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Should the Vancouver Canucks Buy-Out Loui Eriksson During the Offseason?

When Loui Eriksson was signed by the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent in July 2016, he had just come off a 30-goal and 33-assist season with the Boston Bruins in 2015-16. It didn’t prove to be a good signing for the Cancucks. Should the organization have known? The only other time Eriksson had scored more than 30 goals was in 2008-2009 with the Dallas Stars (36 goals and 63 points).

Obviously, Jim Benning believed Eriksson was the real deal or else he would not have signed the soon-to-be-35-year-old Swedish forward to a six-year, $36-million contract. That he’s the highest-paid Canucks forward and only scored six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 49 games can’t sit well with anyone on the team. I’m sure it doesn’t sit well with Eriksson either.

There were high hopes Eriksson would bring scoring production to the team, but in 245 games in a Canucks uniform Eriksson has scored only 38 goals and 51 assists. He had his best season in 2018-19 when he had 11 goals and 18 assists (29 points) in 81 games.

Related: Vancouver Canucks’ Jacob Markstrom Mugged by the NHL’s Power Rankings

What to Do with Eriksson?

During this season, when injuries mounted up for the Canucks around the turn of the new year (January 2020), Eriksson actually came out of the press box and played. In fact, he played regularly and much better than people thought.

For the most part, after last spring when Eriksson dissed head coach Travis Green during an interview in Sweden, he was considered a pariah. The Canucks tried hard but unsuccessfully to trade him during the offseason, but there were no takers. Really that was no surprise because of his high salary and the fact that he hadn’t produced much in the way of offense.

Now, even with forwards Josh Leivo and Micheal Ferland probably still out with injuries as the postseason approaches, Eriksson might not be needed.

Basically, the organization has given up on Eriksson. But should the team buy him out? If compliance buyouts were a thing, buying him out would be a no-brainer, but should the Canucks buy use a regular buyout to help him disappear? That’s a difficult decision for general manager Benning.

What Would It Cost to Buy Eriksson Out?

Perhaps Benning could make a deal like the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas did when he traded Patrick Marleau’s contract to the Carolina Hurricanes as a cap-shaving action. That move, about this time last June, cost the Maple Leafs a conditional first-round pick and a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft and they received a 2020 sixth-round pick from the Hurricanes.

For example, because the Ottawa Senators are going to be operating close to the salary-cap floor, they might be a team that could take on Eriksson’s contract. In fact, I can see a scenario where they might actually find space in their lineup for him. Eriksson still works hard and is a decent penalty killer.

But is getting rid of Eriksson worth a first-round draft pick? That’s a hard one. He still has two years left with a $6M cap hit per season. If the Canucks bought him out – and it wasn’t a compliance buyout – it would cost the team $5,666,667 million and $3,666,667 million against their cap the first two seasons after the buyout, but then the salary-cap hit would be an easier-to-handle $666,667 for two years.

What makes the decision so tough is that, currently, the Canucks have almost $64 million tied up in contracts for the 2020-21 season with free agents to sign. Specifically, Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli, Adam Gaudette, Jake Virtanen, Chris Tanev, and Troy Stetcher will need new contracts at the end of the 2019-20 season – whenever that might be. Those players have been key pieces of the team’s roster.

Related: Chris Tanev Looking at One-Year Extension With Canucks

Next Season’s a Problem, But More Salary Cap Space Is Needed Soon

However, more looming is the fact that the summer of 2022 is soon coming. And, during that summer two of the Canucks youngest but biggest stars – Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes – will become RFAs and will need new contracts. The team will need a ton of cap space to sign those two youngsters.

Honestly, I don’t know what Benning will or should do. But what I do know is that it’s a tough call. It will make for an interesting 2019-20 offseason for Canucks fans.

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