The Vancouver Canucks’ season so far has been anything but smooth. While they are not out of the playoff picture and sport a record way above .500, the team has not been playing to the same level that had them in Stanley Cup conversations last season. Apart from Quinn Hughes, the rest of the roster has woefully underperformed, leading many to question whether they are actually good enough to make the playoffs, let alone win the Stanley Cup.
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When a team is struggling, inevitably, the media and fan base start to speculate about trades and changes behind the bench. Both have come to fruition recently as Rick Tocchet, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Nils Hoglander, and Vincent Desharnais have found themselves in rumors and speculation on social media, podcasts, and articles. And that’s where we’ll begin this edition of Canucks Notebook.
Friedman Ignites Social Media With Hypothetical Pettersson Trade
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb on his latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast by suggesting a hypothetical trade involving Elias Pettersson. While he prefaced it by saying that it was not something he heard was in the works, just speculation on his part, it still got social media abuzz with thoughts on whether it could or should happen. With the Buffalo Sabres struggling amidst a 10-game losing streak, Friedman put forth a trade scenario where the Canucks would send Pettersson to Buffalo for Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram.
Cozens and Byram are admittedly good players with Cozens having a 31-goal season on his resume and Byram still scratching the surface of his potential, but they are nowhere near the package I would have in mind if the Canucks actually traded Pettersson. Despite his struggles and failure to live up to his $11.6 million average annual value (AAV) contract so far, he is worth more than Cozens and Byram. He is one of the NHL’s top centers, not generational in the realm of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon mind you, but still in the category of elite. He is also a proven commodity, evidenced by his three straight 30-goal seasons, and the fact that he’s only had one where he’s failed to hit 20.
Cozens is still relatively unproven in the category of top-six center. Since the aforementioned 31-goal campaign, he has only 24 goals in 110 games, and is on pace for his lowest goal total since 2021-22 when he put up 13. As for Byram, while he has untapped potential, has dealt with a lot of injury issues in his short career so far and might not stand up to the rigours of a long NHL career. Are those the pieces the Canucks want to grab in exchange for what should still be one of their core players? In my mind, it should be a hard no. In fact, I don’t think they should be entertaining the idea at all. I still believe Pettersson will turn it around and return to the dominant force he was only a little over a year ago. Remember, when he put up 14 goals last January? That player is still alive in there somewhere, hopefully, he will reemerge soon before an ill-advised trade is made.
Could Boeser Be Traded If There’s No Extension By the Trade Deadline?
This could depend on where the Canucks are in the standings at the trade deadline, but Brock Boeser might be on the move if they don’t agree on an extension before then. Teams don’t generally trade their top scorers unless they are out of the playoff picture and looking towards the offseason already. President Jim Rutherford didn’t give any indication of his intentions with Boeser during his interview on Hockey Night in Canada’s After Hours show, saying, “We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Right now, we’re evaluating his situation…The key is going to be what that contract looks like, what the term looks like. All those things. It’s like all contracts; the player’s going to have a different opinion than what the team has. We’ll continue to monitor the situation closely.”
After hitting 40 goals last season, Boeser got off to a good start this season notching five goals in his first 11 games, but then got injured on Nov. 7 against the Los Angeles Kings when he took a high hit to the head from Tanner Jeannot. He suffered a concussion and missed seven games, essentially derailing what might have been another 40-goal season. He could still hit 30, but he would have to get on another tear soon for that to happen. Even if he finishes with only 25, teams will shell out the money to secure his services for 2025-26 and beyond should he hit free agency. Early projections have him looking for at least $8 million AAV thanks to Jake Guentzel driving up the price for that type of scoring winger. For reference, Guentzel signed a seven-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth $9 million AAV.
With the salary cap rising again this summer, the Canucks can probably afford to pay him $8 million AAV. He’s definitely worth it and they should do everything in their power to get him back in the blue and green for the foreseeable future. Having said that, if there’s any indication that he wants to test the market, it would be in their best interest to trade him before the deadline. They can’t afford to lose yet another big-name player to free agency without getting some assets in return.
Max Sasson Promoted to the Top Six
After scoring his first NHL goal on Saturday against the Boston Bruins, rookie Max Sasson has been rewarded with a bump up the depth chart. He was seen practicing with Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk on Sunday and will get a chance to add to the goal and four points he already has in the NHL so far against the Colorado Avalanche later tonight. The hope will be that he brings some speed and forechecking to a duo that has struggled throughout this homestand.
Grab that puck!
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 15, 2024
Max Sasson scores his first @NHL goal đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/trTR4QDSl1
Sasson has been a pleasant surprise in the bottom six with Teddy Blueger and Danton Heinen, providing energy and a surprising amount of skill to the lineup. The trio has arguably been the Canucks’ best line in the last few games, and now he will try and bring that same boost to another set of linemates in Pettersson and DeBrusk.
Canucks Will Try and Finish the Homestand on a Positive Note
As mentioned the Canucks will welcome the Avalanche into Rogers Arena for the final game of the homestand. The Avs have struggled this season, but they still have the three-headed monster of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar that can singlehandedly win them games. While their goaltending and injury issues were a big reason for their early-season struggles, they have gotten a lot healthier in recent weeks and have a new tandem in Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. Blackwood will likely be the starter after his debut where he made 38 saves against the Nashville Predators, and he has proven in the past to be a thorn in the Canucks’ side, especially when he has a good defence in front of him.
The Canucks need to have a better effort defensively than they showed against the Bruins, or they could be run out of the building by the Avalanche’s big guns. Hopefully, they are up to the task, or fans will be suffering through yet another blowout on home ice.
