The Vancouver Canucks may have already made one blockbuster trade but that doesn’t mean they’re done.
The Canucks moved their 2024 first-round pick, along with Andrei Kuzmenko and prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, to the Calgary Flames for centre Elias Lindholm at the beginning of February. While the early returns on the deal have been underwhelming — Lindholm has just four goals and six points in 14 games and is pointless in his last six games — the trade should make the Canucks a better team heading into the playoffs.
With just a few days remaining until the NHL trade deadline, it’s expected that the Canucks still have more moves to make. The Canucks may be at the top of the Pacific Division and in the hunt for the Presidents’ Trophy but there are still gaps to fill in the roster.
Finding a way to add won’t be easy, as the Canucks have limited cap space to work with. Even if Tyler Myers goes on long-term injured reserve, the Canucks can’t depend on that cap relief, as he’s expected to return before the end of the season and would need to fit back under the cap.
Still, the Canucks could get creative with cap retention, waivers, and trading out a contract to make the right player fit.
So, let’s take a look at what the Canucks might do this week.
What do the Canucks need at the trade deadline?
The Canucks can’t do everything at the trade deadline given their cap constraints. They’ll have to prioritize what matters most.
The Canucks’ clearest need is for another top-six winger to play with either J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson. That’s partly because Ilya Mikheyev has struggled so severely with losing a step in his skating in the wake of last season’s knee injury. Mikheyev hasn’t scored a goal in 31 games, which is a tough look for a player with a $4.75 million cap hit.
The Canucks have had to elevate Pius Suter and Nils Höglander into top-six roles, which has somewhat worked, but if Tocchet wants to use Lindholm as a centre, that still leaves a spot on the wing open if Mikheyev can’t find his game. Perhaps Vasily Podkolzin could fill that role but it seems more likely that the Canucks will look to fill that need in a trade.
A top-six winger will likely take priority over another significant need: a right-shot defenceman.
Noah Juulsen’s emergence as a reliable, physical stay-at-home defenceman means the Canucks might not feel as urgent a need to acquire another right-shot defenceman. With Carson Soucy back in the lineup and Tyler Myers expected to return before the end of the season from his recent injury, that gives the Canucks seven defencemen to choose from to construct their top-six, not including depth options like Mark Friedman and Matt Irwin.
In an ideal world, the Canucks would absolutely want to upgrade on Myers and Juulsen on the right side in a season where they’re hoping for a long playoff run, but that might not be possible.
That said, adding another depth defenceman to upgrade on Friedman and Irwin might be a good idea.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a grind and there’s no guarantee that the Canucks’ blue line stays healthy the whole way through. The Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL have also faced injury trouble — Christian Wolanin hasn’t played since January and Akito Hirose has played just 18 games this season — so there’s some uncertainty in the Canucks’ depth.
With that in mind, adding one more piece to be the team’s seventh or eight defenceman might make sense.
One other need for the Canucks is an identity for the fourth line. Nils Åman doesn’t bring much to the table aside from some penalty-killing acumen. Sam Lafferty has been largely invisible since early December. Phil Di Giuseppe hasn’t brought the same energy that he did last season.
Adding another depth forward to give the fourth line a little more definition would make sense for the Canucks, whether it’s more physicality, improved puck possession, or a little bit of skill to provide some depth scoring.
Names that have been connected to the Canucks in trade rumours
Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
A two-time 40-goal scorer, Jake Guentzel is the biggest name on the trade market and an understandable target for the Canucks.
“I’ve been told this morning that there’s serious interest from Vancouver on Guentzel,” said ChekTV’s Rick Dhaliwal on Monday, but the Canucks are not alone in their interest. Pierre LeBrun reported that six-plus teams are in on Guentzel, which could drive the price up.
The cost could prove an issue for the Canucks, particularly if they want the Penguins to retain salary to make it easier to fit him under the cap. Acquiring Guentzel won’t be cheap.
“GM Kyle Dubas has told teams he prefers two prospects for Jake Guentzel, rather than, say, a prospect and a first-rounder, which fits with his stated plan of getting younger, but NHL-ready talent,” said Elliotte Friedman in his 32 Thoughts column. “Retention and/or taking money alters the equation, but that’s the preference.”
The Canucks aren’t willing to part with their top two prospects, Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Tom Willander, so who’s left? Would they move Vasily Podkolzin, Arturs Silovs, Elias Pettersson (the defenceman), or even Nils Höglander as part of a package to get Guentzel and would that package even entice the Penguins?
It seems likely that a team with a deeper prospect pool than the Canucks will have more to offer for Guentzel, so getting a deal done could be a challenge.
But there's nothing that this Canucks front office likes more than a challenge. The Athletic's Chris Johnston is reporting that the Canucks might be wheeling and dealing to get Guentzel, possibly moving Elias Lindholm to the Boston Bruins to make it happen.
This could be a wild couple of days.
Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks
With 29 goals and 48 points in 61 games, Vatrano leads the Ducks in scoring and could be a good fit on the wing with Miller and Boeser. Also, he wouldn’t be a rental, as he’s signed through next season at a very reasonable $3.65 million cap hit.
The Canucks have shown interest in Vatrano in the past but the price to acquire Vatrano will be “high,” according to Friedman. With Vatrano under contract for another year, the Ducks don’t have to rush to deal him, so they can afford to wait for the right offer.
Tyler Toffoli, New Jersey Devils
The Canucks have interest in Toffoli, who played part of one season with the Canucks, putting up 10 points in 10 games while on a line with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, then another 4 points in 7 playoff games. At that time, the cost of acquiring Toffoli was a second-round pick and prospect Tyler Madden, with Tim Schaller thrown in for cap purposes.
Toffoli is four years older now but is still a productive player, with 26 goals and 44 points in 60 games for the Devils. The trouble is that he’s been too good for the Devils, who don’t want to trade him at all.
“I’m not shopping Tyler Toffoli,” said Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald on Tuesday. “Tyler and I sat together in L.A. We had a great talk. Tyler knows how much I’d like to bring him back, but unfortunately right now there’s a possible term difference. That doesn’t mean we can’t revisit this past the Deadline, if he’s still here, or in the offseason.
“But the reality is teams have called on him and what a return looks like, I wouldn’t be giving away a player, my leading scorer, that’s for sure, just to gain future assets. But the reality is those future assets could help us down the road.”
If that sounds like waffling, you’re not wrong. This could just be posturing in an attempt to drive up the price for Toffoli. There’s the added complication that the Devils still believe they’re in the playoff hunt.
Jason Zucker, Arizona Coyotes
The 32-year-old Zucker hasn’t been too productive in the desert, with just 9 goals and 25 points in 51 games, but he had 27 goals just last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Canucks have been interested in Zucker in the past but does he have the same draw now?
“They’re poking around Zucker,” said Dhaliwal on Tuesday. “Zucker’s got a connection to Rutherford from his days in Pittsburgh…The ask, from what I was told, is pretty high.”
Jordan Greenway, Buffalo Sabres
The Canucks reportedly like Greenway quite a bit. He’s a bottom-six role player rather than a top-six forward but has size, a solid defensive game, and can kill penalties.
“They’ve liked him a long time,” said Dhaliwal. “I checked in this morning, it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen. Apparently, the asking price is pretty high there too.”
Here’s the thing: the asking price might be high but Greenway is a pending unrestricted free agent, so if no one meets the asking price by Friday, that price will go down. Greenway has 9 goals and 21 points in 50 games for the Sabres and would help provide an identity to the fourth line, giving it some size, scoring, and defensive grit.
Alternatively, Greenway could be used as a complementary winger in the Canucks top six. He’s not necessarily an ideal fit in that role but he’s the type of player that Rick Tocchet has liked on the wing with more skilled players.
Are the Canucks not in on any defencemen?
None of the players connected to the Canucks in rumours are defencemen but that doesn’t necessarily mean much, as the Canucks have managed to keep their interest in players quiet in the past.
The market for defencemen largely depends on if teams decide to be sellers and make them available. Alexandre Carrier, Sean Walker, Will Borgen, Artem Zub, Trevor Van Reimsdyk, and Sean Durzi are some names that could be of interest but there's the potential that none of them are moved by the trade deadline.
If the Canucks do look to add a defenceman, Alexandre Carrier would be intriguing — a competitive, mobile defenceman with a palatable contract. The trouble is that his Nashville Predators have surged up the standings and are in playoff position, so might decide they don’t want to sell at the trade deadline. Carrier might be more likely to play against the Canucks in the first round of the playoffs than for them.
In any case, it seems like the Canucks will prioritize adding a forward over a defenceman, which is understandable.
