With the Olympic break approaching, the trade deadline is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with teams that have clear plans at the extremes of the standings, starting with the Canucks.
The worst possible outcome for Vancouver this season was another finish in the mushy middle, like their 38-30-14 record that put them in no man’s land at 10th in the Western Conference. Being clearly the worst team in the league through the first two-thirds of the season may not be a step forward, but it’s at least a step in a direction. They already made the biggest move any team will make this season by shipping off franchise defender Quinn Hughes to the Wild, ushering in yet another formal retool/rebuild in British Columbia. How aggressively they’ll tear down the rest of their roster over the next few weeks remains to be seen.
Record
18-31-6, 8th in the Pacific (~0% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$3.78MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contract used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: VAN 1st, MIN 1st, VAN 2nd, SJS 2nd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th
2027: VAN 1st, SJS 2nd, VAN 3rd, VAN 4th, PIT 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th
Trade Chips
The Canucks’ braintrust of Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford has already thinned this list considerably by pulling the trigger on the aforementioned Hughes deal. They also shipped out pending UFA winger Kiefer Sherwood to the Sharks last month for a pair of second-round picks and a minor-league defender to make the contract math work for San Jose, so that’s another relatively high-value name gone.
That leaves Vancouver with four pending UFAs remaining on the NHL roster. While those names are the most traditional trade deadline fodder, none of them will net the Canucks a significant return. One of them – lefty defender Derek Forbort – has been on long-term injured reserve since October, so he’s likely not even an option to move.
They have a pair of centers available, Teddy Blueger and David Kämpf, who might serve as added depth for a contender’s fourth line. The 31-year-old Blueger only recently returned to the lineup after missing over half the year with a lower-body injury, although he’s been hot in limited action with four goals in eight games. He’s found himself in a similar situation before, when the Golden Knights picked him up from the Penguins as a rental at the 2023 deadline, and he served mostly as an extra forward in their run to the Stanley Cup. His historical strength on draws, track record of 20-plus point seasons, and penalty killing ability all give him legitimate resale value at an affordable $1.8MM price tag. He’s the higher-value piece of the two, although he has a 12-team no-trade list that could complicate a move.
Kämpf likely won’t land more than a mid-to-late-round pick at best. Since having his contract with the Maple Leafs terminated after clearing waivers at the beginning of the season, he’s averaged over 15 minutes per night for Vancouver, but only out of necessity. The 31-year-old’s offense was already limited, but despite seeing increased deployment, he’s clicking at a career-worst 0.19 points per game rate with only six in 32 contests. His defensive game has been a legitimate benefit, though – his 50.5% shot attempt share at 5-on-5 is among the best on the team, and he’s done so in difficult matchups.
The name that’s been thrown around the most, though, is that of Evander Kane. At $5.125MM against the cap, his nine goals and 25 points in 54 games since being acquired from the Oilers last summer are certainly underwhelming. His track record of strong playoff performances when healthy, though, has seen him draw interest from contenders like the Avalanche and Stars. His high cap hit and the Canucks’ limited cap flexibility mean they’re unlikely to recoup more than the fourth-round pick they gave up for him, though.
Of course, there are the big names. Elias Pettersson‘s still available for the right price, although his $11.6MM cap hit has always meant an offseason move is likelier. He and Jake DeBrusk, signed through 2031 at $5.5MM per season, both control their own destiny with no-movement clauses. Vancouver signed Conor Garland to a six-year, $36MM extension that doesn’t kick in until next season, leaving him with no trade protection until July 1. But with him only churning out seven goals in 44 games this season, there’s likely not widespread interest in picking him up with such a commitment.
Team Needs
Cap Space: Normally, rebuilders can add assets by leveraging their cap space to take on bad deals from money-needy teams in exchange for futures. Vancouver is in no such position to do that, as they’ve been tight to the limit all year and have only accumulated a few million dollars in space as a result. Kane, Blueger, Kämpf, and Forbort coming off the books will give the Canucks about $10MM of reprieve in addition to the projected $8.5MM cap jump. They also don’t have any RFAs in need of big pay bumps. It’s still relatively uncommon for a team in Vancouver’s position to have as many anchor deals as they do (Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek, Thatcher Demko) above a $7MM price point. No one is expecting one of those names to get moved in the next four weeks, but if they decide to take on a more aggressive teardown, opening more infinite flexibility will be the way to go.
More Center Help: Save for Pettersson enjoying a rebound, Vancouver doesn’t have a true first-line center, nor do they have one on the way. Marco Rossi is a nice piece, but he has only two points in eight games since being acquired from Minnesota. Braeden Cootes looks like a nice value for the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, early on, but projects as more of a second-line, two-way piece. They won’t get a bona fide No. 1 middleman with a top pick in the 2026 draft class, either, with both top forwards being wingers.
Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.