Canucks To Move Off Of Sam Lafferty

The Vancouver Canucks have a fair bit of pretty good players likely heading to free agency this summer and Sam Lafferty is one of them.

Nick Kypreos wrote that "it sounds like the Vancouver Canucks will move off of forward Sam Lafferty." The 29-year-old was effective in his role this season, but underperformed in the playoffs when it matters more.

Lafferty is a solid depth piece to have as he can play all three forward positions, produced this season with 13 goals and 24 points, and is physical. While the Canucks have to give a roster spot to Vasily Podkolzin or likely lose him on waivers, the other spots in the bottom-6 will likely be filled by better players than Lafferty as there is cap space to utilize this offseason.

Lafferty was traded to the Canucks last offseason from the Toronto Maple Leafs and he is just wrapping up a two-year, $1.15 million AAV deal. With the cap going up and his contributions, I could see his next contract pushing $2 million AAV or even a little bit more. The Canucks didn't utilize his penalty killing ability, but he logged over 100 minutes in back-to-back seasons while shorthanded prior to this season.

In a weaker free agent center market, Lafferty could be sought after in free agency. We'll have to wait and see how much interest he actually gets though.

Photo credit: © Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports