to resonate with the players. Later in the media availability, Allvin stated, "I think based on the conversation I had with the players, they wanted more. They got a taste of it, and they understand now."

The biggest challenge for Allvin this offseason will be free agency and the salary cap. Vancouver has over a dozen restricted and unrestricted free agents, including Filip Hronek, Elias Lindholm, Dakota Joshua, Nikia Zadorov and Tyler Myers. Based on the way the roster performed and only having a projected $26,278,333 in cap space, Allvin will need to make some tough decisions on who the organization keeps and who will be finding a new home this offseason. 

When asked about free agency, Allvin said, "I think we are going to continue to see. Top-six winger would be nice. I think we need to add some speed. But again, for us, this is to meet with my staffers and see what we have in-house. As I said, I'm sure a lot of players in Abbotsford took big steps here. We'll continue here over the next couple of weeks and see where we have in terms of free agency and players going to stay here or how much cap space we will have left."

Adding another top-six winger will be key this offseason, as the Canucks can not enter the 2024-25 season with Ilya Mikheyev beside Elias Pettersson. Allvin even alluded to this, calling Mikheyev a "good mid-six player." With plenty of talented wingers heading into free agency, including Tyler Toffoli, Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teräväinen and Anthony Duclair, it will be interesting to see if Allvin can add more talent to his top six or if the salary cap handcuffs Vancouver's general manager in who he can add to the roster. 

Lastly, Allvin hinted that there could be opportunities for younger players who spent the year in Abbotsford. Some names that Allvin has mentioned in the past include Max Sasson, Arshdeep Bains and Jett Woo, who all had strong campaigns during the 2023-24 AHL season. While these players may not be ready to fill top-of-the-lineup roles, having players graduate and play depth roles may be one solution to free up cap space, allowing the Canucks to add more high-end talent through free agency. 

The main takeaway from Allvin's availability is that he and his management group are ready to explore every avenue if it means improving this team. Based on the current contract situation within the organization, Vancouver's competitive window is open and needs to be taken advantage of. While it won't be an easy offseason, Allvin and his team will be hard at work over the next few months, ensuring the Canucks are playing at the start of the third round rather than holding a year-end press conference.

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