November 22nd, 2024
Alex Rickman
The Canucks defence has looked rough this year. While Quinn Hughes is following last season's career year with another career year, and Erik Brännström has proven to be an incredible value find, the rest of the Canucks blueliners have looked average at best. However, knowing that the Canucks have perhaps the most aggressive front office in the NHL, most would expect the trigger to be pulled at some point in the near future on a trade to bring in some help on the backend. But who could we expect to see make their way to Vancouver? Let’s take a look at some of the rearguards that may be of interest to Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin.
Rasmus Andersson
The most prized defenceman on the market, acquiring Rasmus Andersson would be far from cheap. Under contract until the end of the 2025-26 season at a cap hit of $4.5 million, Andersson is on an excellent contract for a player of his calibre. In addition to being a very solid offensive presence on the backend, Andersson is a very solid defensive presence capable of providing a much-needed spark to the Canucks top four. Andersson’s ability to do it all well would make him a valuable piece on any contending teams blueline and would allow him to be partnered with nearly anyone the Canucks have to offer, including Quinn Hughes should the coaching staff decide he and Filip Hronek are best off on separate pairs. Otherwise, Andersson would provide the perfect presence for the second pair for the Canucks to drop Tyler Myers onto the bottom pair and relieve us of the nightmare that has been the Soucy-Myers partnership.
Ultimately, Andersson seems like the perfect player for the Canucks to target, but the cost of bringing him in may be prohibitive. Andersson won’t come cheap and may cost a number of picks and prospects that the Canucks simply don’t have right now. If there is a way to bring Andersson to Vancouver without completely mortgaging the future, the Canucks should be all over this. However, in the very likely scenario where this is not an option, the front office would be best suited to pursue other options that may come cheaper.
David Jiricek
Things have not exactly gone according to plan for Jiricek in his young NHL career. The 20-year-old former 6th overall pick has struggled to get meaningful ice time with the Blue Jackets, and there appears to be some mutual frustration between him and the club, which could potentially lead Jiricek out of the Jackets organization. Jiricek’s upside is immense, and the cost to acquire him may be lower than it otherwise would be with his current relationship with the Jackets, but there is still some risk in targeting him. Jiricek is far from a finished product and still has some defensive errors to work out of his game. With the Canucks looking to contend, they may not be the best team to develop a player like Jiricek and may struggle to offer him the minutes he needs to right the ship if his struggles continue.
However, the Canucks coaching staff have shown an ability to work with defencemen to clean up their game, so Jiricek may benefit massively from a move to BC. In addition to this, while his game may not be the finished product the Canucks are looking for right now, his age means that he would give Vancouver more long-term upside than just about any player the team could feasibly acquire via trade. We don’t know yet what Columbus will be asking for Jiricek should they decide the time is right to part ways, and this asking price would ultimately decide whether or not this is a deal worth pursuing, but if the price is right, a move for David Jiricek could set the Canucks up for years of success on the backend.
Marcus Pettersson
Heavily linked to both the Canucks and Oilers, Vancouver’s collection of Pettersson’s could soon be growing. The Penguins have already begun selling, and it seems as if Pettersson will be one of the next dominoes to fall in Pittsburgh. Could Rutherford and Allvin make another move to acquire a player who played for them during their time in Pennsylvania? Pettersson is a jack-of-all-trades type of defenceman, able to make an impact both offensively and defensively, although with slightly more of his value coming on offence. Finding a natural partner for Pettersson in the Canucks ranks could prove to be a challenge unless the coaching staff is prepared to move Erik Brännström above Carson Soucy and Tyler Myers into the top four, as Pettersson’s best work has been done with dynamic, puck-moving partners.
While finding a partner for Pettersson may not be an open and shut case, he would still provide a profile that the Canucks are deeply in need of. If Pettersson is available for a price the Canucks can justify paying, it would be hard to turn down the opportunity to bring him in. Accommodations could be made to give Pettersson a partner he needs to be successful, and if it means that Soucy and Myers are no longer being leant on for top four minutes, the chance has to be taken to add to the D core. And who knows, maybe Pettersson can find a way to bring the best out of one of these struggling players and could allow them to play up to their contracts.
Ivan Provorov
Even if a move for Jiricek can’t be worked out, don’t discount the possibility that the Canucks could look to the Blue Jackets for a defenceman. As a player with an expiring contract on a rebuilding team, it feels as if it’s only a matter of time before Ivan Provorov finds himself on the move. Could Vancouver be his destination? Provorov has been fairly successful in his time with the Jackets following a rocky end to his time with the Philadelphia Flyers, but may not be the best fit for a Vancouver team looking to stabilize a tumultuous second pair. While he has been a minute muncher for the Jackets, his fatal flaw often comes in the form of boneheaded defensive errors, much like the ones we see on a regular basis from Soucy and Myers. Adding Provorov to clean up the defence may turn out about as well as an attempt to put out a fire with gasoline.
Still though, perhaps a change of scenery and some work with the Canucks coaching staff could help Provorov clean up his game. We’ve seen it happen with other defencemen, so perhaps Ivan Provorov finally reaches his full potential in Vancouver and becomes the sturdy presence the Canucks so desperately need. However, with the Canucks clearly in dire need of stability, a gamble on Provorov may not be the wisest use of Vancouver’s resources. We can’t know for sure, but unless he becomes available for an unfathomably low price, it may be in the Canucks best interest to steer clear.
Rasmus Ristolainen
Seemingly always on the trade block, I’ll keep my thoughts on this brief. No. No. Absolutely not. No. We already have one Chaos Giraffe not getting us results, we don’t have room for another one.
Jake Walman
While some may be against bringing in Walman, a larger-than-life personality who Canucks fans remember for his over-the-top celebration following an overtime penalty shot game-winner last season, it’s hard to deny that bringing in a player like Walman would make the team better. Walman spent much of last season playing alongside Moritz Seider on the Red Wings top pair, putting up consistently solid performances against difficult matchups. Now a member of the rebuilding San Jose Sharks, Walman will almost certainly be on the move before the trade deadline. So should Vancouver look within the Pacific Division to solve their problems?
Some may disagree, but I am a fan of Walman’s and would love to see him make his way to Vancouver. Not only has he proven that he can take on heavy minutes while getting results at both ends of the ice, but I think his big personality would make him a fan favourite in Vancouver the way he was in Detroit, much like Nikita Zadorov proved to be last season. And who knows, maybe we can all enjoy a Jake Walman griddy come playoff time after he scores an OT winner against Edmonton (manifesting it).
Zach Whitecloud
“But Alex, Vegas are a contender, why would they be selling one of their defencemen?” Because, reader, the cap space for Vegas to inevitably add multiple big fish at the deadline has to come from somewhere, and putting Mark Stone on LTIR so he can go golfing can only take them so far. While we can’t know for sure who may be considered the odd man out if the Knights do have to part ways with a few players, someone like Whitecloud could be an interesting option for the Canucks. A hard-nosed, physical, defensive defenceman, Whitecloud may not be the puck mover the Canucks are looking for, but I think the idea of partnering Whitecloud with Erik Brännström on the Canucks second pair could be an intriguing option to allow Myers and Soucy to get softer matchups while creating a stronger second pair.
However, a few questions have to be asked here. Will Whitecloud even become available? Would Vegas be willing to send him to a division rival? Will the asking price be worth pulling the trigger? Vegas and Vancouver both have very unpredictable front offices capable of negotiating in the shadows and not giving any indication of what their next move may be, so we likely wouldn’t hear anything about this until a move is made official, but right now, we just can’t know for sure what the framework of a Whitecloid trade may look like. So, while it may be an interesting idea, don’t hold your breath on Zach Whitecloud making his way to the Pacific Northwest.
Nikita Zadorov
Now this would be interesting. After a rough start to his tenure in Boston, Elliotte Friedman is supporting that the Bruins may be experiencing some buyer's remorse on Big Z. Could a Canucks front office that didn’t want to lose him in the first place look to bring him home? It’s hard to imagine a world where this comes true, as Zadorov’s contract is a massively complicating factor in any potential trade, but if, somehow, that hurdle can be cleared, is the Nikita Zadorov we’re seeing right now a real solution? Or could the Canucks get his playoff form back out of him in a way the Bruins have not yet found?
As fun as Zadorov’s postseason was, it should be thought of alongside things like Jeremy Lin’s ‘Linsanity’ run in the NBA. Zadorov’s postseason was absolutely incredible, and will not soon be forgotten by Canucks fans, but that’s just not who he is as a player. Even in his time with Vancouver in the regular season, that wasn’t who Zadorov was. If we were adding Playoff Z again, I’d be all for bringing him home, but on the contract he’s signed to, with the player he is more often than not, it’s best to leave the memories of Zadorov’s postseason in the past and move on to a new blueliner.