Does Toffoli reunion with Canucks before trade deadline make sense?
The Vancouver Canucks could be bringing back a familiar face.
The team has had a busy trade deadline season with a big acquisition of Elias Lindholm and a new contract for superstar Elias Pettersson. It seems they aren’t done yet, as they’ve been connected to pending free agent Tyler Toffoli.
The Canucks have been linked to Toffoli by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman as well as The Athletic’s Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal.
It wouldn’t be the first time that the Canucks have swung a big midseason trade to acquire Toffoli, as they did so during the 2019-20 season. The winger was an instant fit, scoring 10 points in 10 regular season games before adding another four points in seven postseason battles.
The Canucks infamously let Toffoli walk in the summer of 2020 after Jim Benning self-admittedly “ran out of time” during negotiations.
The winger would go on to terrorize the Canucks during the next season, scoring eight goals and adding five assists during just eight games for the Montreal Canadiens in the all-Canadian COVID-affected North Division.
While not the fastest, the 31-year-old forward is a cerebral player with a knack for finding the back of the net. He’s already shown that he can play with the Canucks’ best players and would finally offer the team the chance to put a legit scoring winger next to Pettersson.
He has 26 goals and 44 points in 60 games so far this season with the Devils, good for the team lead in goals.
Toffoli’s $4.25 million salary is cheaper than some of the other major wingers on the trade market. The biggest impediment to a deal being made would be the cost of going the other way. The Devils are still within shouting distance of a Wild Card spot and are not totally sold on trading Toffoli, per Friedman.
This means that the Canucks might have to overpay to pry Toffoli away from the Eastern Conference team. They already dealt one first-round pick this season and will likely be wary of giving up another or assets of equivalent value.
It’s been widely reported that the Canucks are not looking for a rental, so they’d need to confirm that the winger is someone they want to bring back after this season. Despite his age, he’s shown no signs of slowing down and is on pace for his second consecutive 30-goal season.
Between the proven fit and the impressive goal-scoring numbers at a position of need, Toffoli is an intriguing option for the Canucks at this year’s trade deadline. Perhaps they can make up for previous mistakes and make the winger a part of the team’s long-term plans.