LATEST | Insider reveals which Canuck could be bought out as early as Friday

Among the names Johnston mentions is Vancouver Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Ekman-Larsson, 31, has four more years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $8.25 million per season. His contract also has a full no-movement clause, which would make it harder to trade him, if Allvin wanted to go down that route, but at this stage, it seems like a buyout would be more likely.

According to CapFriendly , a contract buyout for Oliver Ekman-Larsson would cost $2,416,667 for the next eight seasons, 88% which would be paid by the Canucks and 12% would be paid by the Arizona Coyotes.

The Karlskrona, Sweden native appeared in 54 games last season where he recorded 22 points (two goals, 22 assists), 22 penalty minutes and was a minus-24.

Among the other names Johnston mentioned as buyout candidates are Matt Murray of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kailer Yamamoto of the Edmonton Oilers.

The off-season should be very interesting and as the Canucks look to clear cap space, ideally before July 1st, Patrik Allvin will need to consider all options, including a buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson.