Ten days to go before the NHL trade deadline and the question we are all asking: what are the Canucks going to do?
GM Patrik Allvin has made four trades since the start of training camp, tied for most in the league. Beyond a deal for Luke Schenn, what else is in the offing?
Here are three situations to monitor between now and March 3:
1. Trading a roster player beyond Schenn
Teams have checked in on goaltender Thatcher Demko, and more recently forward J.T. Miller. Winger Brock Boeser has been seeking a trade for months. Weâve heard buyout rumours about Conor Garland. And then thereâs Tyler Myers, who is owed a huge bonus this summer before entering the final year of his contract.
Given how difficult it is to move money and term right now, itâs more likely that these situations wait until the summer. But the deadline typically has a surprise or two, which makes these names worth tracking.
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2. Trade brokerage
The Canucks put Tanner Pearson on LTIR last week, and are carrying $7.6 million (all figures U.S.) in cap space into the deadline.
As we saw Friday with the Minnesota Wildâs involvement in the Ryan OâReilly trade, there will be contenders that require third parties to retain salary and make expensive players fit salary cap wise. The Wild picked up a fourth-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for retaining $1.875 million on OâReilly.
The Canucks are poised to do the same if ownership approves spending money for draft picks. They finally have cap space, they need to weaponize it.
3. Lateral prospect (or change-of-scenery) trades
Weâve wondered this for some time because most of the Canucks thin prospect pipeline was assembled by ex-GM Jim Benning, not the current management team.
Nils Höglander was recently passed over for a call-up and is approaching the games played threshold for requiring waivers. That means next time he gets an NHL opportunity, he has to make it stick.
Clearly, the organization has lost some confidence here. Itâs been 13 months since former coach Bruce Boudreau said he needs to tighten his defensive game.
The Canucks need defencemen and centres more than wingers. That should mean Jack Rathbone gets a look late this season, but itâs been three years and three call-ups for Rathbone without sticking. He was also passed over for Christian Wolanin when the Canucks needed a defenceman this weekend.
Are Höglander and Rathbone in need of a change-of-scenery? Are the Canucks eyeing second-chance players in other organizations? And are there trade fits among them?