The trade deadline is just a few days away, and the Vancouver Canucks still have plenty of viable pathways forward.
They’re sitting just outside the second Wild Card spot and will firmly be in the playoff race down the stretch run. Recent performances, including a road trip where they won just one of five games, haven’t inspired a lot of confidence, but all signs point to a refusal to sell big at the deadline, as well as an unwillingness to spend assets on expiring contracts.
“Vancouver is not interested in the rental market, they’re really not, and Vancouver needs players to come back and be impactful,” said TSN’s Darren Dreger on the Sekeres and Price podcast.
The Canucks are looking for trades that will make them competitive today. That’s why even if they’re going to sell on a pending free agent like Brock Boeser, they’re not interested in the traditional deadline package filled with future assets.
“It can’t be futures, and it can’t be draft picks; it’s got to be better than that.”
Considering they want to get better, that means the Canucks are likely targeting help up front. They’ve struggled mightily to generate any offence over the last month and could use another forward or two who can put up points.
The departure of J.T. Miller — and Elias Pettersson’s struggles — also mean they could use help down the middle, an area they’re reportedly exploring.
“I’ve heard some stuff that Vancouver most definitely is targeting centres that we haven’t speculated on, that are not on a trade bait list,” continued Dreger.
The NHL insider went on to say that this would not necessarily be a deal involving struggling superstar Elias Pettersson. Instead, it would be to bring in reinforcements behind him.
That raises plenty of interesting possibilities that the Canucks could bring in a player that no one sees coming. Dreger did give some hints as to what team the player could be coming from.
“It would make sense if it’s a team that is real close in the East to the playoff line, that maybe doesn’t have depth at centre, but may have something… and would like to add some other pieces. Maybe a depth forward, maybe it’s Carson Soucy?”
Soucy has been in the rumour mill since the Canucks acquired Marcus Pettersson, and Elias Pettersson, the defenceman, emerged as a reliable option. He’s lost his everyday spot in the lineup but does have a no-movement clause, which limits trade possibilities. The Canucks would have to add on top of Soucy to get anyone solid, but they have some prospects with whom they could build an interesting package.
Some teams that fit Dreger’s description include the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins, as well as a handful of others. Could the Canucks be targeting Josh Norris or Trent Frederic? There’s not a lot of noise around those names, but they could be a logical move. However, at this point, there’s not enough information to know which teams or players Dreger is referencing.
The trade market is still wide open for the Canucks, and there are a lot of directions they could take things. It’ll be interesting to see what general manager Patrik Allvind decides to do before Friday’s deadline.
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