Ever since they traded J.T. Miller midseason, the Canucks have been on the lookout for help down the middle. However, they haven’t had any success doing so just yet. Speaking with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, GM Patrik Allvin acknowledged that he hasn’t given up looking for center help just yet and continues to keep an eye on the market:
We continue to talk to teams but there hasn’t been a whole lot available here leading up to this point. Obviously, it comes down to the cost of acquisition and, you know, where the fit is for (coach) Adam Foote and his style of how we want to play. That’s definitely something we continue to look at.
You’re right, the more depth you can have at centre, probably the stronger you are as a team. It’s an area where we’ve identified that if we’re going to make a trade. . . our preference to strengthen our lineup is a centre iceman.
As Allvin noted, there hasn’t been much in the way of available impact centers this offseason. Several free agents ultimately re-signed with their teams while the trade market hasn’t materialized either, especially with so many teams joining the Canucks in their pursuit of a middleman. As things stand, Filip Chytil projects to be Vancouver’s second center heading into training camp, a spot on the depth chart he hasn’t held too often in his career.
More from out West:
- While Martin Necas is eligible to sign a contract extension now and getting one done would eliminate the possibility of the same concerns they had last season with Mikko Rantanen, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette argues that it wouldn’t be in his best interest to do so just yet. Rantanen and Mitch Marner didn’t take top dollar on their respective deals to truly reset the market but that’s not expected to be the case with Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov. If Necas (and others) wait until Kaprizov establishes the new benchmark, that might allow him to get a bit more compared to what the number might be now. Necas is coming off a career year that saw him record 27 goals and 56 assists in 79 games between Carolina and Colorado.
- Still with the Avalanche, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post suggests that prospect winger Zakhar Bardakov could be one of the biggest wild cards heading into training camp later this month. The 24-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing his entry-level deal back in April. Bardakov had 17 goals and 18 assists in 53 games with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL last season and GM Chris MacFarland has brought him up unprompted twice when discussing their roster. Colorado churned through many different bottom-six options last season and if Bardakov can come in and even hold down a regular spot on the fourth line right away, that would certainly help deepen their lineup.
Canucks can talk about the search for a true second-line centre, but not beating the Flyers offer for Zegras means they really weren’t trying. Despite the knocks against Zegras – of which some are off base & others due to immaturity – he was the best fit (other than Cozens at the trade deadline, but Buffalo needed a centre back). Philadelphia got him for a bargain.