Welcome Matt: Will Rathbone and Höglander still be Canucks after trade deadline?

Mar 1 2023, 8:35 pm

sekeres and price

The Vancouver Canucks have traded their pending free agents and now we’re asking what’s next?

While many are fixated on forwards Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, a trio of younger players bear watching between now and Friday’s trade deadline.

Do Nils Höglander and Jack Rathbone still fit in this organization? And if there’s even a hint of collegian Aidan McDonough electing free agency, must they trade him, too?

We’ve discussed Höglander recently. He’s two NHL games away from being waiver eligible, meaning he has to stick next time he’s called up. But he’s a poor defensive winger in an organization full of that profile, and needing help on defence.

Teams still call on the 22-year-old Swede, is there a lateral move to be made for a defenceman or a centre? Could he be part of a larger deal with Boeser? Would someone give Vancouver a draft pick for him?

On Rathbone, he’s been besieged by injuries and has played just 96 games in the last three seasons, 23 of them in the NHL. He’ll be 24 in May, and the Canucks have bypassed him several times when calling up defencemen.

He’s not worth much as a standalone, but can he fetch a similar player who might also benefit from a change of scenery?

McDonough, 23, is finishing up his senior season at Northeastern this weekend. He has postseason play beyond that.

He has said all the right things about wanting to be a Canuck, but if there’s any doubt or if he’d preferred to play elsewhere, GM Patrik Allvin and his staff must make that call by Friday.

Otherwise, I suspect we’ll see him get a cameo with the Canucks at some point later this season.

Matthew SekeresMatthew Sekeres

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