Canucks should undo Benning's 2020 blunder before this year's trade deadline
The year was 2020, and the Vancouver Canucks were a feel-good story.
Quinn Hughes had just completed his rookie season, while Elias Pettersson was done year two. Thatcher Demko had just stepped up with a playoff performance for the ages, albeit in just four postseason games.
J.T. Miller was only 27, Bo Horvat was 25, and Brock Boeser was 23.
The Canucks not only made the playoffs for the first time in five years; they also made some noise in the pandemic bubble.
But then came the offseason.
The Canucks can't lose Markstrom, Toffoli, Tanev and Stecher… CAN THEY?!
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) October 7, 2020
After years of throwing money at players like Loui Eriksson, Erik Gudbranson, and Jay Beagle, when it came time to pay actual difference-makers, the well ran dry.
Four players walked for nothing in free agency, though two stand out above the rest.
Chris Tanev, a leader and a warrior on Vancouver’s blue line for nearly a decade, wasn’t made a priority by management. He left for Calgary, and the Canucks have missed him ever since.
Tanev has proved to be well worth his $4.5 million salary in the last four seasons. The injury troubles that plagued him throughout his time in Vancouver haven’t been as much of an issue with the Flames either. Tanev has missed just 20 regular season games since signing with the Flames.
The 34-year-old isn’t the player he once was, but Tanev is still a smart defence-first top-four blueliner and an excellent penalty killer. And there’s a long list of teams looking to acquire him.
Tyler Toffoli was also a huge loss. An in-season acquisition by Benning in 2019-20, the Canucks were unable to re-sign him in free agency.
All Toffoli has done since leaving Vancouver is produce offence, with 200 points (103-97-200) in 255 games with Montreal, Calgary, and now New Jersey. The 31-year-old winger already has 21 goals in 47 games this season.
Toffoli has done it at a bargain price, too, making just $4.25 million.
Back to the present day, the Canucks are a Stanley Cup contender and expected by many to load up ahead of the trade deadline. They could use an upgrade on the right side of their defence and a top-six forward to give Elias Pettersson a more reliable winger to play with.
Sound like Tanev and Toffoli to anyone else?
Tanev’s availability is obvious. He’s on an expiring contract on a team expected to miss the playoffs. He has a modified no-trade clause, but it’s also well-known how much he loved his time in Vancouver.
Toffoli doesn’t have trade protection in his contract, and the Devils are currently six points back of a playoff spot. If they decide to pull the plug on this season, he could be on the move.
Bringing back Tanev would give Canucks coaches options. They could reunite him with Quinn Hughes or use him to bolster a second pairing. And, of course, he would help on the penalty kill, which is still an area of weakness for Vancouver.
Toffoli could not only skate on Pettersson’s line but also help on the first-unit power play in place of Pius Suter.
There’s familiarity with Toffoli, too. While he only played 17 games in Canucks colours (10 in the regular season, seven in the playoffs), he found quick chemistry with both Pettersson and Miller at even strength. Toffoli also fit like a glove on the power play, playing alongside Pettersson, Miller, and Hughes.
Toffoli doesn’t bring speed to the table, but he is a smart two-way player who can fit into Tocchet’s system. He isn’t a centre either, but if the lotto line isn’t a long-term solution anyway, that shouldn’t matter much.
Given their salaries, the Canucks would need to open cap space to make the Tanev and Toffoli moves happen. But the salaries of Andrei Kuzmenko ($5.5 million) and Nikita Zadorov ($3.75 million) add up to $9.25 million, while Tanev and Toffoli make $8.75 million — just saying.
The Canucks would also need to be willing to give up future assets in a trade, though Tanev and Toffoli would come cheaper than some other players in the rumour mill, like Jake Guentzel or Elias Lindholm. And if Kuzmenko and Zadorov are moved, that should help recoup draft picks and prospects.
It would be tricky to make it happen, but it would right a wrong for the Canucks.
And it might just push them over the top.