Well, well, well would you look at the time? It’s time for silly season in the NHL. And who would’ve thought that Canucks are going to be buyers at this deadline? It’s been so long since the Canucks have been in a position to be serious buyers at the trade deadline. Yeah, they were buyers at the 2020 trade deadline, but they had Jim Benning and that was a cursed time so you didn’t know if any move he made would flip the entire franchise on its head. But cursed times aside, the Canucks are in a much different position this time around as they have consistently been in the top five of the league standings this season and just seem to refuse to lose games.
“We’re not there yet, even though we’ve made progress,” says Jim Rutherford…
“We sit in a good place, but we still have work to do.” #Canucks
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) January 19, 2024
The Canucks have already publicly stated that they want to add players at the trade deadline and continue to make the team better. But to do that, they may need to trade away some players from their roster or from their pool of prospects. Sometimes trading away players can be a bad thing if you don’t get good enough value in return. On the flip side, you could get someone amazing in return and elevate your team to the next level.
So why don’t we take a look at some of the players the Canucks could trade and talk about whether it should be a deal or no deal. The way this will work is if I think a player should be traded then it will be a deal but if I think the Canucks shouldn’t trade them then it will be a no deal. This may get a bit spicy so buckle up my friend.
Nils Höglander
The progression of Nils Hoglander has been a fascinating one. I remember watching his highlights before he was drafted and thinking that I would love for the Canucks to draft him. The possibility of that seemed like a long shot though because he was projected to be a late first-rounder and the Canucks weren’t really near that spot in the draft. Then all of a sudden he drops to the second round and the Canucks take him with the 40th pick in the 2019 draft. I always thought that Höglander could be a lite version of Brad Marchand because he’s a player who plays with an edge similar to Marchand but also has a lot of offensive skills.
But for Höglander, his development has had his ups and downs and for a bit last year it seemed like he maybe wasn’t going to turn into much. This season, however, he has been a great player for the Canucks and always puts in full effort every night. Although he isn’t getting much ice time, he is still making great use of the time he is getting.
There have been rumours of the Canucks possibly trading Höglander in a trade to get a top-six forward as he would be a valuable asset in a trade. It’s definitely intriguing too because he could fetch a nice return if added into a trade.
However, for Höglander, I’m saying no deal. I think he’s going to keep getting better and he may just be a very big part of this team next season. Plus with him still on his rookie contract, it just seems like the wisest thing to do is keep him and let him continue to develop. He could end up being a great player for the Canucks so unless they get a deal they can’t refuse for him then I think it’s a no deal for Höglander.
Hunter Brzustewicz
Hunter Brzustewicz is having an amazing season in the OHL this year as he has 69 points (nice) in 45 games as a defenceman. Those are insane numbers to be putting up and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
However, I do think Brzustewicz is a deal. We have seen many players put up the same numbers that he as and not really turn into anything significant at the pro level. The Canucks had a prospect named Carl Niell who put up similar numbers and didn’t end up turning into anything and they never ended up trading him. Now that’s not to say Brzustewicz will turn into nothing because we just don’t know yet. However, if they were to trade someone to make their current team better then I think Brzustewicz is a deal because his value may be as high as it will get and he’s a player they can afford to move. I really hope I don’t bite myself in the butt and watch as he terrorizes the NHL if he makes it pro.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki & Tom Willander
I’ll make this one quick. They’re a no deal. These two are the Canucks best prospects and I think they will be regular NHLers very soon. For Willander, I think he will spend another year in the NCAA where he will be relied on as the top defenceman at Boston University with Lane Hutson departing from the team after this season. After the NCAA season is done next season, I could see Willander signing with the Canucks and going straight to the NHL and being an impactful player. For Lekkerimäki, he will spend next year in the AHL and develop there before possibly joining the big club the season after or later in the season.
The potential both of these players have are too good to trade unless they are getting an elite-level player which is highly unlikely. So keep these guys for now because I think they will both be great Canucks.
Filip Hronek
Oh, I told you we were gonna get spicy and we are getting spicy! So, here’s the thing, Filip Hronek needs a new contract after this year and he is going to ask for around seven to eight million dollars per year. That’s a lot but why wouldn’t he ask for that? Could you imagine you go up to your boss to discuss your salary and you say “yeah I’d actually like less money than I think I could possibly get.” Of course, he’s going to ask that. However, I’m not sure the Canucks are willing to pay that price for him. So it begs the question, is Filip Hronek a possible trade candidate and should they trade him?
Well…you may be shocked by this but I’m saying deal. Listen, I know Hronek has been big part of the team this year and has been paired with Quinn Hughes this season and has been pretty good next to him. But my issue is that he hasn’t been as good as the season has gone along and he’s not a defenceman I think is worth what he will cost. So I am more than open to the Canucks trading Hronek and I think they might explore it. Perhaps they don’t do it at the deadline and do it in the off-season, but I think it may be the smart move to trade Hronek and get some assets back and try and get a different defenceman. Someone like Chris Tanev could be a solid stopgap until players like Tom Willander are ready so maybe moving Hronek could work out. But then again I could be very wrong about this one which wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for me.
So what do you think of the names I’ve mentioned and do you agree or disagree? Silly season is upon us so have with it you filthy animal.