Headlines

  • Kings’ Anže Kopitar Wins 2024-25 Lady Byng Trophy
  • Ducks Acquire Chris Kreider From Rangers
  • Multiple Teams Interested In Sabres’ Bowen Byram
  • Mario Lemieux-Led Group Interested In Stake In Penguins
  • Cale Makar Wins 2025 Norris Trophy
  • Blue Jackets Expected To Pursue Mitch Marner
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Vancouver Canucks

January 10, 2020 at 8:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

We’re in the home stretch in our thankful series where PHR will continue its look at what teams are thankful for as the second half of the season gets underway.  We’ll examine what has gone well in the first half and what each team may be looking for at the trade deadline.  Next up is the Vancouver Canucks.

What are the Canucks most thankful for?

The light at the end of the tunnel.  For years, they were a team that seemed to be perpetually spinning their wheels without really falling down far enough in the standings to land that franchise-changing prospect.  No one’s saying that now.  Their new young core has rapidly emerged and all of a sudden, the light isn’t so far away; they have their franchise pieces in place as two of their recent top picks in Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes have panned out quite nicely. They’re right in the mix for a playoff spot and even if they do come up short, it appears that the darker days are behind them.

Who are the Canucks most thankful for?

Franchise centers are really hard to find.  Teams can go decades between having them and they’re extremely difficult (and expensive) to acquire.  Thanks to Pettersson, Vancouver doesn’t have that problem.  The 21-year-old burst onto the scene last year and while he was initially expected to develop on the wing to ease him in, he was used down the middle right away and made an immediate impact in a top-six role while taking home the Calder Trophy.  This season, he has been even better.  He’s under team control for five years after this one so even though he’ll become a whole lot more expensive heading into 2021-22 when his entry-level deal is up, Pettersson gives them a legitimate franchise pivot to build around for the long haul.

What would the Canucks be even more thankful for?

More bang for their buck from their veterans.  Loui Eriksson is having a season to forget and has all of five points on the season with a $6MM AAV.  Jay Beagle has one goal for his $3MM price tag.  Micheal Ferland ($3.5MM) is currently injured but struggled when he was in the lineup.  Same goes for Brandon Sutter ($4.375MM).  They combine for nearly $17MM in spending and have ten goals between them on the year with Sutter having half of that total.  The lack of secondary scoring from their veterans could ultimately be the difference between them making or missing the playoffs and even one of them turning things around would give them a big boost, especially with their cap situation.  Speaking of which…

What should be on the Canucks’ Wish List?

GM Jim Benning’s top priority on the trade front at this point is simply trying to make a move that will allow him to actually trade for someone that can bolster their roster.  Vancouver has been using LTIR basically all season long and as a result, they’re basically capped out of trading for anyone unless some of their injured players are ruled out for the season.  Finding a way to ship out an overpaid veteran without taking much money back would be a huge help for them.  Sven Baertschi could be a small trade chip but it all depends on how much they have to retain for it to make sense; if it’s 50% or close to it, they may just be better off holding on.

Beyond that, Benning hasn’t hidden his interest in getting an extension done with Jacob Markstrom.  He may come up a bit short of 60 appearances this season but he has established himself as a capable starter and as a result, he’ll be in line for a sizable raise on his current $3.67MM price tag which is all the more reason to try to free up some extra cap space for next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Thankful Series 2019-20| Vancouver Canucks

Injury Updates: Crosby, Canadiens, Paul, Ryan
Main
Minor Transactions: 01/11/20
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Kings’ Anže Kopitar Wins 2024-25 Lady Byng Trophy

    Ducks Acquire Chris Kreider From Rangers

    Multiple Teams Interested In Sabres’ Bowen Byram

    Mario Lemieux-Led Group Interested In Stake In Penguins

    Cale Makar Wins 2025 Norris Trophy

    Blue Jackets Expected To Pursue Mitch Marner

    Stars Reportedly Open To Trading Jason Robertson

    Canadiens’ Lane Hutson Wins 2025 Calder Trophy

    Capitals’ T.J. Oshie Announces Retirement From NHL

    Full 2025 NHL Draft Order

    Recent

    Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

    Predators’ Jonathan Marchessault Generating Trade Interest

    2025 NHL Offseason Trades

    Michael DiPietro Generating Interest

    These Players Are The Best Value In The NHL

    Magnus Hellberg Signs With SHL’s Djurgårdens IF

    Kings’ Anže Kopitar Wins 2024-25 Lady Byng Trophy

    Ducks Acquire Chris Kreider From Rangers

    Islanders Won’t Consider Trading Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat

    Canucks Have Shown Interest In Marco Rossi

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Order 2025
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version