Canucks 2024 trade tiers, part 2: Who could move at the NHL trade deadline?

The Vancouver Canucks are expected to buy aggressively at the NHL trade deadline, and for good reason.

This team has enjoyed a remarkable amount of success in a dream first half. This is a winning roster at the moment featuring a multitude of players having career years simultaneously. Given the chemistry and consistent effort level of Vancouver’s current players, any subtractions will have to be carefully weighed by Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford.

Accordingly, there are a lot of Canucks players who are untouchables ahead of the March 8 deadline.

In the NHL’s unrelenting hard cap system, however, if you’re a team like the Canucks that has spent to the cap (or is exceeding it, with additional salary in long-term injured reserve), it’s difficult to add pieces — especially big-name pieces — into your lineup without simultaneously subtracting from it. Money in, money out is the name of the game in the contemporary NHL.

As Canucks management prepares to go big-game hunting ahead of the deadline, we figured we’d best conduct an inventory of Canucks players and trade assets based on a mix of analysis, reporting and informed speculation — which we drop every year just as the NHL’s annual rumour season kicks into high gear.

Note that all salary, term and bonus information and any notes on trade or movement protection are sourced from CapFriendly.com.

Not moving … unless there’s a blockbuster

Tyler Myers (m-NTC — UFA this summer, $6 million cap hit)

Myers has put together a neat bounce-back season.

The loud mistakes have been far fewer, and his overall play has been much more polished, consistent and physical. Myers is making smarter decisions on the breakout, he’s making better positional reads defensively and it shows in his five-on-five underlying profile, which is vastly improved compared to 2022-23.

Most importantly, over the past few weeks, Myers has re-established himself as the Canucks’ third most frequently used defender at five-on-five. He’s a critical part of this team and Vancouver will look to keep him for the playoffs, which is the overwhelmingly likely scenario.

The point of this tier, however, is to reflect that the Canucks are pressed against the salary cap. So if they decide to upgrade their blue line with a player like Chris Tanev and make a separate top-six forward acquisition, they’ll likely need to carve out cap room with multiple big-money subtractions from the roster. It’s exceedingly unlikely, but Myers, with an expiring $6 million cap hit and real cachet around the league as an experienced, veteran defender with size, could be an option to deal to make that type of scenario work.

Conor Garland (three years remaining, $4.95 million cap hit)

Garland has been the primary engine of a third line that has been Vancouver’s best and most consistent forward trio this season.

Although Garland has occasionally gone through some brutal finishing luck over the year, his playmaking and play-driving ability has been standout. He’s poised to be a real X-factor heading into the postseason.

While the Canucks would surely be reluctant to mess with such an essential depth forward, it’s worth remembering that Garland had been on the trade block going into this season for years since new management took over. Though the reporting around his “preseason trade request” was overblown, both the team and player went into the season with an understanding they might work together to facilitate a move at some point.

Now, given the team’s success and Garland’s outsized contributions to it, the arithmetic has changed significantly. Garland wants to stay, his contributions are essential, the Canucks would be worse off without him and we don’t expect him to move.

That said, we can’t ignore the relatively recent history here in looking over Vancouver’s options to clear cap space at the deadline, particularly if it decides to chase multiple big salaried upgrades up front and on the back end.

Nikita Zadorov (UFA this summer, $3.75 million cap hit)

Although his role in the lineup was cut into a bit the week before the All-Star break following a blown assignment on a 3-1 goal in Vancouver’s overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues, on balance, Zadorov has been excellent for the Canucks since he was acquired from the Calgary Flames in early December.

The hulking, left-handed blueliner has brought a needed physical edge to the Vancouver lineup, performed solidly as a defensive piece and added a sneaky puck-moving element from the back end that has given Vancouver’s breakout some additional push. He’s a really good player and will give the team a size advantage in just about every presumptive playoff matchup they could encounter. You’d expect the Canucks to be very reluctant to mess with that.

But this section is all about options they could consider if they were required to push a massive blockbuster over the line. In considering Zadorov, then, it’s worth noting that when all of Quinn Hughes, Carson Soucy and Ian Cole are healthy, the Canucks have something of a surplus of left-handed defenders — and head coach Rick Tocchet has strongly indicated his preference for playing defensemen on their strong side.

Additionally, Zadorov is a pending unrestricted free agent, and given their myriad of offseason priorities — beginning with Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek — they may not be able to afford to retain Zadorov beyond this upcoming playoff run. Could that be a consideration for Canucks management if the option to add a right-handed blue-line upgrade presents itself before March 8?

It’s worth noting that it wouldn’t be entirely unheard of for a Rutherford-led team to acquire and also trade the same player in the same season. In the fall of 2018, Rutherford’s Pittsburgh Penguins acquired former Canucks forward Tanner Pearson before sending him to Vancouver just a few months later for Erik Gudbranson. It’s perhaps instructive to note as well that Gudbranson was then dealt again by the Penguins just eight months later.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki (ELC $950k cap hit with $475k in potential bonuses) and Tom Willander (unsigned)

The Canucks look poised for an aggressive deadline, but they won’t be desperate or reckless, especially with Rutherford recently signing a new extension.

The club won’t consider moving Lekkerimäki or Willander for a pure rental. Vancouver is pleased with both players’ development and sees them as a big part of its future.

The only scenario in which this would potentially change is if the Canucks end up making a blockbuster trade for a star player with term left on a team-friendly contract, like, for example, Philadelphia Flyers star Travis Konecny (who by all indications isn’t available).

Even if the Canucks are exceedingly aggressive, it would take an absolute whopper deal to be worth parting with either prospect. Lekkerimäki and Willander will very likely be Canucks prospects on the other side of this trade deadline.

Could move if the Canucks go all in

Nils Höglander (two years remaining, $1.1 million cap hit)

After struggling to win Bruce Boudreau’s trust, Höglander has bounced back and put together something of a breakout offensive campaign.

Höglander’s forechecking work is dynamic, his finishing efficiency has broken games in Vancouver’s favour and his all-around bull-in-a-china-shop routine has endeared him to Tocchet and Canucks coaches. Critically, Höglander’s team-friendly contract — which lasts through next season, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent — makes him an attractive player to keep for a team that will need cost-effective depth beyond this season.

Of course, those are also attributes that would make Höglander one of Vancouver’s most appealing assets from the perspective of potential sellers as they consider consummating a deal with the Canucks at the deadline.

Although we expect the Canucks to be reluctant to part with Höglander, he’ll be one of Vancouver’s most asked-about pieces. And if the bidding gets silly on one of Vancouver’s preferred targets, we know Rutherford and Allvin aren’t afraid to pay the price required to land the right fit that improves their club.

Aatu Räty (two-years remaining, ELC $836k cap hit with $92.5k in potential bonuses)(TD)

Räty has been solid in his age-21 season for the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. He hasn’t popped or been a star-level performer, but he’s been a regular in the lineup, has stuck at centre credibly and has produced at a decent rate in a high-level professional league given his age.

Young centremen with NHL size are always highly coveted, and Räty would likely be the next most valuable prospect outside of Willander, Lekkerimäki and …

Vasily Podkolzin (RFA this summer, ELC $925k cap hit with $850k in potential bonuses)

The Canucks have key depth forwards (Teddy Blueger, Dakota Joshua, Sam Lafferty) who will expire as free agents this summer. They probably won’t be able to keep all of them, which means they’d benefit from Podkolzin breaking out as a bottom-six contributor for a cheap price next season.

With that said, you need to give to get when trading for good players, and Podkolzin could be an attractive reclamation project for a selling team.

Podkolzin has the pedigree of being a top-10 pick, scored 14 goals in the NHL as a rookie in 2021-22 and has a unique profile with his size and work rate. From the Canucks’ perspective, he’d be a nice internal gamble to hold onto for next season, but is he a player they need to keep at all costs?

Podkolzin turns 23 in June and while he’s playing well in Abbotsford with 25 points in 33 games, he’s not lighting the AHL on fire. History tells us that, at this point, if he’s not dominating at the AHL level, he’s not tracking to develop into a top-six NHL forward.

2024 first-round draft pick

Out of the Canucks’ most valuable future assets, their 2024 first-round pick, seems like the biggest, most logical trade chip to dangle. This isn’t an extraordinary draft class like 2023 was and the pick has a good chance of slotting in the 20s, but a first-round pick always has universal trade value as a top asset. It can even be a centrepiece in a trade package, provided that the bidding doesn’t get out of hand.

Thatcher Demko’s and Hughes’ stellar contracts are an important contention window for the Canucks to consider here. Demko’s deal expires at the end of 2025-26 and Hughes in 2026-27. The odds that a player drafted in the back half of the 2024 first-round will become an impact player before those important contracts expire is quite low.

That should make the Canucks feel comfortable cashing in on this year’s first-round pick if the right opportunity presents itself, although it’s worth noting the general sentiment around the industry is that late first-round picks might not have as much value as currency this season as they did last year (or in years prior).

Depth pieces who will likely stay

Mark Friedman (UFA this summer, $775k cap hit)

The depth pieces tier is an interesting one. For the most part, this next tier of players consists of useful pieces the Canucks should keep for a playoff run. To a man, they would have marginal trade value, but they’re obviously not irreplaceable for a team that’s going for it, so you can’t call them “untouchable” or say with 100 percent certainty they’re sticking around.

Friedman, for example, is currently the Canucks’ No. 8 defenceman, meaning he’d draw into the lineup if the Canucks ever had two back-end injuries. Based on his play earlier this season, that seems like a suitable role.

Friedman was competent on the third pair with Cole early in the season, offering steady minutes and a physical edge through 18 games this season. His play did slip toward the end of that run, but that’s usually the case with most depth No. 7/8/9 defencemen.

Phil Di Giuseppe (two years remaining on a two-way contract, $775k cap hit)

Di Giuseppe became an early favourite under Tocchet. He spent considerable time in the top six alongside Miller and Boeser down the stretch last season and spent a decent chunk of this year in that role, too. Di Giuseppe’s play and usage were slowing down, however, as he didn’t record a point and averaged just 11:22 in his last 13 games before getting injured. The buzz and disruptiveness he brought on the forecheck just wasn’t the same as it seemed earlier in the season.

Still, there’s always a need for extra NHL-calibre depth forwards, and Di Giuseppe at least has the defensive trust of the coaching staff to hold down a fourth-line role if they ever need to use him upon his return from injury.

Nils Åman (three years remaining, ELC $883,750 cap hit this season with an $825k cap hit thereafter)

Åman has carved out a useful niche on Vancouver’s fourth line as a penalty-killing expert with the pace to keep up with the likes of Lafferty and Höglander. He’s improved somewhat in the circle, although he hasn’t taken a ton of draws, but still doesn’t offer much offence.

Åman signed a two-year extension immediately before losing his waiver-exempt status (making him a prohibitively expensive waiver claim for some teams to consider) and given the plethora of expiring depth forwards on this roster, his utility extends beyond this season.

Noah Juulsen (two years remaining on a two-way contract, $775k cap hit)

Juulsen deserves a ton of credit for stabilizing his play after a rocky start to the season. He’s making simple, efficient plays on zone exits instead of turning pucks over, is a legitimate asset on the penalty kill, has improved his defensive positioning and adds the type of size and physicality that this coaching staff covets on the blue line.

Juulsen is legitimately trustworthy. In fact, he’s performed for most of this season at the level of a regular.

Cap flexibility trade candidates

Andrei Kuzmenko (m-NTC — two years remaining, $5.5 million cap hit)

Sometimes it’s simple.

Kuzmenko is a better player than he’s shown this season, but if the Canucks are going to carve out the requisite cap space to add a big-name player in the Jake Guentzel/Adam Henrique/Elias Lindholm mould, they’re going to need to clear cap space.

Kuzmenko is playing fourth-line minutes at five-on-five, with his usage ticking down even further when the club is holding a lead. He’s no longer a fixture on Vancouver’s top power-play unit. It’s hard to imagine, at this point, that Kuzmenko would feature significantly in a big playoff game this spring, given the touch-and-go trust level he appears to have earned from Canucks coaches.

Most importantly, Kuzmenko carries a $5.5 million cap hit, which would lend Canucks management the flexibility required to add just about anybody likely to shake loose (particularly with some retention) at the trade deadline.

Because of Kuzmenko’s contract, and the term remaining on it beyond this year, he may not necessarily be value added in a larger trade to bring in a big piece. Rival teams’ mileage varies significantly in rating this player.

So the Canucks may have to find an Anthony Beauvillier-style solution to send Kuzmenko’s cap hit along in a deal that clears cap space and hopefully provides some additional asset artillery for them to use to land the deadline upgrade (or two) they’re seeking.

(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)