Rumblings of a Horvat trade with Canucks' divisional rival

With the NHL set to return to action this evening after a three day holiday break, the league's "roster freeze" has thawed, enabling GMs to once again make transactions.

The biggest transaction around the league that seemingly everyone is waiting for of course is a trade concerning Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat. He has been rumored to have received interest from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and others, but yesterday's report from Vegas Hockey Now reporter Owen Krepps seems to indicate that the Vegas Golden Knights could put together a trade offer for the Canucks' captain.

In his column, Krepps identifies goaltender(s) Laurent Brossoit or Adin Hill, forward Brett Howden, defenseman Kaeden Korczak, a 2023 1st round pick and a 2023 2nd round pick as a potential package in exchange for Horvat.

From Krepps:

To balance out the deal in terms of the cap, either Laurent Brossoit or Adin Hill could be moved, considering the Golden Knight's goaltending situation and that Thatcher Demko is hurt for the Canucks.

The Golden Knights have a lot of young NHL centers in their lineup, but Jack Eichel and Nicolas Roy aren't going anywhere. Given that the prefix on the center is that they need to be a current NHLer, prospects Ivan Morozov and Brendan Brisson don't fit either.

This leaves us with Jake Leschyshyn, who is 23, and Brett Howden, who is 24. I could see both of these players being added to the deal but not as the main sweeteners for Horvat. Both are still fighting to find consistency in the NHL with their play.

Leschyshyn still doesn't have a point in 16 games this season and would hardly interest Canucks GM Patrick Allvin. The Canucks, or any other team, could likely claim Leschyshyn off waivers in the future if they really wanted to.

Brett Howden is a little different, given his nearly 250 games of NHL experience. Injuries have halted the progression of Howden's career, but there is potential for him to become a reliable bottom-six scorer, given his skill set.

The Golden Knights have a couple of options here, but none of them have truly broken free in the NHL. They are Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal, and Kaedan Korczak who have all spent time in the Golden Knights organization amdist injuries.

Given his recent play, and the injury to Zach Whitecloud, it is unlikely that the VGK will want to trade Miromanov.

Korczak has potential, but was passed by Pachal when it came to who Bruce Cassidy put in the lineup when the VGK were down three defensemen. Pachal is more of a shutdown defensemen which perhaps makes him less appealing to the Canucks, but he played two games for the VGK this season and has four under his belt in his career.

- Owen Krepps

I've got to say... bigger isn't always better. 

Sure, this might be a lot of parts for the Canucks to take in a potential Horvat deal... but are they good parts? Howden and Brossoit are what they are at this point of their development... they're fringe NHLers or depth guys at best. Korczak could end up being absolutely nothing at the NHL level and doesn't have the pedigree to be a skilled player. Picks are great, but I'm guessing that the Canucks will be seeking better players in a potential deal involving Horvat.

Nice try Vegas, but you gotta give to get... if there's one team's fanbase out there that should know this it's Vegas'.