Canucks are missing big trade-deadline addition they needed

@Canucks/X

Patrik Allvin twice mentioned his team’s lack of meaningful-game experience at the NHL general managers meetings in Florida this week. In an interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Vancouver Canucks general manager said “A lot of guys haven’t played in the playoffs,” before later adding “we’ve got guys who haven’t played important games in March.”

Managing expectations has long been the domain of senior club messengers, and if Allvin is starting to downplay his team’s chances, one could understand why.

The Canucks weren’t supposed to be here in first place as the season turns from winter to spring, and Allvin admitted that. It’s been a marvellous year, albeit one that has shown cracks the further it moves along.

The club has been just okay since the All-Star break at 9-7-3.

And management failed to land that top-six forward, or even a depth winger, to help a sagging position group that is clearly holding the team back.

Based on their pursuit of Jake Guentzel, who wound up in Carolina, it’s clear Allvin and company knew that another forward was needed by the March 8 trade deadline. He’s stayed steadfast, telling LeBrun “there was no Plan B,” that they targeted specific players and weren’t just going to trade for anybody.

The club’s limited cap space and taxed farm system after the Elias Lindholm acquisition ostensibly prevented them from doing more. Allvin has said that he would’ve needed to move a player out to bring a player in, and didn’t want to spend future assets to add more by the deadline.

Less than two weeks later, we’re hearing about a lack of big-game experience as Allvin smartly downplays his club’s chances from here. Better to under-promise and over-deliver than vice versa, right?

The question now is: will Canucks fans buy it?

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