Vancouver Canucks Cap Space: Examining the Canucks salary in the off-season

The Vancouver Canucks have had a disappointing few years and look to get back into the playoffs next season.

Vancouver kicked off their off-season by buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson to clear some much-needed cap space. Yet, the Canucks are still over the cap, but once they put some players on LTIR, they have just over $2.5 million in cap space.

The Canucks last made the playoffs in the 2019-20 season but did make some good moves this summer to try and get back to the promised land.

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Vancouver Canucks off-season moves

As mentioned, the Canucks started out the off-season by buying out Ekman-Larsson's contract, which did come as a bit of a surprise. They also decided not to trade JT Miller before his no-trade clause kicked in, which did surprise some fans.

Entering free agency, Vancouver's general manager Patrik Allvin said his goal was to improve the penalty kill and add Stanley Cup playoff experience to the club (via NHL.com).

"What I was looking for was more to help this young group with very little playoff experience. To find players that played games after game 82, players that have been involved with the Stanley Cup," Allvin said.

To kick off the first day of free agency, Vancouver did just that as the Canucks inked defensemen Ian Cole to a one-year deal worth $3 million.

"Ian brings a lot of experience to our hockey team and will definitely bolster our blueline," said Allvin. "He knows what it takes to be successful in the NHL, knows how to compete, and he knows how to be a leader both on and off the ice. Bringing in someone with a Stanley Cup experience and pedigree is an important addition to our core group."

They then signed center Teddy Blueger to a one-year deal worth $1.9 million and followed it up by signing defenseman Carson Soucy to a three-year deal worth $3.25 million per year.

"He's definitely a guy we could use in a top-four role, but also depending on how the coaches want to run the bench, different matchups, opportunity is based on that," Allvin said about the Soucy signing.

Currently, the Vancouver Canucks have everyone signed and have 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies. So, barring a trade or another signing, the Canucks are likely done with free agency and hope this team is good enough to make the playoffs.