The Vancouver Canucks need right-handed defencemen, both at the NHL level and in their prospect pool. While Filip Hronek was added from the Detroit Red Wings at the 2023 Trade Deadline and Cole McWard was signed out of the NCAA and looked good in his small sample size at the end of the season, they still need help down the road.
One team that has an enviable log jam of those types of defencemen is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who just added a rumored Canucks trade target in Damon Severson. Along with him, they have a plethora of options which include Erik Gudbranson, Nick Blankenburg, Adam Boqvist, and Andrew Peeke, and prospects David Jiricek and Corson Ceulemans.
So with all that said, here’s another installment of the Canucks’ offseason trade targets series, this time focusing on the Blue Jackets and their defence.
Adam Boqvist
Boqvist was acquired in the massive Seth Jones trade with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2021 that sent two first-round picks (Cole Sillinger – 2021 and Jiricek – 2022) and a second-round pick (Aleksi Heimosalmi – 2021) to Columbus. He was selected eighth overall by the Blackhawks in 2018 and scored five goals and 29 points in 76 games before being traded. In two seasons with the Blue Jackets, he has 16 goals and 46 points in 98 games, including a career-high 11 goals in 2021-22.
With the acquisitions of Severson and Provorov, Boqvist will likely have to take on a lesser role than last season where he averaged 18:38 of ice time. Only 22 years old and holding a contract worth $2.6 million average annual value (AAV) for the next two years, he’s a cost-controlled asset that is also a restricted free agent after the 2024-25 season. The Canucks want to transition into a team that is fast and hard to play against, and while Boqvist doesn’t provide a lot of physicality (only 111 hits so far in his four-season career), he would bring more speed to the backend – especially on the right side.
If the Canucks can get more defencemen that can move the puck out of their own zone like Quinn Hughes does, they will spend less time defending and more time in the offensive zone. No, Boqvist won’t be as proficient as Hughes, but he will help make the unit way more dangerous offensively. When the Canucks were at their height in the 2010s, their defence generated a lot of points from the blue line. That’s what they need more of right now, and Boqvist already has shown that he can score in the NHL as evidenced by his 22 goals in 174 games so far.
As for what it will cost the Canucks to get him from the Blue Jackets, I would expect at least a forward like Conor Garland or a young player like Nils Hoglander or Vasily Podkolzin. Unfortunately, if they want draft picks, they can only offer a second-rounder in 2025 since they have traded away both their 2023 and 2024 picks in recent years.
Andrew Peeke
Next up is Peeke, who is a lot less offensively inclined but might be more what the Canucks want in their top four. The biggest draw about him is that he’s signed for the next three seasons at a very budget-friendly $2.75 million AAV cap hit. He was one of the only defencemen that managed to avoid the injury bug this season playing 80 games and averaging 21:15 of ice time. His minus-41 plus/minus rating is rather ugly to look at, but considering the Blue Jackets gave up the second-most goals in the NHL, it’s somewhat understandable.
Unlike Boqvist, Peeke would make the Canucks harder to play against from a physical standpoint. Since he became a full-time NHLer in 2021-22, he has totaled 371 hits and 366 blocked shots. He also led the Blue Jackets in the hit department (amongst defencemen) in 2022-23 with 180 and blocked shots with 197. The hits would have ranked him second to Luke Schenn’s 258 and the blocked shots would have led the entire team as Tyler Myers paced everyone with 144 and was the only one to eclipse the 100-mark.
Related: Canucks 2023 Mock Draft 1.0: Filling Needs & Taking Swings
Peeke feels like a defenceman that would get into Rick Tocchet’s good books almost immediately. He’s physical, hard to play against, and isn’t afraid to throw his body in front of a puck. That sounds like Tocchet to a tee when he played in the NHL. He wasn’t a defenceman, but that’s exactly the style of player he was.
Unfortunately, because of Peeke’s contract, ability to consistently play 20 minutes a night, and the fact that he’s right-handed, he won’t be cheap to acquire. Discussing this with Blue Jackets writer Mark Scheig, he believes general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen can legitimately ask for a first-round pick in return. That’s a high price to pay, but one that might be worth it in the long run to upgrade the right side.
Corson Ceulemans
Finally, there’s Corson Ceulemans. Selected 25th overall by the Blue Jackets in 2021, he used to be the organization’s top defensive prospect. But since Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk were drafted in 2022, he has dropped to at least third, maybe even fourth considering the progression of Stanislav Svozil in recent seasons. That means he could be available for the right price. In his draft year, he was touted as “a powerful skater with good size and an aggressive offensive game, constantly pushing the pace for his team.” His biggest weakness was his defensive game and the fact that he turned the puck over too often.
Fast forward to now, and Ceulemans has transitioned from the NCAA with the Wisconsin Badgers to the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Cleveland Monsters. He finished his college career with 15 goals and 45 points in 67 games and his brief 13-game stint in the AHL at the end of this season with one goal and two points. He still has the potential to become a force in the NHL with his size, shot, and ability to move the puck with speed and pace. He obviously still needs to work on his defensive game, but he has all the tools to become a top-four defenceman and regular power play contributor in the NHL.
However, despite the big names ahead of him in Jiricek and Mateychuk, the Blue Jackets still have high hopes for his future with the franchise. In fact, they believe he can be ‘the complete package’ in the NHL one day.
He can carry the puck, really weave in and out of guys…But at the same time, when he commits to the D zone and plays hard, he’s an all-around defenseman. It’s not like he fits into one box. He can definitely be the complete package. It’s up to him now to take that next step and get faster and stronger.
Blue Jackets development coach Rick Nash (from “The Blue Jackets feel Corson Ceulemans can be ‘the complete package'”, The Athletic, 3/10/23)
Since they still think highly of him, it might be difficult to pry him away from Columbus. A second-round pick or players like Garland, Brock Boeser, Hoglander, or Podkolzin would likely have to be involved. I wouldn’t be surprised if a first-round pick came up in the conversation as well.
Canucks Could Get What They Need From the Blue Jackets
Of the three defencemen mentioned, Boqvist would likely cost the least to acquire. Peeke would be the ideal target, but the cost of a first-round pick might scare the Canucks away. Ceulemans is a long-term solution, but one that may pay off more handsomely in the end. If I was GM Patrik Allvin, I would at least call the Blue Jackets and see what it would cost to acquire one of these right-handed defenders.
