Canucks linked to big swing on trade market, could move first-round pick

Are the Vancouver Canucks going all out this season? The team has posted a 29-11-4 record and sit atop the Pacific division, which means they are likely to be buyers at the upcoming trade deadline on March 8. General manager Patrik Allvin recently admitted he believes he “owns it to the players” to be aggressive at the deadline, meaning a blockbuster could take place shortly in Vancouver. Fans are getting excited and more rumours have emerged on what could happen.

Rory Boylen of Sportsnet has listed the Canucks as a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks ahead of the trade deadline and believes the Canadian team could “take a big swing on a top-six winger or an impact centre.” Vancouver has recently been linked to Vladimir Tarasenko of the Ottawa Senators and Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins as possible trade targets, and Boylen indicates that the Canucks would even consider moving their first-round pick as a possible bait.

Chatter points to some teams calling about Kuzmenko, who is making $5.5 million and has been healthy scratched several times this season, but GM Allvin has stated that no deal has been reached yet. After all, he cannot part with Kuzmenko for nothing…

The Canucks currently project to have $1.2 million in dead cap space to work and so pieces would need to be moved to make room for Guentzel’s expiring deal in Pittsburgh. He is slated to be an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Penguins might wait until the last minute to decide whether they move Guentzel as a rental to a contender like the Canucks or if they hold on to him to sign him long-term in Pittsburgh… This past weekend, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared the latest update on Guentzel’s situation that could affect the Canucks’ deadline plan:

“Jake Guentzel was another name in the news this week. From what I understand, no determinations made on his future in Pittsburgh. But what I do think is the biggest factor here, is where the Penguins think they’re going as a franchise over the next couple of years. I think that is going to be the true determination of Guentzel’s future in Pittsburgh or elsewhere.”

One thing is sure and that’s that Boylen is right in listing Vancouver as a team who could define the trade market this year. His colleague Friedman believes the Canucks will be the ones to watch.

“We’re going to hear a lot of crazy rumours with Vancouver. I think Vancouver’s going to be the rumour centre of the NHL over the next little while,” Friedman said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast. “You’re going to start hearing a lot of things about the Vancouver Canucks .”

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