Trade Deadline Preview

February 21st, 2023

Alex Rickman

With Andrei Kuzmenko extended and Bo Horvat a New York Islander, the Canucks most enticing trade pieces appear to be off the market. However, even with Kuzy and Bo no longer available, there should be no shortage of movement over the next few weeks in Vancouver. With players like Luke Schenn and Brock Boeser seeming more and more likely to be on the move, and with rumours heating up around some other pieces the Canucks may want to move on from, now is a good time to go over who we may seem moved out of Vancouver by the end of this season. Let’s go over who these players who may be on the move are, and what the Canucks could expect to have come back their way should they pull the trigger on any of these deals. 

Brock Boeser

Once a strong candidate for rookie of the year, the last few years just haven’t gone Boeser’s way in Vancouver, and it seems like a much-needed change of scenery is fast approaching. Although Boeser’s play has improved under Rick Tocchet to something that better resembles what the Canucks need from him, it remains to be shown that he can provide consistent good performances. With the Canucks surplus of wingers and desperate need for cap space, a Boeser trade seems like a necessary move for both parties, but the return on this trade will be interesting. With so many teams around the league strapped for cash, Boeser’s $6.5 million cap hit may be too much to take on without salary retention or a bad contract going back to Vancouver. If the Canucks are willing to take some money back or retain salary, the return for Boeser could be quite enticing and may include high draft picks or intriguing prospects. However, if they are unwilling to do this, don’t expect too much of a return for the struggling winger, as teams will likely be unwilling and unable to pay a premium for an underperforming winger with a high cap hit.

Conor Garland

Garland’s talent can’t be denied, but he’s never quite been the right fit in Vancouver, and he will likely be on his way out sooner or later. However, I personally don’t expect him to be moved at the trade deadline, as I believe the team will give him the rest of the season to try and increase his value before deciding between a trade and a buyout this summer. Garland’s first-half performance wouldn’t likely net a high return for the Canucks, but his play has improved as of late, so the return in a potential Garland trade may improve if he can keep this up to the end of the season. It will be sad to see Garland go, but in order to improve the state of the team we need to clear cap space and not grow overly attached to players, so unfortunately moving Garland seems like it will be a necessary evil. 

JT Miller

A Miller trade is extremely unlikely to occur due to his contract extension kicking in next year, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Carolina Hurricanes may have some interest in Miller, so a move to get out of that extension is not entirely off the cards. After choosing to extend Miller rather than sell high last season, the 29-year-old forward was signed to a 7 year, $56 million extension with a no-movement clause, a contract that could easily become a disaster if Miller keeps up his current form. If Patrik Allvin can find a way to move Miller before his no-move kicks in, that will be an excellent move for the future of this team, even if the return doesn’t compare to what the Canucks would’ve received for Miller last season.

Ethan Bear

The Canucks, for a good reason, want to extend Ethan Bear, but if an agreement can’t be reached you could see him moved at the deadline for a team looking for help on the backend. After being acquired for a 5th-round pick earlier this season, Bear has found his game in Vancouver and has been one of few positives on the Canucks blue line. Seeing Bear unable to be extended would be a shame, as he has looked comfortable in Vancouver and looks like he has his career back on track, but we can be confident that if Bear were to be moved the return would be much better than the 5th-rounder the Canucks sent to Carolina to acquire him.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Let me preface this by saying one thing: Oliver Ekman-Larsson is not being traded at the deadline or any time soon. Ekman-Larsson is on one of, if not the absolute worst contracts in the NHL, which in itself makes trading him nearly impossible. Add to that the fact that OEL has a full no-movement clause he’s shown no intention of waiving granting him veto power over any trade and we can be certain that OEL won’t be finding himself in another team's jersey due to a trade any time soon. That being said, the Canucks front office simply wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t test the waters to see if there is a chance of shipping OEL out to open up the cap space and roster spot on defence. A buyout at some point over the next couple of years is certainly possible, but don’t expect to see Ekman-Larsson on the move this deadline day.

Tyler Myers

While moving the Chaos Giraffe may seem like a tall order with the contract he’s on, it appears that there may be some interest in him. With many teams around the league in need of right-shot defenders, teams may turn to a veteran blue liner like Myers despite his hefty cap hit and error-prone play. It’s hard to imagine much of a return coming Vancouver’s way with Myers’ cap hit coming in at $6 million per year, but with some salary retention or an expiring contract coming back and a tendency among some GMs to overvalue big defencemen, a world where the Canucks can land a decently high pick or mid-level prospect isn’t completely unimaginable.

Luke Schenn

Schenn will almost certainly be moved by the deadline, but if he does move it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve seen the last of him as a Canuck. Schenn is set to hit free agency this summer, and the fact that he chose to return here when he hit free agency 2 summers ago shows he loves Vancouver. If Schenn’s new team cannot get a contract done with the veteran defenceman, expect the Canucks to be in on Schenn in free agency. What exactly the return for Schenn will look like is unclear, with some expecting something similar to what Tyler Motte fetched. On the other hand, some suggest a late 1st could be in order, but whatever the return may be will be a valuable addition to a team as strapped for prospects as the Canucks are. 

Thatcher Demko

When the Canucks current management group took over, it was reported that only Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko would be considered untouchable. Just over a year into the new managements regime, however, some doubt has been cast upon that untouchable status. While Demko has publicly denied rumours that he wants out of Vancouver, speculation over a potential trade is yet to die out, and with his recent injury woes there may be some concern within the Canucks organization over what the future holds for the Californian goaltender. With Demko having suffered another setback in his recovery from his lower-body injury, it’s possible that he won’t play again this season, so any potential Demko deal would likely have to wait until the offseason. It seems like a very illogical move to deal Demko away if he can return to full health, but we’ll just have to wait and see what Canucks management does with their star goalie.

This trade deadline will no doubt be crucial for the future of this organization. With the team appearing to have finally accepted that this roster can’t win and that change is needed, this deadline will be telling in how the front office plans to create a better future in Vancouver. What exactly the front office plans to do is a mystery at the moment, but in the coming weeks we should end up with a much clearer picture of what lies ahead for the Vancouver Canucks.