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

Derrick Pouliot was second among regular Canucks defencemen in points-per-game, a fact that is more an indictment of Vancouver’s blueline corps than it is an accomplishment by the player.

The truth is that the former eighth overall draft pick had a very up-and-down season, starting out exceptionally well and making general manager Jim Benning look like a genius for having the wherewithal to grab what was ostensibly a diamond in the rough. 

Now, with the Canucks heading into this month’s draft down the fourth-round pick they traded for him, you’d no doubt find a decent amount of fans who would say they’d prefer the draft pick over Pouliot.

That’s a little unfair to the defenceman who was clearly the least of the problems on what was a horrendous Canucks’ blueline.

But the Canucks are a bit of a crossroads here on defence. The team has six defencemen under contract for next year, and that doesn’t include Pouliot or Troy Stecher. The team needs one more, but it doesn’t make much sense to go into next year with eight rearguards on one-way contracts.

Especially since prospect Olli Juolevi is knocking on the door and it would be great for fans and management alike to see what the Finn can do in the NHL.

So unless the Canucks decide to trade Ben Hutton after he was entrenched in coach Travis Green’s dog house for much of the season, it’s unclear what the club will do in regard to the blueline. Does Chris Tanev move? It seems unlikely, even if it might be the right move for a rebuilding squad.

Someone has to go, and the longer it takes to make a decision, the more contentious negotiations with Pouliot will likely get.

It’s hard to see the player signing if all the Canucks’ current defencemen are back next year.

What the player will want:

Clarity on his role, for one. Pouliot has some negotiating power in this, given that the Canucks gave up an AHLer and a fourth-rounder to get him, and the fact that even in a rollercoaster season he was one of the team’s best defencemen. In a league that always looks at comparables, Pouliot can point at his Relative Corsi and say that he was among the team’s best defenders, even if he often got softer matchups than most.

He can also say that he’s the team’s second youngest defenceman currently on the roster and his status as a high first-rounder should hint at further potential. Look for Pouliot to ask for something in the realm of Ben Hutton’s $5.6 million over two years pact.

Pouliot’s agent will attempt to hold the Canucks over the fire on that contract, as his client registered 22 points in 71 games this year against the 25 points in 75 games Hutton put up in the midst of signing his deal.

After all, he is capable of doing things like this:

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/938259528998518784

What the team will want:

The Canucks aren’t making the same mistake here, as they no doubt view Pouliot as the bottom-pairing defenceman he was for most of the year.

They will offer a one or two-year deal at limited money, probably coming in around $1 million per season, imploring Pouliot to prove himself before signing a bigger deal.

Verdict:

All the hard negotiating in the world won’t be able to get Pouliot much more than the team is offering, despite his hot start and decent advanced stats. The defenceman was healthy scratched at times last season and isn’t a lock to be in the Canucks’ top six.

Could they throw him on waivers? Probably not, but it might be a scare tactic they use in negotiations. We see Pouliot signing for something like two years at $1.3 million per season, though the possibility of a one-year contract is very real.

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Previous RFAs:Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund