Vancouver Canucks expected to make strong play for Jake Guentzel in free agency

Carolina Hurricanes left winger Jake Guentzel

Credit: May 11, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jake Guentzel (59) skates during warmups before game four against the New York Rangers in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs in at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

SUNRISE, Fla. — The clock is ticking. The Stanley Cup has not yet been awarded, but we are now just 12 days away from the opening of free agency on July 1.

And when the clock strikes 12 noon ET on Canada Day, expect the Vancouver Canucks to make a strong play for pending free agent forward Jake Guentzel. They won’t be alone – as there are more than a handful of teams expected to be in the mix for the Stanley Cup winning winger. If the Toronto Maple Leafs trade Mitch Marner, they could be players, as well as the Florida Panthers if they are not re-signing Sam Reinhart. There will also be other teams such as the Washington Capitals or maybe even the New York Rangers, if they can find requisite cap space.

Nonetheless, sources have been percolating that the Canucks might present the best mix of money and opportunity right out of the gate. There is a familiarity there, as Guentzel played for Rick Tocchet as an assistant coach in Pittsburgh, and under Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin in the Steel City – not to mention the strength and training staff.

There is also a need. The Canucks pushed the Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 in Round 2, but fell short in part because they couldn’t find a way to engage Elias Pettersson, and putting Guentzel on his wing might go a long way in solving for that problem.

While there is a need and desire, there are also some cap gymnastics required in order to make it a reality in Vancouver. They will need to say goodbye to Elias Lindholm and likely also Dakota Joshua, dump Ilya Mikheyev in a trade, then need to find a way to make the money work on their back end with Filip Hronek, Nikita Zadorov and Tyler Myers. It won’t be easy.

Guentzel, who turns 30 before he would play his first game under the new deal, is expected to fetch a contract worth at least $65 million. He was traded from Pittsburgh to Carolina at the March deadline and fit like a glove with 25 points in 17 games, plus another nine in 11 playoff contests. It could be as much as 7 years x $9.5 million, or the Hurricanes have let teams know they are willing to work out a sign-and-trade so a team could get him on the maximum eight-year term (and lower the cap hit) in exchange for a mid-round pick.

Over the last six seasons, Guentzel ranks 14th in goals (198) despite being the only player on the list under 400 games played, plus 20th in points-per-game (1.03) and 27th in points (410).

There have been some small changes to the free agent market. The Hurricanes re-signed defenseman Jalen Chatfield to a three-year, $9 million deal, taking him off the board. And Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski, previously ranked No. 9, signaled he will retire after 18 seasons. Here is our latest Top 75 Free Agents ranking, which seeks to blend a player’s perceived interest with his earning potential, with contract projections updated from @AFPAnalytics based on an $88 million cap:

Daily Faceoff’s Top 75 Pending Free Agents

Rank	Player	Pos	Age	Team	Cap Hit	GP	G	PTS	AFP Projection
1	Sam Reinhart	RW	29	FLA	$6.5M	82	57	94	8 x $11.3M
2	Jake Guentzel	LW	30	CAR	$6M	67	30	77	7 x $9.3M
3	Steven Stamkos	LW/C	34	TBL	$8.5M	79	40	81	3 x $6.15M
4	Brady Skjei	LD	30	CAR	$5.25M	80	13	47	5 x $7.5M
5	Brandon Montour	RD	30	FLA	$3.5M	66	8	33	6 x $7.7M
6	Jonathan Marchessault	RW	34	VGK	$5M	82	42	69	3 x $6.3M
7	Elias Lindholm	C/RW	30	VAN	$4.85M	75	15	44	5 x $6.78M
8	Chandler Stephenson	C	30	VGK	$2.75M	75	16	51	5 x $5.63M
9	Matt Roy	RD	29	LAK	$3.15M	81	5	25	5 x $5.85M
10	Patrick Kane	RW	36	DET	$2.75M	50	20	47	2 x $6.3M
11	Nikita Zadorov	LD	29	VAN	$3.75M	75	6	20	5 x $5.32M
12	Brett Pesce	RD	30	CAR	$4.03M	70	3	13	5 x $6.3M
13	Matt Duchene	C/RW	33	DAL	$3M	80	25	65	3 x $4.83M
14	Sean Walker	RD	30	COL	$2.65M	81	10	29	3 x $4.65M
15	Jake DeBrusk	LW	28	BOS	$4M	80	19	40	5 x $5.8M
16	Tyler Toffoli	RW	32	WPG	$4.25M	79	33	55	4 x $6M
17	Teuvo Teravainen	LW	30	CAR	$5.4M	76	25	53	4 x $5.25M
18	Viktor Arvidsson	RW	31	LAK	$4.25M	18	6	15	3 x $4.75M
19	Jonathan Drouin	LW	29	COL	$825K	79	19	56	4 x $5M
20	Chris Tanev	RD	34	DAL	$4.5M	75	2	19	3 x $4.5M
21	Tyler Bertuzzi	LW	29	TOR	$5.5M	80	21	43	4 x $5.25M
22	Shayne Gostisbehere	LD	31	DET	$4.13M	81	10	56	3 x $5M
23	Sean Monahan	C	30	WPG	$2M	83	26	59	4 x $5.3M
24	Dakota Joshua	LW	28	VAN	$825K	63	18	32	4 x $3.25M
25	Oliver Ekman-Larsson	LD	33	FLA	$2.25M	80	9	32	3 x $4.1M
26	Alexandre Carrier	RD	27	NSH	$2.5M	73	4	20	3 x $4M
27	Vladimir Tarasenko	RW	33	FLA	$5M	76	23	55	2 x $4.15M
28	Max Domi	RW	29	TOR	$3M	80	9	47	2 x $3.6M
29	Tyler Myers	RD	34	VAN	$6M	77	5	29	2 x $3.17M
30	David Perron	RW	36	DET	$4.75M	76	17	47	2 x $3M
31	Brenden Dillon	LD	34	WPG	$3.9M	77	8	20	2 x $2.9M
32	Alex Wennberg	C	30	NYR	$4.5M	79	10	30	4 x $3.87M
33	Anthony Duclair	LW	29	TBL	$3M	73	24	42	3 x $4.33M
34	Yakov Trenin	LW/C	28	COL	$1.7M	76	12	17	3 x $2.55M
35	Laurent Brossoit	G	31	WPG	$1.75M	23	2.00	.927	2 x $2.2M
36	Alex Nedeljkovic	G	29	PIT	$1.5M	38	2.96	0.902	2 x $2.32M
37	Adam Henrique	C	34	EDM	$5.83M	82	24	51	3 x $4.3M
38	Warren Foegele	LW	28	EDM	$2.75M	82	20	41	3 x $3.9M
39	Anthony Mantha	LW	29	VGK	$5.7M	74	23	44	3 x $4.75M
40	Jason Zucker	LW	32	NSH	$5.3M	69	14	32	2 x $3.7M
41	Stefan Noesen	RW	31	CAR	$763K	81	14	37	3 x $3.2M
42	Michael Amadio	RW	28	VGK	$763K	73	14	27	3 x $3.1M
43	Matt Dumba	RD	30	TBL	$3.9M	76	4	12	3 x $3M
44	Dylan DeMelo	RD	31	WPG	$3M	82	3	31	4 x $5.3M
45	Matt Grzelcyk	LD	31	BOS	$3.7M	63	2	11	3 x $3.25M
46	James van Riemsdyk	RW	35	BOS	$1M	71	11	38	1 x $1.2M
47	Jordan Martinook	LW	32	CAR	$1.8M	82	14	32	3 x $2.77M
48	Erik Gustafsson	LD	32	NYR	$825K	76	6	31	3 x $3.85M
49	Daniel Sprong	RW	27	DET	$2M	76	18	43	3 x $4.1M
50	Kaapo Kahkonen	G	28	NJD	$2.75M	37	3.64	0.898	2 x $2M
51	Teddy Blueger	C	30	VAN	$1.9M	68	6	28	2 x $2.2M
52	Mattias Janmark	LW	31	EDM	$1M	71	4	12	1 x $1M
53	Kevin Stenlund	C	27	FLA	$1M	81	11	15	2 x $1.3M
54	Ilya Samsonov	G	27	TOR	$3.55M	40	3.13	0.89	1 x $2.35M
55	T.J. Brodie	LD	34	TOR	$5M	78	1	26	2 x $3.65M
56	Vincent Desharnais	RD	28	EDM	$763K	78	1	11	1 x $1.1M
57	Jack Roslovic	RW	27	NYR	$4M	59	9	31	3 x $3.1M
58	Brandon Duhaime	LW	27	COL	$1.1M	80	5	13	3 x $1.8M
59	Anthony Beauvillier	RW	27	NSH	$4.15M	60	5	17	1 x $900K
60	Ian Cole	LD	35	VAN	$3M	78	2	11	1 x $2.1M
61	Tyson Barrie	RD	33	NSH	$4.5M	41	1	15	1 x $1.75M
62	Jani Hakanpaa	RD	32	DAL	$1.5M	64	2	12	1 x $1.5M
63	Alec Martinez	LD	36	VGK	$5.25M	55	4	17	1 x $1.25M
64	Cam Talbot	G	37	LAK	$2M	54	2.5	0.913	1 x $1.8M
65	Tony DeAngelo	RD	28	CAR	$1.68M	31	3	11	2 x $1.75M
66	Sam Carrick	C	32	EDM	$850K	77	10	16	2 x $1.47M
67	Tyler Johnson	RW	33	CHI	$5M	67	17	31	1 x $1.7M
68	Victor Olofsson	RW	28	BUF	$4.75M	51	7	15	1 x $1M
69	Kevin Labanc	RW	28	SJS	$4.73M	46	2	9	1 x $893K
70	Mike Hoffman	RW	34	SJS	$4.5M	66	10	23	1 x $1.15M
71	Joel Edmundson	LD	31	TOR	$3.5M	53	1	6	2 x $1.65M
72	Scott Wedgewood	G	31	DAL	$1M	32	2.85	0.899	1 x $1.8M
73	Casey DeSmith	G	32	VAN	$1.8M	29	2.89	0.896	1 x $1.65M
74	Oliver Kylington	LD	27	CGY	$2.5M	33	3	8	1 x $1.1M
75	Max Pacioretty	LW	35	WSH	$2M	47	4	23	1 x $1.5M

Contract Projection Source: @AFPAnalytics

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