The Vancouver Canucks are reportedly still interested in adding forward depth to round out their bottom six. From the Sekeres and Price Show, they still have interest in the likes of Pius Suter, Danton Heinen, and Max Comtois. Comtois is the most interesting of the bunch. The former 2017 second-round pick has shown flashes of becoming a formidable top-six modern-day power forward. The Canucks are cap-strapped. While they could look to move defenceman Tyler Myers for cap relief, the price may prove too costly. In the meantime, taking a chance on a young, bruising winger still with some offensive upside may be in their best interest.
The cost to sign Comtois should not exceed $2 million per season. The last contract he signed was in 2021, putting pen to paper on a two-year contract with an average annual salary (AAV) of $2,037,500. His previous two seasons have raised red flags regarding his development, seeing his production drop heavily since the 2020-21 season. Because of this, the Canucks could snag him on a cheap one-year deal, adding him to the plethora of value signings general manager Patrik Allvin has pulled off.
Comtois’ Career With The Ducks
Comtois began his career looking like a future star with the Anaheim Ducks. He made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season, scoring seven points in ten games. Fast forward one year and Comtois is splitting time between the Ducks and their American Hockey League affiliate (AHL), the San Diego Gulls. He played 29 games up with the big club that year, scoring just 11 points, a significant regression from the year before. The shortened 2020-21 season is where he broke out. He played 55 games and led the Ducks in scoring with 33 points, 16 of which were goals. He set a career-high in goals, points, and assists and signed the aforementioned two-year bridge contract in the 2021 offseason.
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Since Comtois signed the two-year contract carrying an AAV of $2,037,500, he has not been the same. He has dealt with injuries, hindering his development and play; however, his totals are still lacklustre over the past two seasons. He played in 116 games, scoring 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points and threw 192 hits. His Corsi For last season was 45 percent, and he had 36 giveaways, 17 in the defensive zone, to 11 takeaways. The Ducks did not give Comtois a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. While not receiving an offer from the Ducks optically looks bad, they have an incredible amount of young talent that needs to get ice time in the NHL. Comtois was a casualty of that problem.
Comtois is just 24 years old. His 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame is why the Canucks are interested. Having talent with that size is rare, and he has shown the talent to be a top-six forward at times throughout his career. The Canucks should take a chance on him. At worst, he would be a buriable bottom-six forward that provides grit. It is a low-risk, high-reward signing, and with Allvin already reportedly showing interest, there is no reason a deal can’t come to fruition.
How The Canucks Make Comtois Work
The actual cost to sign Comtois is doable. As mentioned before, his contract should be cheap, incredibly cheap. A one-year deal in the $1-1.75 million range would be reasonable, hoping he produces as he did during the 2020-21 season and get a significant raise once the cap goes up next offseason. The issue is with how many bodies the Canucks have in their forward core. Andrei Kuzmenko, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Ilya Mikheyev, Nils Höglander, Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Boeser, and Conor Garland clog up the left and right-wing. It is no secret the Canucks need to shed cap space, so subtracting a high-cap forward and replacing them with Comtois on a cheap contract may be their best move.
Dakota Joshua and Di Giuseppe are good depth players, but neither has the upside of Comtois. Kuzmenko obviously places ahead of him in the lineup, but Höglander has yet to seize a top-nine role with the team. If everything goes to plan, he should find a spot on the left or right wing on the third line, but signing Comtois would provide insurance. He brings physicality, something no forward on the roster besides Joshua can provide, but with slightly more scoring talent. If the Canucks trade one of Garland, Beauvillier, or Boeser for much-needed cap relief, Comtois is the perfect cheap forward signing to help negate the talent lost. Even if they do not trade any of the three, depth is important, and Comtois provides that at the bare minimum.
The Canucks are interested in Comtois. The 24-year-old, 6-foot-2 frame is understandably tempting for any GM. It could be a massive steal if they can sign him to a contract carrying an AAV of less than $2 million. The Canucks need a physical forward with scoring upside. While his past two seasons have shown regression, the Ducks have also been atrocious. His underlying statistics do not strike confidence; however, the talent is there, as seen from the 2020-21 season. Comtois is a risk worth taking, and the Canucks should be the team to take that risk.
Advanced stats were taken from Money Puck