The offseason came a little later than usual this year for the Vancouver Canucks, who pushed their season into mid-May instead of having it end in early April.
But the offseason has nevertheless come for the Canucks, who have some significant work ahead of them. There are players to re-sign, prospects to draft, and free agents to lure to Vancouver.
When will those things happen? Let’s take a look at the key dates coming up in the offseason calendar for the Canucks — one of those dates is right around the corner.
June 1 - Deadline to sign drafted players
NHL teams hold onto the rights of the players they draft for only a certain length of time, with that length depending on the age of the player and the league they were drafted out of.
Teams hold the rights of players drafted out of the CHL — Canada’s three major junior leagues — for two years, the rights of players going through the collegiate system in the U.S. for the duration of their NCAA eligibility, and the rights of 18-year-old players drafted out of European leagues for four years, except in the case of Russia, which does not have a transfer agreement with the NHL. In that case, teams hold the rights to draft picks indefinitely.
The deadline for signing players whose rights are lapsing is June 1, so players drafted out of the CHL two years ago and out of Europe four years ago need to get signed or the Canucks will lose their rights.
In 2022, the Canucks drafted two players out of the CHL — goaltender Ty Young and defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev — but have already signed both of them to an entry-level contract, so no worries there.
In 2020, the Canucks drafted two players out of Europe, both of them defencemen: Joni Jurmo and Viktor Persson. Jurmo was part of the trade to the Calgary Flames for Elias Lindholm and signed with the Flames soon after.
Persson, however, is still without a deal and is a longshot to get one. Development was already coming along slowly for the Swedish defenceman and came crashing to a halt this past year thanks to a shoulder injury. Persson hasn’t played a game since January 14, 2023, with his entire 2023-24 season wiped out.
It’s likely the June 1 deadline passes without a contract for Persson.
June 2-8 - 2024 NHL Scouting Combine
Can the NHL’s top prospects perform at least one (1) pull-up? Teams will find out at the scouting combine in Buffalo, NY.
The scouting combine isn’t as important for the Canucks this season as they don’t have a draft pick in the first two rounds. Still, around 100 prospects typically attend the combine, so it’s certainly possible that the player the Canucks select with their first pick in the third round will be among them.
Some teams swear by the fitness testing at the combine, while other teams place more value in the interview time they get with each prospect. Tom Willander notably nailed his interview with the Canucks at the combine, which played a role in them selecting him 11th overall last year.
June 15 or 48 hours after Stanley Cup Final ends - Buyout window begins
The Canucks should probably avoid buying anyone out with Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s buyout on the books for the next seven years.
Still, if the Canucks do choose to buy out someone like Ilya Mikheyev, they can do so starting June 15 or until 48 hours after the deciding game of the Stanley Cup Final.
This is also the deadline for the first window of team-elected salary arbitration. This particular window for salary arbitration is generally for when a team wants to take a player to arbitration instead of giving them a qualifying offer, typically because they want to sign the player for less than what their qualifying offer would require.
The Canucks don’t really have any players to whom that would apply. All of their restricted free agents have pretty reasonable qualifying offers.
June 27 - NHL Awards Show
The NHL has already announced the winners of several of their awards for this season but some will wait to be announced at the NHL Awards Show on June 27 in Las Vegas. The winners of the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy, and Calder Trophy will be announced at the show.
A couple of Canucks are finalists for those awards: Quinn Hughes is the favourite to win the Norris, while Thatcher Demko has a chance at the Vezina. A couple of other Canucks could be there to accept awards as well.
Rick Tocchet has already been announced as the winner of the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year.
Elias Pettersson is up for the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship, which will be announced on May 30, while Patrik Allvin is a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, to be announced on June 10.
June 28-29 - 2024 NHL Entry Draft
This year’s NHL Entry Draft will take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be on June 28, with rounds two through seven taking place on June 29.
The Canucks currently have just five picks for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft: their own third, sixth, and seventh-round picks, the New Jersey Devils’ fourth-round pick from the Curtis Lazar trade, and the San Jose Sharks’ sixth-round pick from the Jack Studnicka trade.
The Canucks could, of course, add more picks via trade at or before the draft.
June 30 - Buyout window closes
The deadline for buying out a player is the end of June, though a second buyout window will open if the Canucks go into arbitration with any players. That second window lasts 48 hours after the team’s final arbitration case is decided.
June 30 - Deadline for qualifying offers for restricted free agents
The typical deadline for qualifying offers to go out to a team’s restricted free agents (RFAs) is the first Monday following the NHL draft. This year, that happens to fall on the same date that free agency opens on July 1, so it's been bumped up a day to June 30.
The Canucks have eight RFAs, with Filip Hronek the most important. Any RFAs who do not receive qualifying offers will become UFAs and enter free agency.
July 1 - Free agency begins
As always, NHL free agency opens on July 1, which means that’s also the deadline for a team to re-sign an unrestricted free agent (UFA).
The Canucks have 12 pending UFAs, including key contributors like Dakota Joshua, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Tyler Myers. If they’re not re-signed by July 1, they’ll enter free agency and can sign with any team.
Free agency is also a significant opportunity for the Canucks to re-shape their team heading into next season. They could end up with a very different blueline or make a big swing for a top-six forward to play with Elias Pettersson.
July 1-4 - Canucks development camp
The Canucks typically hold a prospect development camp shortly after the draft. It’s an opportunity for the team to introduce their newly drafted prospects to the organization and to check in with the development of the other prospects in the system.
While the Canucks have yet to officially announce dates for the 2024 development camp, the announcement of the Abbotsford Canucks re-signing Jonathan Lemieux mentioned that he will join the Canucks at their development camp at UBC from July 1-4. The on-ice sessions are typically open to the public, giving fans a chance to see the next generation of Canucks for free.
July 5 - Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration
Some RFAs are eligible for salary arbitration based on having a certain number of seasons of professional experience. These RFAs can elect to have an independent arbiter rule on a fair contract if they can’t come to an agreement with the team on a deal.
The two sides can continue to negotiate after a player elects for salary arbitration and many contracts get signed before arbitration occurs.
Five of the Canucks’ RFAs are eligible for arbitration but only Filip Hronek is likely to use the option, as he has a strong case. If he and the Canucks can’t decide on a contract extension, Hronek could force the Canucks’ hand and get a hefty contract in arbitration.
July 6 - Deadline for second window of team-elected salary arbitration
If a player eligible for arbitration chooses not to go that route, there’s a second chance for the team to elect for arbitration. That’s not a likely scenario for the Canucks this year.
July 20 - Aug 4 - Salary arbitration hearings
If Hronek elects for arbitration, his hearing will take place at some point in this window, with decisions due by August 6.
September 13-16 - Young Stars Classic
The annual prospect tournament in Penticton has been confirmed for 2024 and the specific dates have now been announced: September 13-16.
The tournament will feature prospects from the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets in a round-robin tournament format.
“We are excited to be heading back to Penticton this fall to participate in this great event,” said Patrik Allvin in a statement. “This will be an opportunity for some of our top prospects to work with Manny Malholtra in a very competitive environment. We look forward to seeing Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Elias Pettersson, Ty Mueller, and Ty Young compete in this tournament.”
September 19-22 - Canucks training camp
The Canucks’ 2024-25 training camp will take place in Penticton, B.C. for the first time since 2010. That will make things a little easier logistically with the Canucks' prospects already in Penticton for the Young Stars Classic.
Training camp will take place from September 19 to 22 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
