Canucks qualify Arturs Silovs, release three free agents in free agency

At the end of the 2023-24 season, the Vancouver Canucks had eight restricted free agents in need of new contracts. As of Sunday, June 30, they have just one remaining.

Four of the Canucks’ restricted free agents have already been re-signed. The most notable was Filip Hronek, who signed a long-term deal that will keep him in Vancouver for another eight years. Then, Cole McWard and Linus Karlsson signed league-minimum deals in hopes of earning a spot on the opening-round roster.

The final signing was Jett Woo, who the Canucks hope will build on his strong season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL last season. Like Mcward and Karlsson, the 23-year-old defenseman signed with a league-minimum cap hit, which will make it easier for him to fall under the salary cap if he wins a spot out of training camp or if he is recalled.

That left just four restricted free agents needing a qualifying offer at Sunday’s deadline, and only one of them did: Arturs Silovs.

Canucks to continue contract negotiations with Arturs Silovs

A qualifying offer is a contract offer used to retain the signing rights of a restricted free agent. The offer is based on the player’s salary from their last contract and can be accepted by the player or rejected to allow contract negotiations to continue.

Three restricted free agents did not receive a qualifying offer from the Canucks and will become unrestricted free agents, capable of signing with any team: Aidan McDonough, Filip Johansson and Nick Cicek.

Silovs’ qualifying offer is reportedly $813,750. Considering his playoff performance with the Canucks, it’s likely Silovs will ask for a bigger raise than that, with AFP Analytics projecting a two-year deal at just over $1 million per year.

As a result, Silovs will likely reject the qualifying offer and continue negotiations with the Canucks.

This is an intriguing contract negotiation because it likely involves more than just money. Silovs may be looking for some sort of guarantee that he will be Thatcher Demko’s backup next season — perhaps a one-way deal that would pay him the same amount in the AHL as he gets in the NHL.

It’s also possible another team could sign Silovs to an offer sheet.

Could another team sign Arturs Silovs to an offer sheet?

An offer sheet is a contract offered to a restricted free agent by another team. If the restricted free agent signs the offer sheet, the team that owns his rights can match the offer sheet, in which case it becomes the restricted free agent’s new contract with that team.

If a team doesn’t match an offer, they get compensation in the form of a draft pick, with compensation depending on the contract’s salary cap.

While an offer is unlikely (only two players have been signed in the last decade), this is a potential nightmare scenario for the Canucks. This is not just about the risk of losing Silovs to another team, but the fact that matching an offer could lead to paying Silovs more than expected, leading to major difficulties in managing the their salary cap.

A team can offer Silovs for up to about $1.5 million without having to pay compensation. The next level, from about $1.5 million to $2.3 million, only includes a third-round pick as compensation.

If another NHL team believes Silovs can take the next step and become even a league-average starter over the next two seasons, it would make perfect sense for them to offer him a contract two-year contract worth $2 million per year. It would be difficult for the Canucks to match, as they will need all the space available to improve their top six and blue line, but a third round pick would be paltry compensation for the loss of a good, young goaltender beginning. which they invested a lot of time developing.

Offers are rare, but it’s a scenario the Canucks need to be aware of as they attempt to re-sign Silovs.

What happened to Aidan McDonough?

As the Canucks continue negotiations with Silovs, it appears Aidan McDonough, Filip Johansson and Nick Cicek will no longer be part of the Canucks organization.

McDonough was a seventh-round pick of the Canucks in the 2019 NHL Draft and he proved to be a smart pick, at least as far as seventh-rounders go. He had a fantastic college career at Northeastern University, becoming one of the top scorers in the country and signed an entry-level contract with the Canucks. He played six games with the Canucks after signing and scored his first career NHL goal, which is more than most seventh-round picks manage.

McDonough looked like a dark horse to make the Canucks come out of training camp last September. Instead, he spent the entire season in the AHL and had a relatively disappointing year, with 11 goals and 19 points in 58 games. The faster pace of professional hockey proved to be a hindrance for McDonough, whose skating has always been his main weakness.

While McDonough appears to be a strong candidate to qualify, it appears the Canucks are willing to part ways with the 24-year-old winger. Perhaps he’ll get his NHL shot with another team.

It’s less surprising to see Johansson and Cicek not qualify.

The Canucks bet on Johansson, who had already been a first-round pick of the Minnesota Wild. As a smooth-skating right-handed defenseman, Johansson was a good bet for the Canucks. He came to North America late last season to compete in the AHL playoffs and has spent the entire current season with the Abbotsford Canucks.

Unfortunately, Johansson failed to make enough of an impression to convince the Canucks that he should be re-signed. While he improved throughout the season, Johansson is now 24 and needed to show more to prove he still has NHL potential.

Cicek joined the Canucks, along with a sixth-round pick, in a trade with the San Jose Sharks for Jack Studnicka. The 6-foot-3 left-shot defenseman was previously on the verge of making the Sharks’ roster after playing 16 NHL games last season, but was passed over by other defensemen in the Sharks’ system.

That made him a low-risk bet for the Canucks. He played 49 games for the Abbotsford Canucks, scoring 14 points along the way, but struggled defensively, especially in the playoffs.

Like Johansson, Cicek is 24 years old and hasn’t shown enough talent this season to prove himself to the Canucks. He might be able to sign a new contract with Abbotsford in the American Hockey League, but if he wants another chance in the NHL, he’ll have to do it with another team.