NHL insiders reveal previously unknown Vancouver Canucks trade desire
The Vancouver Canucks are pushing hard to make a trade and they’re looking for an unexpected addition.
While the team’s need and desire for a defenceman has been well-documented, league sources say the Canucks are calling teams looking to add another winger.
“I can be specific to saying top-four defence and now a winger,” explained Darren Dreger on Sekeres & Price. “For a good chunk of this year, they felt like it was probably going to be a centreman, like a 3C, but that need, that want, has shifted now to a winger.”
That report has been corroborated by other NHL insiders hearing the same thing.
“A top need has been identified, a top-four [defenceman], that’s certainly the top item for the Vancouver Canucks but also a winger,” explained TSN’s Pierre LeBrun on Early Trading. “They’re looking for both.”
The Canucks struggled with their depth on the wings last season, playing top centres like Elias Pettersson alongside players more suited to the bottom six, like Sam Lafferty and Ilya Mikheyev.
Strengthening the wings was an offseason priority and the Canucks added Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, and Kiefer Sherwood in free agency as a result. While those moves have generally worked out, for DeBrusk and Sherwood especially, players like Dakota Joshua and Nils Höglander are struggling, which means they could use even more help.
The need for a winger is amplified by the fact that many of their best trade pieces play on the wing. This means they’ll likely lose someone like Heinen, Höglander, or another winger if they manage to pull off a trade for a top-four blueliner, something they still want to do.
Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin are well-known for being among the most aggressive executives in the league. The NHL has a holiday roster freeze, which starts on Friday, but no one would be surprised if the Canucks management group pulled off a trade before that date.