Date: July 1, 2023<\/p>\n
Contract: Ian Cole for one year at $3 million<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 3.6%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
Cole came in on an unheralded one-year UFA deal and became the Canucks\u2019 best signing of that entire July. His impact on the blueline was most felt the next season, after he departed and the whole thing seemed to fall apart. Few players have stabilized the Vancouver blueline more from the bottom-end than Cole did in his one season of play \u2013 postseason fumbles notwithstanding.<\/p>\n
Date: July 1, 2023<\/p>\n
Contract: Teddy Blueger for one year at $1.9 million<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 2.3%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n
Result: Win. <\/p>\n
The Canucks were so pleased with Blueger they signed him to a two-year extension after this with a slight pay decrease and added trade protection. That\u2019s a good testament to the immediate positive impact Blueger made. Even just getting his career-high 28 points out of this year was better-than-fair value, and that\u2019s not saying anything about all the other stuff Blueger does on the ice.<\/p>\n
Date: July 9, 2023<\/p>\n
Contract: Nils H\u00f6glander for two years at $1.1 million<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 1.3%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
This was a fairly standard extension, but the Canucks then got a 24-goal season from H\u00f6glander right off the bat. Sure, he fell off very quickly afterward, but that\u2019s something to hang on his next extension, not this one. For a little over a million, H\u00f6glander delivered great value.<\/p>\n
Date: August 11, 2023<\/p>\n
Contract: Pius Suter for two years at $1.6 million<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 1.9%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
The Rutherford-Allvin Regime capped off an excellent summer of signings with an August gem in the form of Suter. During his two seasons in Vancouver, Suter played every role from 4C all the way up to 1C, and never looked entirely out of place. It would have been great to see the Canucks cash in on Suter via trade instead of letting him walk, but that doesn\u2019t harm the dollar value they got \u2013 a total of 75 points for a cool $3.2 million across two years.<\/p>\n
Date: March 2, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Elias Pettersson for eight years at $11.6 million<\/p>\n
Clause: NMC in years two through eight.<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 13.2%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Loss.<\/p>\n
Welp. Here we are. Rutherford and Allvin can be forgiven for this deal, as they didn\u2019t sign the bridge contract that led to it, and Pettersson still looked like an ongoing superstar at the time. But we are applying some hindsight here, and it only takes a smidgen of it to call this a bad contract. The Canucks simply haven\u2019t even gotten half-value out of it so far, and though it projects to age better as the cap goes up, any future positive returns are speculative at this point. For now, it\u2019s a top-10 worst deal in the league.<\/p>\n
Date: April 18, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Vasily Podkolzin for two years at $1 million<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 1.1%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
Date: June 18, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Filip Hronek for eight years at $7.25 million<\/p>\n
Clause: NMC in years two through four, M-NTC for remainder<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 8.2%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
Hronek\u2019s contract was fair value when it was signed, and the subsequent explosion of the cap ceiling \u2013 combined with Hronek continuing to prove himself as a true top-pairing, borderline 1D \u2013 has only resulted in that value getting better. At this point, we\u2019d estimate that Hronek has one of the 10 best D contracts in the entire NHL, and when guys like Bowen Byram are signing for nearly twice as much, that\u2019s only going to become more true. This is probably the single best contract that Rutherford-Allvin signed.<\/p>\n
Date: June 26, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Teddy Blueger for two years at $1.8 million<\/p>\n
Clause: M-NTC<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 2%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Draw. <\/p>\n
The Canucks didn\u2019t get as much out of their second contract with Blueger as they did their first. Part of this was due to injury in the second year of this deal, and part of it was the Canucks\u2019 inability to trade Blueger in a centre-starved market. It\u2019s not like Blueger played poorly at all, and his point pace for 2025-26 was the highest of his career. It just wound up being closer to fair value than the bargain his first deal was.<\/p>\n
Date: June 27, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Dakota Joshua for four years at $3.25 million<\/p>\n
Clause: M-NTC<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 3.7%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Loss.<\/p>\n
The Joshua contract is a bit tough to gauge. The Canucks regretted it fairly quickly, with Joshua dropping from 18 goals to seven right after signing it, and so they traded Joshua to the Maple Leafs for a fourth. Much of Joshua\u2019s immediate drop-off can be attributed to a cancer diagnosis, which no one could have predicted and he can\u2019t be faulted for, but the results were what they were all the same. Any contract you can get out of with a slight profit can\u2019t be a bad one, but at the same time, the extension really destroyed any theoretical trade value Joshua had, and continues to be an inconvenience for the Leafs. That\u2019s enough to call it an overall loss.<\/p>\n
Date: June 27, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Tyler Myers for three years at $3 million<\/p>\n
Clause: NMC in years one and two, M-NTC in year three<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 3.4%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
Not only did Myers return great value on this contract, often turning in 20 minutes a night at a rate of $3 million, but it really seemed to turn his reputation around with the fanbase. As soon as Myers stopped being the highest-paid D on the team, and as soon as the wins stopped mattering as much, fans started to appreciate Myers for what he was. The Canucks got a year-and-a-half of solid play and better mentorship out of Myers before converting him into a second and a fourth, albeit with retention. Myers\u2019 first contract with the Canucks was a case of awful timing, but his second was close to perfect timing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2024-25<\/p>\n
Date: July 1, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Jake DeBrusk for seven years at $5.5 million<\/p>\n
Clause: NMC in years one through three, M-NTC for remainder<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 6.2%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n
Result: Draw.<\/p>\n
The Canucks can\u2019t complain about the statistical returns they\u2019ve got from DeBrusk at the rate they paid him. But DeBrusk often seems to be less than his numbers because of inconsistency and lacklustre play off the puck, so it still feels wrong to call this contract a win. Truthfully, the cap ceiling rising so much is going to make this deal a bargain eventually one way or another, and maybe whether it\u2019s a win or a loss in the long run will come down to a matter of how much the clauses get in the way of an eventual trade.<\/p>\n
Date: July 1, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Danton Heinen for two years at $2.25 million<\/p>\n
Clause: M-NTC<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 2.6%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n
Result: Loss.<\/p>\n
You can pinpoint the exact moment in which Rutherford and Allvin really started to get loose with the trade clauses, and it\u2019s this moment. It was questionable at the time whether the Canucks even needed another middle-six winger with Podkolzin and H\u00f6glander in the fold, and it was obvious enough that the 17-goal campaign Heinen was coming off was an anomaly. Still, they handed him a good chunk of change and an M-NTC. He\u2019d be a cap dump to Pittsburgh, more or less, within the season.<\/p>\n
Date: July 1, 2024<\/p>\n
Contract: Kiefer Sherwood for two years at $1.5 million<\/p>\n
Cap Percentage: 1.7%<\/p>\n
Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n
Result: Win.<\/p>\n
If the Hronek extension isn\u2019t Rutherford-Allvin\u2019s best contract, it\u2019s this one. Few players have ever made more of an impact in just two seasons than Sherwood did in his two years in Vancouver<\/a>. If it was just the 36 goals and 63 points they got out of him, it would have been fair value. If it was just the single-season hit record, fair value. If it was just the fan favourite status during the darkest of times, fair value. But the Canucks got all of that out of Sherwood, and then they turned around and converted him into two second-round picks. What a signing!<\/p>\n Date: July 1, 2024<\/p>\n Contract: Derek Forbort for one year at $1.5 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 1.7%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n Result: Draw.<\/p>\n Forbort\u2019s one full season in Vancouver was a little bit mixed. He started as a regular healthy scratch, but then became fairly integral on the blueline as the roster and season broke down around him. By the end of 2024-25, Forbort was one of the few Canucks showing any backbone, and it kind of cost him his season and offseason in the form of a Yakov Trenin sucker-punch that broke his orbital bone. The Canucks, at the very least, got their money\u2019s worth from Forbort.<\/p>\n Date: July 1, 2024<\/p>\n Contract: Vincent Desharnais for two years at $2 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 2.3%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n Result: Loss.<\/p>\n Desharnais was brought in because of a perceived upside and to provide some extra muscle. But he didn\u2019t tap into any of that upside while in Vancouver, and he only occasionally showed a physical presence. He, too, became a dump within the year, going to Pittsburgh alongside Danton Heinen as cap ballast in a larger trade. He\u2019s since shown a real spark, first in Pittsburgh and then in San Jose, and translated that into an even bigger UFA contract this past summer. But the Canucks didn\u2019t get any of that out of him.<\/p>\n Date: October 6, 2024<\/p>\n Contract: Nils H\u00f6glander for three years at $3 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 3.1%<\/p>\n Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Loss.<\/p>\n The Canucks made a bet on H\u00f6glander rebounding back to at least the vicinity of his 24-goal season. But they lost that bet. But he\u2019s scored just 10 goals since signing this contract, and it\u2019s still got two years left on it. Sure, the Canucks were able to flip H\u00f6glander to Nashville for a third, but that feels like a risk on the Predators\u2019 part for now. Until H\u00f6glander rebounds, this was a bad deal.<\/p>\n Date: February 5, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Marcus Pettersson for six years at $5.5 million<\/p>\n Clause: NMC in years one through three, M-NTC for remainder<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 5.8%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Draw.<\/p>\n The timing on this one is tough, as it amounts to the Canucks\u2019 extending a veteran defender less than a year before they declared the rebuild. Still, the value was fair at the time and seemed destined to age well given the context of the cap ceiling. Pettersson had a good first partial season for Vancouver and a rough second one, though some say his underlying numbers remained good and that his downslide was mostly due to Adam Foote\u2019s coaching. In the end, the Canucks got a first-round pick back for Pettersson via trade, but it\u2019s tough not to feel like they got lucky to do so. That\u2019s why we\u2019re calling the contract itself a draw.<\/p>\n Date: February 18, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Drew O\u2019Connor for two years at $2.5 million<\/p>\n Clause: M-NTC<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 2.6%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Win.<\/p>\n Some eyebrows were raised when O\u2019Connor signed this extension barely a month into his Vancouver tenure, but others correctly called it a sign of the inflation to come<\/a>. Unlike Pettersson, O\u2019Connor performed better in his second season with the Canucks, notching a career-high 17 goals. He now seems poised to be cashed in as a rental on the final year of this extension, which would be the cherry on top of an already fine contract.<\/p>\n Date: February 21, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Kevin Lankinen for five years at $4.5 million<\/p>\n Clause: NMC in years one and two, M-NTC for remainder<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 4.7%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Loss.<\/p>\n Oof. Of all the losses on this list, Lankinen\u2019s is one with an outsized impact<\/a>. His presence already cost the Canucks the services of Arturs Silovs, and could soon cost them Nikita Tolopilo. Meanwhile, Lankinen sits with a full NMC and well below league-average stats. The Canucks definitely should have flipped Lankinen off the cheap, one-year deal he signed prior to this (so cheap it didn\u2019t even qualify for our list!), but instead they ended up with an anchor deal in the backup position that doesn\u2019t seem to have much hope of rebounding to even value.<\/p>\n Date: June 3, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Derek Forbort for one year at $2 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 2.1%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Draw.<\/p>\n The Canucks only got two games out of this Forbort extension. But it was apparent even at the time of signing that Forbort\u2019s health was uncertain. It was not that aforementioned orbital bone issue, but a hip injury that would ultimately force him out of the 2025-26 season. Still, this contract could be seen as simply doing right by a player who had sacrificed his body for the team already, and because of that \u2013 and because Forbort didn\u2019t hurt the Canucks sitting on the IR all year \u2013 we\u2019ll call it a simple draw.<\/p>\n 2025-26<\/p>\n Date: July 1, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Conor Garland for six years at $6 million<\/p>\n Clause: NMC in years one through three, M-NTC for remainder<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 5.8%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Loss.<\/p>\n Any contract you can get out of isn\u2019t a total loss, in the same vein as the \u2018any landing you can walk away from\u2019 maxim. And the Canucks did get a second and a third out of Garland, in the end. But that isn\u2019t enough to call this a win, or even a draw. The timing of the Garland extension was both awful and unnecessary, coming a full year before his previous contract expired, and was plainly a misguided attempt to get Quinn Hughes to consider an extension of his own. What the contract actually did was destroy Garland\u2019s trade value, especially after his production started to dip before this contract even began. That put the Canucks up against a tough, self-imposed deadline of an oncoming NMC<\/a>, and they did the best they could to get at least something back from him, but far less than they might have gotten trading him without the extension.<\/p>\n Date: July 1, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Thatcher Demko for three years at $8.5 million<\/p>\n Clause: NMC<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 8.2%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Loss.<\/p>\n You can take a lot of what we said about Garland and apply it to Demko, except the Canucks haven\u2019t gotten out from Demko\u2019s extension yet, and probably won\u2019t. Demko signed this extension one year after he was nominated for the Vezina but exited the playoffs early, and immediately following a season in which he played just 23 games. He followed that up with just 20 games in 2025-26, and the extension hasn\u2019t even kicked in yet. The Canucks still aren\u2019t sure if Demko will be ready to go for Training Camp 2026<\/a>, but his NMC is now in full effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n Date: July 1, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Brock Boeser for seven years at $7.25 million<\/p>\n Clause: NMC in years one through three, M-NTC for remainder<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 7.6%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Loss.<\/p>\n This one is difficult to swallow. The Canucks seemed poised to trade Boeser at the 2025 deadline, but failed to, so it looked like he was going to walk as a UFA for nothing. Then, at the last minute, the Canucks signed him to this extension. A year later, it looks like trading him would have been a far better option, and that letting him walk for nothing would have been a fine alternative.<\/p>\n Sure, Boeser battled through a hard 2025-26 season to a respectable 22 goals and 48 points, but it was apparent that he\u2019d lost a step, and he\u2019s about to hit 30. It\u2019s hard for a contract to age poorly in this era of cap expansion, but Boeser\u2019s seems like one that is almost destined to.<\/p>\n Date: July 9, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Braeden Cootes for three years at $1.01 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 1.1%<\/p>\n Contract Type: Entry-level contract<\/p>\n Result: Win.<\/p>\n This one is a consequence of our arbitrary $1 million threshold meeting the rising cap. Now the top end of ELCs is over a million, with the first such case being Cootes. It\u2019s pretty hard to do anything but win on ELCs, so while we\u2019ve listed Cootes here, we\u2019re going to take this contract out of the final count\u2026and, in retrospect, that means we\u2019ll have to do the same with Hirose, too. Rutherford and Allvin are down two easy wins!\u00a0<\/p>\n Date: November 15, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: David Kampf for one year at $1.1 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 1.2%<\/p>\n Contract Type: UFA free agent<\/p>\n Result: Win.<\/p>\n We\u2019re almost tempted to list this one as a draw, just because of how frustrating it was that the Canucks deployed Kampf as their 2C for so long, only to cash him in for a measly sixth at the deadline. But he was still a mid-season UFA signing off a mutual termination that turned into a free draft pick, and that\u2019s still a win.<\/p>\n Date: December 15, 2025<\/p>\n Contract: Max Sasson for two years at $1 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 1%<\/p>\n Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Win.<\/p>\n The Canucks liked what they saw early from Sasson last season and rewarded him with a two-year extension. Sasson finished the year strong and established himself as a full-time NHLer moving forward, now locked in for the next two years at a minimal rate. This is an easy win.<\/p>\n Date: January 2, 2026<\/p>\n Contract: Linus Karlsson for two years at $2.25 million<\/p>\n Cap Percentage: 2.2%<\/p>\n Contract Type: RFA extension<\/p>\n Result: Win.<\/p>\n
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