Vancouver Canucks Pending UFA's Are Officially Now Eligible To Sign a Contract Extension
It's January 1st, and along with the new year that also means players that signed one year deals with NHL teams are now eligible to be signed to extensions.
For the Vancouver Canucks, that means three players signed to deals this summer are eligible to be resigned: Derek Forbort, Erik Brannstrom, and Kevin Lankinen.
Teams are not permitted to sign players to extensions until January 1st if they are on a one year deal, and extensions for these players can be for a maximum of 7 years until the trade deadline.
Let's take a look at these players and who might be in line for an extension.
Erik Brannstrom
Brannstrom actually didn't sign with the Vancouver Canucks this summer, he was signed to a 1x900k contract by the Colorado Avalanche, but was hastily flipped to Vancouver before even playing a game with Colorado or their AHL affiliate.
The small, shifty defenceman was a pleasant surprise for the Canucks to start the season, but has fallen out of Rick Tocchet's good books a few times this season.
If fully healthy, it's unlikely Brannstrom suits up on the Canucks blueline, and it would be surprising to see him return to the team despite a solid start unless his defensive play improves to Tocchet's liking.
Derek Forbort
Forbort was signed to a one year deal worth $1.5 million after spending the previous three seasons in Boston.
The 6'4 stay at home defenceman missed time after the passing of his father, and upon his return suffered a foot injury that kept him out of the lineup for over a month.
He returned in December and has been a steady but unspectacular presence on the backend in 6 games since.
Vancouver likely needs more time to evaluate his fit.
Kevin Lankinen
Of all the one year deals the Canucks would like to extend, Lankinen likely tops the list.
The Finnish goalie is on a one year deal worth $875k and has well outplayed that, helping keep the Canucks in playoff contention during the absence of Thatcher Demko.
In a perfect world the Canucks would probably like to keep him as a platoon goalie, but recent goalie extensions may be further increasing his value and making an extension unpalatable.
Plus, the Canucks still have high hopes for Arturs Silovs.
It wouldn't be a shock to see all three players end their Canucks tenure after one season.
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