Couple of things.
There is no benefit to Vancouver to doing this. First of all, they're better off having him in the lineup - he is still over 70% on faceoffs. Even if he takes 8 per game, those are 8 important defensive zone draws that, say, Jordan Schroeder or Max Lapierre probably lose. He isn't going to chip in offense anymore, but remains a very responsible depth player.
Second, he wasn't over 35 when he signed anyway so if he were to retire they wouldn't be penalized by his cap hit anyway.
From my perspective this is pretty bad for Vancouver. Essentially, the centre depth now goes Sedin / Kesler / Schroeder / Lapierre. The bottom two are not great on draws - Schroeder (being a rookie) is passable at best, and Lapierre is only now turning it around after a brutal start to the season in the circle. Moreover, the Schroeder line as currently constituted is a "speed kills" line, and while not a liability (both Raymond and Hansen are responsible defensively) they aren't a checking line. The Lapierre line is, but it's not a very GOOD checking line, and won't allow the team to give the Sedins the offensive zone starts they've had for the past few seasons. Fewer goals by the top line means much tighter games.
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