Even after acquiring Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames, the Vancouver Canucks are still in the market for another defenceman to shore up their blue line. Ethan Bear was the leading candidate to fill that role, but a recent bidding war between the Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New Jersey Devils has the Canucks reportedly out of the running for his services. So, where do they go from here? While I don’t necessarily think they need to add anyone to the defence corps right now (especially with Carson Soucy returning in the next month or so), here are a few players they could target.
Ilya Lyubushkin, Anaheim Ducks
General manager Patrik Allvin and company love their big defencemen. Since taking over the team, they have added the likes of Ian Cole (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), Carson Soucy (6-foot-5, 208 pounds), and Nikita Zadorov (6-foot-6, 248 pounds), and now have a blue line that only has Quinn Hughes and Mark Friedman as defenders under six feet. All three defenders also love to throw the body, block shots and make life miserable for the opposition.
Ilya Lyubushkin (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) checks those boxes and he is also a right-hand shot to help balance out the pairings. He has hit the century mark in hits in four of his five seasons in the NHL and isn’t afraid to put his body in harm’s way as evidenced by his 104 shot blocks last season with the Buffalo Sabres. In the offseason, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round pick in 2024, so he shouldn’t cost too much to acquire. The only snag will be fitting his $2.75 million average annual value (AAV) under the salary cap. They used all their available space on Zadorov ($3.75 million AAV) and would need to do more cap gymnastics like they did when they traded Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks for basically nothing.
The Canucks love their Russians, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they went after Lyubushkin. His style would fit perfectly into Tocchet and Adam Foote’s defence corps and provide more physicality and nastiness to the blue line. His stats with the Ducks aren’t particularly flattering (minus-9, 44.2 Corsi for percentage – CF%), but he was good with the Maple Leafs in his brief stint there (plus-2, 50.1 CF%) and his hitting/shot blocking has been consistent throughout his career. He’s already up to 69 shot blocks and 51 hits on the season and would bring a much-needed presence to the penalty kill as well.
Andrew Peeke, Columbus Blue Jackets
Andrew Peeke has been in the trade rumours since the offseason, and the Canucks have been linked to him in the past. The Columbus Blue Jackets are off to another horrid start (9-16-5, 23 points) and will probably be looking to sell off assets sooner rather than later. They also have a logjam on defence with plenty of youngsters and prospects in the wings looking to push their way into the lineup in the coming seasons.
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Peeke is another large defenceman at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds and, like Lyubushkin, makes his living pounding forwards into the boards and throwing his body in front of pucks. Since he became a full-time NHL defenceman in 2021-22, he has recorded two seasons of nearly 200 hits (191 in 2021-22; 180 in 2022-23) and 200 shot blocks (169 in 2021-22; 197 in 2022-23). While his game isn’t primarily about offence, he does have eight goals in the last two seasons, so if he’s given the chance, he can put the puck in the net. His career minus-63 is ugly, but that’s the product of being on a bad team. I’m sure with Foote in his corner, a good defensive system and an elite goaltender behind him, that number will improve in no time.
As for acquisition cost, Peeke will be a little tricky. His AAV is the same as Lyubushkin’s, but he’s way younger at 25 years old, so the Blue Jackets will be asking for a first-round pick in any deal. I’m not sure the Canucks should go down that road, especially considering the strength of the 2024 Draft when it comes to defencemen – even if they are a playoff team picking in the late 20s. He is locked up for two more seasons at that AAV, but I still think a first-round pick is too high for a primarily defensive defenceman. If the Canucks could convince the Blue Jackets to take a lower pick or someone like Vasily Podkolzin, maybe it’s worth the cost.
Sean Walker, Philadelphia Flyers
Finally, there’s Sean Walker, a defenceman who is more Bear than Lyubushkin and Peeke. At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, he is not a feared hitter or physical presence, but he knows how to move the puck and transition from defence to offence. After being included in a salary dump in the offseason with the Flyers, Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings, not much was expected from him this season. But after 27 games, he has arguably been the Flyers’ best defenceman – offensively and defensively. He is already two points from matching his total of 13 from last season and is on track to finish the season as a plus for the first time in his career.
Like Bear, Walker isn’t afraid to block shots, hitting the century mark last season with 104. He can also play on the power play (averaging 1:09 per game) and penalty kill (averaging 2:24 per game and two shorthanded goals), which would be a major boon to the top-six that kind of drops off after Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek. Hughes and Hronek are the only pure two-way defencemen the Canucks have, so Walker would be a welcomed addition. He’s also getting over 21 minutes of ice time on a team coached by John Tortorella. Say what you want about him, but he demands good defence, just like Tocchet. As such, he would probably endear himself to the coaching staff pretty quickly.
Walker’s cap hit is a bit lower than Lyubushkin and Peeke’s at $2.65 million, but will likely cost a first-round pick or a premium prospect to acquire. Considering how important Walker has been to the Flyers’ blue line so far this season, general manager Danny Briere won’t be giving him away. He’s also an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, further complicating the puzzle that is already in place with Cole, Myers, Zadorov, Friedman and Hronek needing contracts before 2024-25. All in all, while he might be the best fit, he likely would only be a high-priced rental.
Canucks Shouldn’t Be Desperate to Make a Move
As much as the Canucks seem to want to add to their blue line, they shouldn’t be desperate to make a move. They have Soucy coming back soon and have not been horrible defensively in the past few games. Yes, an upgrade would be great, but unless they can move some money around (without trading Andrei Kuzmenko), and get one of these above targets without giving up a first-round pick and/or top prospect, they should stick with what they have for the time being.
All stats were taken from Hockey Reference and are current as of Dec. 11, 2023
