Micheal Ferland left money on the table in free agency partially because of injury and partially due to high contract demands. In the end, he took less money to play for Vancouver because they did guarantee him a fourth year. Almost every other offer involved just a three-year contract.
Let’s take a look at that and ponder a few questions too.
What Micheal Ferland means to the Vancouver Canucks
Ferland plays the wing like a power-forward looking to bump and thump his way into scoring. Basically, the huge winger is a 20-20 player when healthy and that slots perfectly into a middle-six role for Vancouver. The last two seasons saw Ferland’s shots go up but that was because his ice time went up. Consequently, Ferland averaged just over 14 minutes of ice time per contest.
His ability was noticeable when healthy. He played extremely well with Sebastian Aho and figures to see some time with Elias Pettersson and also play on the man advantage. That alone should boost his ice time above 15 minutes per night. The left-winger managed 13 points on the man advantage for a team that was deficient at times there.
One has to understand that there is a reason why Ferland signed now. If he had gone much longer, his leverage would have been gone. As it was, the forward took less money than what he may have gotten before the trade deadline. It became a risk that backfired for the former Carolina Hurricane.
Ferland needs to be in the top-six, sheltered a bit, and installed in front on the power play. Even he realizes he has to pick his spots better when playing with reckless abandon. He became saddled with injuries (including concussions) in his last season with Carolina.
Furthermore, at even strength, it appears Micheal Ferland will be slotted into the second-line role and that would mean even-strength time with Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller. That is not so bad.
Salary breakdown of Micheal Ferland contract
Below, are the details of the new Ferland deal with Vancouver. Now, this comes with added information thanks to PuckPedia.
The Ferland 4 yr $3.5M Cap Hit with #Canucks breakdown:
Year 1: $2.5M Salary $2M Signing Bonus – No Movement Clause (NMC)
Year 2: $3M Salary- NMC
Year 3: $3.75M Salary – Modified No-Trade
Year 4: $2.75M Salary – Modified No-Tradehttps://t.co/XNTKQzRvfJ pic.twitter.com/YTOhrDHD81— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 10, 2019
A little numerology with Micheal Ferland
Ferland presents an interesting case as he looks for opportunity and quality. Sometimes he waits too long and pays a dear price for that overabundance of patience.
The concern illustrated is significant enough that Ferland signed with no real overpay in the free-agent market. Some would argue his pay was just right or a bit under market value. Consider he was a $5-6 million player at his best and $1.5-2 million at his worst. That is a nice way of saying, the numbers balanced out.
Micheal Ferland draws few penalties but his team at 5-on-5 tends to play well when he is on the ice — especially with top players. He drives possession by being opportunistic but is susceptible to turnovers.
Bill Comeau pointed out his game score is a curious one because of his dependence on playing with top-notch players (first Johnny Gaudreau then Sebastian Aho).
The early season version of Ferland was one the Carolina Hurricanes needed against the Boston Bruins but that was not the case. Ferland took the first step in admitting he has to tweak his game some. Play smarter and not necessarily harder.
The Micheal Ferland seen last season was a tale of two halves. Ferland and Horvat could create instant havoc for opponents. It would not surprise many if the winger got off to a hot start as he did in Carolina and Calgary the past couple seasons. If Vancouver tosses him into the bottom-six, do not expect as much. Hopefully, he stays well enough to stick in the top-six.
Again, health will be vital for Ferland. If he can play 75+ games, the winger looks at the increasing possibility of 40-45+ points. Also, his ceiling could rise depending on injuries, etc.
