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Analysis: Alex Edler signs with the Vancouver Canucks after all

by Nathan Caddell on June 20th, 2019 at 8:45 AM
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      The up-and-down, multi-year ride that has been Alex Edler’s future with the Vancouver Canucks was finally settled this morning.

      The veteran defenceman, who was reportedly about to test the NHL’s free agent market, signed a deal to keep himself in Vancouver for the next two years.

      There were a few complications around this deal, not the least was the fact that Edler, who has a young family in Vancouver, wanted trade protection. Giving him a no-movement clause may have meant that the team would have to protect him in the Seattle expansion draft in two years.

      That was a non-starter for the Canucks, who need to keep as many slots open as possible in order to protect their young players.

      It was also pertinent to keep Edler’s contract as short as possible. Yes, he was the team’s best defenceman last year. But he’s also 33 years old, making him something of an anomaly in today’s NHL. The Canucks couldn’t afford something in the four-year range.

      As it is, Canucks general manager Jim Benning did very well to get Edler’s name on a two-year pact. Yes, it’s a slight raise to $6 million a season, but that’s somewhat inconsequential for Vancouver right now. The team has oodles of cap space and will for the next two years until Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes need new deals.

      That aligns perfectly with the end of this Edler deal. The contract also includes a no-trade clause, but does not mean that the Canucks have to protect Edler in the expansion draft.

      The goal is likely to have Edler re-sign with the Canucks after the expansion draft on one- or two-year deals, if he’s still performing at a high level.

      Benning has talked about revamping the Canucks defence, and while that obviously isn’t the case here, fans should be very happy with what the team’s general manager was able to pull off. The work isn’t done (and some of it will probably happen this weekend, with the draft in Vancouver), but it’s certainly a great start.

      Price: A+

      Fit: A

      It couldn’t have gotten much better than this, from the team's point of view. And Edler gets to stay in the city he loves for the foreseeable future.

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