By Garth McLennan

ile the Vancouver Canucks
wage a war for the Stanley Cup
on the ice against the Boston

Bruins, another interesting battle worth
watching is brewing behind the scenes
which will take center stage this summer
and will also go a long way in determining
the future fortunes of the Canucks.

The Vancouver defence, long regarded
as one of the deepest in the NHL, will
have a good portion of itself up for
auction to the highest bidder on July 1,
when Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff,
Sami Salo and Andrew Alberts all hit the
open market as unrestricted free agents.
Mike Gillis invested $24.376 million into
his team’s blueline this season, and while
it has obviously paid off with a splendidly
successful campaign on the ice, he’ll be
hard-pressed to retain everyone.

Bieksa had a spectacular season which

“exceeded everyone’s top expectations, and
he’s compounded that with an amazing’
playoff run, sealed with the series winning
goal against the San Jose Sharks which
vaulted Vancouver into the Stanley Cup
finals. Ehrhoff has enjoyed another
outstanding year of offensive production
with an impressive plus/minus rating.
Both Bieksa and Ehrhoff are due for big
raises if they file for free agency. It’s
a tossup when evaluating who is more
valuable to the Canucks, but looking
towards the top end of the scale, both
would be able to get in the neighbourhood
of five million dollars per season on the
market (Bieksa earned $3.75 million this
year while Ehrhoff brought home $3.1
million). e

Salo is the more perplexing case. He

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missed the bulk of the regular season with
a devastating Achilles injury sustained
during the offseason playing floor ball,
but since his return he’s been rock solid,
and better yet, hasn’t suffered an injury.
Salo has already stated that he’s planning
on playing next year (he’s 36 now), and
with his age and lengthy injury history, he
likely won’t be able to sign for the $3.5
million he earned this year.
So how does Gillis keep his back
end together? Well, for starters, the
salary cap will rise again next season
by approximately five million dollars,
and that can only be considered a good
thing for the Canucks. Most of their key
forwards are already locked up long
term, so Gillis will be able to devote
his available cap dollars to his defence.
Alberts and his expiring $1.3 million cap
hit will likely be cut loose. If Gillis can
convince Salo to return for slightly less
money he’ll likely be kept in the fold.”
Where things get really intriguing
is the case of blueliner Keith Ballard.
Acquired by Gillis at last year’s entry
draft in exchange for rookie of the
year candidate Michael Grabner and a
first round draft pick from the Florida
Panthers, Ballard has had a frustrating
season. He was brought in to put the
Canucks’ blueline over the top and with
a reputation of being a hard-hitting and
dependable defender with offensive
upside. However, he hasn’t shown much
of that during his first year here. He’s
been riddled with a string of frustrating
injuries and has been erratic at best on
the ice, prone to basic mistakes which
have kept him in Coach Alain Vigneault’s
doghouse. During the playoffs Ballard has
been confined to the press box most of the

time in favour depth defenders Rome and
Alberts.

All of this would be fine if Ballard was
a one million defenseman, but he’s not.
Nope, Ballard comes with a hefty $4.2
million yearly price tag against the cap,
and with the Canucks surely wanting to
do everything in their power to hold onto
Bieksa and Ehthoff, Ballard may prove to
be the odd man out. It seems harsh coming
on the heels of such a wonderful season,

 

but Gillis may have to bury Ballard in the
minors if he’s unable to find a taker for his
salary, much like the New York Rangers
did with Wade Redden and his albatross
contract this year.

Dropping Ballard combined with
letting Alberts go and the rising cap
ceiling may be just enough for the
Canucks to sneak Bieksa, Ehrhoff and
Salo back for next year and beyond.

 

 

 

 

   

 

We're inviting

B.C. youth to a conference
_ in Vancouver from August 19-21, 2011

— all expenses paid!

If you’re aged 18-30, live in BC, and want to
learn about transportation, sustainability and
planning, apply to attend by January 31, 2011.

See translink.ca/bcyouthsummit for full details!

reans Ani