With seven games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season, the focus around the Vancouver Canucks is shifting to the 2025 off-season. While Vancouver is not mathematically eliminated for playoff contention, the odds are against them. Ultimately, they would need to put together an incredible winning streak while also having the team they are chasing go on significant losing streaks in order to qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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There are a lot of questions heading into the 2025 off-season. The Canucks have some key pending unrestricted free agents and need to find a way to turn this roster back into a playoff contender. Vancouver will also be receiving an additional $7.5 million in cap space as the NHL announced a cap increase from $88 million to $95.5 million in 2025-26.
While the Canucks will have additional cap space, they won't be able to use the entire extra $7.5 million next season. That is because of the 2023 Oliver Ekman-Larsson buyout. A decision that will keep Ekman-Larsson on Vancouver's books until 2031; his dead cap hit is set to double for two seasons starting in 2025-26.
This season, the dead cap hit for Ekman-Larsson, who currently plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was 2,346,667 or 2.7% of the total cap. In 2025-26, the dead cap hit increases to $4,766,667, which is just under 5% of the total cap. Add in the additional $712,500 of retained salary from Ilya Mikheyev and dead cap could play a major factor in how the Canucks operate during the 2025 off-season.
For a team like Vancouver, who historically like to spend to the ceiling, losing over $5 million off next season's cap is significant. It means that the Canucks will have an estimated $14 million to spend next season, which could inhibit them from both re-signing their unrestricted free agents and improving their roster through free agency. While buying out Ekman-Larsson was the right decision, it could create some significant problems for Vancouver in the 2025 off-season.
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