This week, the Straight will analyze what might be done with each of the Vancouver Canucks’ five restricted free agents. In the second instalment, we look at Markus Granlund’s fate.

After a 19-goal season, Vancouver Canucks management and fans alike were no doubt ready to see what Markus Granlund could do in his second full season as a Canuck.

But the Canucks went through a coaching change last offseason, and it became obvious very quickly that the new regime under head coach Travis Green was going to put an emphasis on having a strong and able checking line to match up with opponents’ top players.

Granlund was eyed as one of the candidates for that role and removed from a plum spot with the Sedins, which he occupied for much of the previous season.

That change in role is undoubtedly going to factor into Granlund’s next contract in a massive way. That’s because it’s hard to judge what Granlund did this year by looking at the bare stats. 

Eight goals and four assists in 53 games. Minus-10. On the surface that’s a rough drop-off and would seem in line with the $900,000 salary he earned for the last two years.

But Granlund will almost certainly get a raise. Green leaned on him and Brandon Sutter quite a lot, sending them out against other teams’ top players. In fact, the 25-year-old started just under 62 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone.

He also only registered a minute and eight seconds of powerplay time per game—just barely above the likes of AHLer Reid Boucher—down from drawing almost two minutes of average time with the extra man last season. 

That loss in powerplay time was more than made up for by the fact that Granlund averaged 2:25 of ice time while the Canucks were shorthanded, good for an increase of more than a minute on the previous season and second on the team among regular forwards. 

What the player will want:

It won’t be hard for Granlund’s agents to make the case that he’s one of the team’s more versatile players and any drop in offence is completely on the coach, not the player.

In fact, many of the underlying numbers portray Granlund’s play in a favourable light. Even as he often played against top competition in a defensive role, he was still able to post a decent Relative Corsi. That’s something his most common linemate—and Travis Green favourite, Brandon Sutter—can’t say.

Granlund’s group will want something in the neighbourhood of $2.2 million a year for two years, which will take him right to unrestricted free agency, where the team will no longer have control over his rights. 

What the team will want:

The Canucks will try to play up the traditional stats aspect (ie. points), but it won’t get them very far. They’ll also try to ink him to a cheap one-year deal, knowing they have another year to figure out what he can be before making a decision on his long-term future. Vancouver will offer around $1.2 million, a modest raise, on a one-year deal.

Verdict:

It’ll likely be a compromise, with the player accepting less money to sign a two-year deal. Granlund still has a good amount to prove, so a deal around $3 million total over two years seems like a solid fit.

Previous RFAs: Sven Baertschi

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