Not looking good for Guentzel, but Canucks might trade for Toffoli
If you’re hoping the Vancouver Canucks land Jake Guentzel before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, you might be disappointed.
The rumour mill has been put into overdrive for the past 48 hours. The Canucks were reportedly willing to trade newly acquired Elias Lindholm to Boston in order to facilitate a trade for Guentzel with Pittsburgh.
That was Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a new report surfaced stating Vancouver was “very aggressively” trying to trade for Guentzel. There was even a rumour shared by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes about a possible three-way trade between the Canucks, Penguins, and Bruins involving Lindholm, Guentzel, and Jake DeBrusk.
Well, hold your horses, because it doesn’t sound like Guentzel is heading to Vancouver.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Canucks don’t believe they can win the Guentzel sweepstakes, and he poured cold water on the rumoured three-way trade as well.
“There was a rumour of that three-way deal, I don’t believe that’s the case. Guentzel, Lindholm, and DeBrusk. I don’t believe that’s going to happen,” Friedman said on The Jeff Marek Show on Sportsnet 650 this morning.
Josh Yohe from The Athletic in Pittsburgh reported that the Canucks don’t want to trade either of their top prospects, Jonathan Lekkerimäki or Tom Willander. He added that there’s a “sense of pessimism in Vancouver” that they’ll be able to get Guentzel.
CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal said this morning on Donnie and Dhali that the Penguins may want Nils Höglander and Lekkerimäki for Guentzel.
So what’s Plan B? Perhaps it’s Tyler Toffoli out of New Jersey.
“I think they’re going to be one of the teams that’s going to be in big for Toffoli,” Friedman said.
Toffoli makes a lot of sense for the Canucks, and probably won’t require trading Lindholm to get it done. But he won’t exactly come cheap.
The 31-year-old pending unrestricted free agent is as consistent a goal-scorer as they come. He’s on pace for over 30 goals again this season, with 26 goals and 44 points in 61 games with the Devils. He led the Calgary Flames in goals (34) and points (73) one year ago.
There’s ready-made chemistry with Toffoli and a number of current Canucks. The right winger excelled on a line with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller during his brief stint with Vancouver in 2020, and played primarily on Lindholm’s line last season in Calgary.
Toffoli was also excellent on the power play when he was a Canuck, and Vancouver is looking to fill the role he used to occupy.
He won’t make the Canucks faster, but Toffoli could fill the biggest hole in Vancouver’s lineup: a reliable scoring winger to play with Pettersson.
Is Canucks management willing to do what it’ll take to get him? We’ll find out by noon on Friday.
Follow Channels and Categories