Trade Deadline Primer: Vancouver Canucks

With the 4 Nations Face-Off now complete, the trade deadline looms large and is less than two weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Vancouver Canucks have had a tumultuous season, to say the least, as the J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson issue derailed a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations coming into the season. Despite everything that has gone on, the Canucks still find themselves in a playoff spot at the moment and appear likely to do everything they can to get into the postseason. The Canucks have re-signed several pending unrestricted free agents in recent weeks, which signals that they do intend to make a go of it and are likely to be buying as they approach the deadline. The team has played better as of late (6-3-1 in their last ten), and if their new additions can settle in, they should be able to perform better than they have to this point in the season.

Record

26-20-11, 4th in the Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Cautious Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$10.41MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention spots used, 46/50 contract spots used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: VAN 1st, VAN 2nd, OTT 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th,
2026: VAN 1st, VAN 2nd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th

Trade Chips

Whether Canucks fans like it or not, the talk on an Elias Pettersson trade is probably not going away anytime soon. Vancouver would be hard-pressed to move their star forward at this time, given his poor play this season and the remaining seven years on his contract at $11.6MM per. Pettersson’s play has fallen off a cliff this season with just 11 goals and 24 assists in 51 games. Some folks believed that Pettersson’s play might pick up when he escaped the Vancouver bubble and played for Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but the 26-year-old was largely unimpressive tallying no points in three games. Now, it does appear he was dealing with an injury during the tournament, but his play did not help his trade value. TSN Hockey removed Pettersson from their trade bait board, but they did leave the door open to him being traded in the summer.

The Canucks have already moved on from their biggest trade chip in Miller but could have another big name to move out if they elect to trade forward Brock Boeser. Now, it’s not commonplace for teams to move on from top players when they are in the thick of the playoff race, but nothing about Vancouver has been common this season. It’s also worth noting that the Canucks can’t score (25th in the NHL) with Boeser in the lineup, and they would be unlikely to replace his offense in a 1 for 1 trade. The one move that Vancouver could make is not unlike what they did with Miller and flip Boeser to one team, then use those assets in another deal for an impact player with term remaining on their contract. Boeser’s time in Vancouver has been a rollercoaster, and with him being just four months away from free agency, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him moved. Another note on Boeser is that he has a ten-team modified no-trade clause, but there will be interest from other teams not on his list.

If Vancouver wanted to push into the trade market, they do have some future assets to move despite having a below-average prospects pool (21st in the NHL, as per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic). Vancouver has their first two picks in each of the next two NHL Entry Drafts, which could always be made available, or if they wanted to move out prospects, Jonathan Lekkerimäki would be an intriguing player for most teams who are looking towards the future. The 15th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft hasn’t found NHL success yet but is nearly a point-a-game player in the AHL (26 points in 30 games) this season and is just 20 years old. His skill level is extremely high and could be of interest to a team that is looking for prospects who are close to NHL-ready.

Team Needs

1) Top Six Center – The Canucks were a win away from the Western Conference Finals last year and their top two centers from that club are no longer in Vancouver (Elias Lindholm and Miller). Now, Vancouver is rolling out Filip Chytil and Pettersson as their top two centers, and no disrespect to either player but that isn’t good enough to compete with the likes of Edmonton or Vegas in the Western Conference. Vancouver needs a top-six center who can push everyone down the depth chart, including Pius Suter who is pivoting the third line at the moment and is better suited for fourth-line duties. The idea of a center is easier said than done as there aren’t many names available who would be capable of taking on top six minutes. Brock Nelson of the Islanders is an option, but he would be expensive and a rental at this point. Brayden Schenn is another option, but with three years left at $6.5MM and declining production, he probably isn’t the best candidate either. If the Canucks wanted to gamble, Dylan Cozens out of Buffalo is a name that would be of interest, Cozens has struggled this season with just 11 goals and 16 assists in 55 games, but he is just two years removed from a 68-point season and at 24 years of age, could be a bounce back candidate that the Canucks buy low on.

2) Scoring – Vancouver can’t score and desperately need help on the wings and down the middle. The Canucks have been trying out recently acquired Drew O’Connor on the top line, but with two goals in six games, he isn’t a long-term fit and is better suited for a third-line role. If Vancouver wanted to make a bigger splash, they could take a run at Rickard Rakell out of Pittsburgh, who is having a terrific season with 25 goals and 24 assists in 58 games. Rakell can play on both wings and even center in a pinch, but it would be costly as he does have term left on his deal (three years at $5MM per season), and the Penguins are in no rush to move him. If Vancouver wanted to jump into the rental market, Kyle Palmieri of the Islanders or Montreal’s Joel Armia might be cheaper options who can provide depth offense. None of the available options are particularly great for Vancouver, who are tasked with looking for scoring in a seller’s market. The Canucks do have significant cap space available to them and might be able to land a higher-priced pending unrestricted free agent (like Palmieri) who isn’t performing up to their cap hit. This happened last season with Jason Zucker, who was dealt from Arizona to Nashville for a sixth-round pick last deadline because Arizona couldn’t retain his $5.3MM cap hit, which drove down the price as Nashville was willing to take on the entire cap hit.