While the final game of the 4 Nations Face-Off has captured the attention of the hockey world for now, the NHL trade deadline is fast approaching and the Vancouver Canucks have significant needs, both short- and long-term, they must address between now and noon local time on March 7.
From help in the faceoff circle to a long-term fit at centre, from additional goaltending depth to identifying some upside bets that could help the team for years to come, let’s dive into the Canucks’ most significant needs at the deadline and how they could go about addressing them.
Top-six centreman
Between J.T. Miller and Elias Lindholm, the Canucks have lost their two most trusted and productive centres from the 2024 playoffs.
Elias Pettersson is a far better player than Lindholm, and Vancouver made the right call letting the latter walk in free agency, but Lindholm’s usage and impact in the playoffs can’t be overlooked. He scored 10 points in 13 playoff games, averaged more ice time than Pettersson, and was tasked with daunting shutdown minutes while Pettersson got softer third-line quality matchups.
The point of bringing Lindholm up isn’t to paint him as the one who got away. Truthfully, the contract he signed with Boston is brutal.
The point, however, is that Vancouver’s postseason push to get one win away from the Western Conference final was largely driven by two centres who aren’t here anymore.
The Canucks would be vulnerable at centre if the playoffs began today. Pettersson may not even crack 55 points this season. He was largely invisible in last year’s playoffs, and his zero-point performance at 4 Nations only amplifies the doubts about whether he can be a clutch, big-game No. 1 centre in the short term.
Filip Chytil is a dynamic middle-six pivot with some upside. He’s made a promising first impression in Vancouver, but it’d be enormously risky to rely on him as a long-term second-line centre because of his history of concussions. Chytil performed well during the New York Rangers’ 2022 run to the Eastern Conference final, but that was in a third-line role.
Pius Suter, meanwhile, is a versatile, intelligent two-way forward who can excel at wing or centre. However, he doesn’t have the size or foot speed you’d associate with a classic shutdown third-line centre.
Pettersson, Chytil and Suter lack the heavy physical edge associated with “big boy” playoff hockey, and they’re unproven as clutch, top-six centres in the playoffs. That’s a concern compared to the other playoff-bound teams in the Pacific Division.
Who would match up against Connor McDavid’s line in a playoff series? Leon Draisaitl’s line? Vegas can count on Jack Eichel, William Karlsson and Tomas Hertl at centre, and Nicolas Roy can kick into the middle in a pinch, too. Even the Los Angeles Kings have three huge, heavy centres in Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault. Additionally, look at the formidable one-two centre punch of recent Stanley Cup winners such as Florida (Aleksandar Barkov and Sam Bennett), Vegas (Eichel and Karlsson), Colorado (Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri) and Tampa Bay (Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli). With all due respect, a Pettersson and Chytil combo doesn’t stack up to that right now.
Landing a high-end top-six centre — preferably one with some size and edge to replace Miller’s hard-nosed qualities — should be the Canucks’ top priority, both at this deadline and going forward. The Canucks are thin on top-of-the-lineup forwards who can drive play and elevate others; the top six needs more elite/star talent. This big swing is probably more realistic to accomplish in the offseason than before the deadline, and that’s OK because Vancouver probably isn’t a Cup contender this season anyway.
There aren’t many intriguing centre targets besides maybe Dylan Cozens, Brayden Schenn and Josh Norris. It could be worth waiting to see what other names potentially emerge on the trade market in the summer. The crop of free-agent centres is pretty weak, but the headliner, Bennett, could be really attractive to management because of his edge, consistent 2C-calibre production profile and excellent playoff track record.
The urgency to add a top-six centre before next season is amplified because of the uncertainty around Pettersson. If Vancouver’s star Swede doesn’t turn it around, Patrik Allvin could trade him in the summer before his July 1 no-movement clause kicks in, which would create another hole at centre.
This will be a difficult need for the Canucks to fill because there’s always competition when trying to acquire top-six-centre talent. But if there’s one piece worth the Canucks pooling their resources of cap space and trade assets for, it’s a marquee centre who can provide some of the on-ice qualities the club lost when it dealt Miller.
Sam Bennett could be an attractive top-six centre target for the Canucks. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
If Brock Boeser is dealt
If the Canucks can’t find common ground in extension talks with scoring winger Brock Boeser, they will need to think long and hard about making the difficult decision to weaken their probably playoff-bound roster to mitigate the risk of losing a valuable player without compensation in unrestricted free agency.
Vancouver’s leading goal scorer during the 2024-25 campaign, Boeser is again on a 30-goal pace this year and is logging the second-most five-on-five minutes among Canucks wingers, behind only Conor Garland. If Boeser is dealt, Vancouver is clearly going to have a glaring hole on the wings at the top of the lineup and on the power play.
While they have to be willing to think long-term in charting a path forward at this deadline, especially where Boeser is concerned, there’s no reason for Vancouver to wave a white flag on this season — as difficult as it’s been to endure. With or without Boeser, this team is still overwhelmingly likely to play playoff hockey this season and has solid goaltending, the best defenseman on the planet and a solid defensive identity. If Boeser is dealt, the Canucks have to be ready to pivot and bring in reinforcements on the wing.
The rental market for wingers isn’t especially deep at the deadline, but there are some intriguing value buys they could consider. Jason Zucker, for example, is a fast, reliable goal scorer capable of logging top-six minutes and has a long history of familiarity with Canucks management. Nashville Predators winger Gustav Nyquist is another rental who could bring some speed and offensive punch to Vancouver’s wings, and would surely cost less to acquire than the price Boeser would demand on the trade market.
The Canucks could also consider value shopping to boost their middle-six wing depth. Players such as Jeff Skinner and Alex Iafollo are interesting names to track, partly because their respective teams may look to move both players to reallocate cap space toward other more pressing areas of need on their roster ahead of the deadline. Neither player can hold a candle to what Boeser provides the Canucks, but both possess some offensive upside and scoring touch and would help offset the loss of Boeser, potentially at a reasonable cost.
Long-term upside bets
Reclamation project
Reclamation project trades aren’t sexy. They involve trading for an underperforming player who’s fallen out of favour elsewhere. Many times, these types of trades don’t pan out, as we saw numerous times during Jim Benning’s tenure as Canucks general manager.
In nearly three years at the helm of this team, Jim Rutherford’s hockey operations group has made a couple of reclamation project bets via trade, especially in 2022, when they sent a third-round pick to Toronto for Travis Dermott and a seventh-rounder and Will Lockwood to the New York Rangers for Vitali Kravtsov. This front office would seemingly rather identify an ideal target and pay full market value, even if it’s perceived as a slight overpay, than go bargain-bin hunting for discount, out-of-favour players on the market.
With that said, the Canucks can’t leave any stone unturned in their quest to upgrade the roster. And sometimes, buying low can yield a massively lopsided return on investment.
Last year’s Cup-winning Florida Panthers struck gold with several reclamation projects over the years, including Brandon Montour (acquired for a third-round pick), Gustav Forsling (claimed off waivers), Bennett (acquired for a second-round pick and Emil Heineman), Carter Verhaeghe (acquired via free agency) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (acquired via free agency).
Recently, the Seattle Kraken flipped pending UFA Will Borgen, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick for Kaapo Kakko. Kakko has broken out with 17 points in 24 games since that trade. Washington essentially acquired P-L Dubois as a cap dump last summer, and now he’s on pace for a career-best season.
The correct reclamation project gamble can make a sizable difference.
Could Trevor Zegras interest the Canucks? The 23-year-old has underperformed and been injury-riddled the last two seasons. But you can’t forget that he twice hit the 60-to-65-point range at ages 20 and 21, which is very rare and usually hints at star upside. Zegras’ offensive stagnation could be a symptom of a wider developmental issue for the Anaheim Ducks, because Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier have all disappointed offensively this season. Nobody would be surprised if Zegras returned to being a 60-to-70 point centre with a change of scenery.
Would the Chicago Blackhawks be open to listening to offers on Lukas Reichel? The speedy, dynamic forward was drafted No. 17 in 2020 and flashed a ton of potential in 2022-23, when he scored 15 points in 23 games down the stretch. He slumped to just 16 points in 65 games last season. This year, he’s made progress rounding out his all-around game, but he’s still averaging just 12:17 and has been an occasional healthy scratch.
Reichel is still only 22, has an electrifying offensive skill set and hasn’t been given an extended top-six opportunity. He’s primarily a winger, but can also play centre. Reichel may not be a perfect stylistic fit — he’s light at 6 feet, 170 pounds, and you’d have to be certain that Rick Tocchet would trust him — but if the Canucks still believe he has top-six upside, this would be the type of reclamation project worth exploring.
Reclamation projects could be targeted further down the lineup, too; it doesn’t need to be flashy names. Winnipeg Jets centre Rasmus Kupari, for example, could be an intriguing depth centre to target with some modest upside because of his speed, work rate, right-handed faceoff ability and defensive impact.
Upside breakout candidates
Think of this as trying to find the next Filip Hronek trade, or the original acquisition of Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019. You’re paying full market value for a good player who you believe can break out into something much bigger on your team because you can offer a bigger role or better fit.
In Hronek’s case, he went from being a solid second-pair defenceman to a top-pair workhorse. Miller went from being a 50-to-55-ish-point player to a star because of the expanded top-line opportunity Vancouver could provide.
These opportunities are rarer than reclamation projects because teams usually aren’t willing to part ways with productive players in their prime. But occasionally, they’ll shake loose (usually for upcoming contract/salary-cap-crunch reasons), and as in Hronek’s case, they’re sometimes players who weren’t even rumoured to be available.
It’s unlikely the perfect opportunity for a move like this will fall into the Canucks’ lap ahead of the deadline — there aren’t many immediate, burning opportunities we see from the outside — but perhaps management will have a surprise target.
Christian Dvorak could fit in the Canucks’ cap space and help them win faceoffs. (David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
Luxury items
Faceoff-winning centremen
Winning faceoffs has been a strength of this team over the past several years, but that dynamic may be shifting.
Between Bo Horvat, Miller and Lindholm, Vancouver has seen three different faceoff aces leave its lineup over the past 24 months. And in the wake of the Miller trade in particular, Vancouver’s centremen have struggled mightily in the faceoff dot.
Since the Miller trade, the Canucks have won just 46.6 percent of draws, 24th in the NHL in that span. That’s not fatal to a team’s chances of making the playoffs, but it can be problematic in the context of a single game or series, especially for a team that’s likely to be reliant on grinding out narrow, low-scoring wins come playoff time.
At the right price, Vancouver could use some help in the circle ahead of the deadline. A player such as Radek Faksa or Christian Dvorak would fit into Vancouver’s available cap space and would enhance the club’s ability to start shifts with the puck in the postseason.
High-character veteran
With all the turmoil and locker-room tension hampering the Canucks this season, they could use a veteran who can be a steady presence on and off the ice.
Marcus Pettersson is one player who checks that box, but they could use more. Whether it’s exceptional toughness, a sky-high work rate or a respected leader who can push this group to reach its potential, Vancouver would benefit from a player who can bring intangibles.
It’s critical, of course, that the player has to be a strong on-ice fit, too. And the Canucks certainly can’t overpay for these intangibles. But if the right fit of talent, experience and intangibles emerges — we highlighted five examples last week — it could be worth considering a move.
Depth goaltender
Thatcher Demko is out for an extended period of time with another ailment, this time a lower-body injury unrelated to his previous, significant knee injury. Kevin Lankinen just started two games for Finland at 4 Nations and is about to smash his previous career highs in games played and saves. The Canucks can rely on Lankinen, he’s demonstrated that, but they’ll have to be careful about managing his workload. Artūrs Šilovs, meanwhile, has struggled enormously at the NHL level.
If Demko’s timeline extends beyond the Canucks’ current optimistic expectation that he’ll return shortly after their upcoming five-game road trip, or if Lankinen’s form slips as a result of overuse, or if Šilovs continues to struggle and can’t earn the coaching staff’s trust, the Canucks may have to look at adding a depth goaltender to give them another option down the stretch and into the postseason.
Get paid to facilitate other deals
Canucks management worked hard, executed trades to permit them to escape long-term injured reserve, taxied various player up and down between the NHL and the AHL and showed real discipline in managing the cap this season, all to maximize their purchasing power at the deadline.
Unfortunately, that good work ultimately won’t reach its optimal outcome since they aren’t positioned to be all-out buyers at the deadline. It doesn’t have to go to waste, however.
Vancouver’s needs in this post-Miller era are significant and high-leverage. This team is short at least two top-six-calibre forwards, including a centre, and that’s even before Boeser’s future gets sorted out. These are additions that won’t be affordable or straightforward to acquire, and that should incentivize the Canucks to grab whatever future assets they’re able to get their hands on before the deadline.
With the way the Canucks have tolled cap space daily throughout the season, they should have about $10 million in cap flexibility to work with. It could be put to thoughtful use too, giving them an avenue to accumulate assets they can use to add to their roster — either in prospects or as trade chips — this offseason.
If that means utilizing the remaining salary-retention slot to facilitate a trade and pick up an extra mid-round pick in the process, the Canucks should explore it.
If it means taking on a potentially useful but overpriced veteran from a contending team looking to reallocate their cap commitments to facilitate a larger purchase, the Canucks should be in that market.
(Top photo of Brock Boeser being congratulated at the bench after a goal: Derek Cain / Getty Images)
