The Vancouver Canucks have been looking to acquire a defenceman for a while now, but the situation got a little more dire when it was announced that Filip Hronek would miss eight weeks after undergoing a procedure on his lower body. While the front office has said they will be patient in their pursuit, the desperation might increase if Noah Juulsen and Erik Brannstrom start faltering in their elevated roles. Usually, a team can function in the short term without a key forward/defenceman, but over time, the players filling in for them get in over their heads.
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The Canucks don’t have a lot of assets when it comes to prospects. They seemingly aren’t willing to trade blue-chippers like Tom Willander and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, so roster players and draft picks will be the currency general manager Patrik Allvin uses to upgrade his team this season. One player that has been bandied about in trade rumours is Nils Hoglander, who hasn’t scored in 21 games and has seen his ice time and role decrease recently. Once a fixture in the top-six alongside Elias Pettersson, he has been relegated to the bottom of the lineup and is someone that could fetch the Canucks a top-four defenceman – maybe not on his own, but in a package with draft picks or a mid-tier prospect. With that, let’s take a look at a couple they should target.
Marcus Pettersson, Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are always a team that comes up whenever the Canucks are in the rumour mill. Allvin and Jim Rutherford are familiar with a lot of their players and have insight into their prospect pipeline. What’s interesting though is that they have never actually made a trade with them since joining the front office in 2022 and 2021 respectively. They have signed a few players that have played for the Penguins in the past but have never acquired one from the current organization.
That might change this season as insider Elliotte Friedman indicated in his most recent 32 Thoughts column that the Penguins have “real interest” in Hoglander and are one of the top teams pursuing him. The Canucks are probably targeting defenceman Marcus Pettersson in return, but early indications are that it would require a lot more than just Hoglander to get him. They would likely have to add a prospect like Elias Pettersson and a draft pick to the package.
It’s no surprise that Rutherford and Allvin are interested in Pettersson as Rutherford was the one that traded for him back in 2018 when he was GM of the Penguins. The 28-year-old has become a solid top-four defenceman in the NHL averaging over 20 minutes a night for the last three seasons. He also isn’t afraid to throw his body in harm’s way, hitting the century mark in hits and blocked shots in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. He is basically a younger, more mobile Ian Cole, someone the Canucks have missed this season on the blue line. The only downside to acquiring him is that he could be a rental like Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm ended up being last season.
Hoglander is the type of player that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas seems to covet; high energy forwards with the propensity to create havoc on the forecheck. In many ways, he’s a younger Michael Bunting, who Dubas has now acquired twice in his tenure as an NHL GM. He would fit well in the bottom six or maybe alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin as a puck retriever for the two future Hall of Famers.
Mike Matheson, Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens will be in sell mode again this season as they currently sit dead last in the Atlantic Division. Veterans will be up for grabs leading up to the trade deadline, and Mike Matheson and David Savard will be at the top of GM Kent Hughes’ list when it comes to trades. The Canucks could go after either one, but considering Matheson is four years younger and signed for next season at a manageable $4.875 million average annual value (AAV), he should be the priority. While he does have a modified no-trade clause that includes eight teams, given the fact he plays for a Canadian team already, I am guessing the Canucks are not on that list.
The Canadiens would likely want a first-round pick included in the deal with Hoglander, but Matheson would be worth the extra cost. He’s a mobile, puck-moving defenceman who has a history of putting up points. Last season, he had 11 goals and 62 points, and while that might be a flash-in-the-pan stat line, he already has 15 points in 25 games this season. Like Pettersson, he has a history with Rutherford, as he too was acquired by the former Penguins GM. A few weeks before the 2020-21 season, he traded Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers for Matheson and Colton Sceviour.
Matheson is a left-hand shot but has experience playing both sides, so he could match well with Quinn Hughes until Hronek comes back, assuming a trade is done before then. Right now, he’s playing on the right side next to Kaeden Guhle, who is also a left-shot, so he wouldn’t have to adjust his game when he arrives in Vancouver. He is also a minute-muncher, capable of playing on both the power play and penalty kill and providing physicality. Overall, he would be the perfect addition to the Canucks’ defence corps.
It is just a matter of cost, and whether Kent Hughes is willing to trade his key defender for Hoglander and a draft pick, rather than what my colleague Ryan Szporer believes he will covet, top prospect Tom Willander and a 2025 first-round pick.
Being 23 years old, Hoglander would mesh with the Canadiens’ ongoing rebuild and fit with the core that is being developed with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov. His work ethic and energetic play style would also fit with how Martin St. Louis likes his teams to play, endearing him to his head coach right away, unlike Tocchet and Bruce Boudreau, who eventually soured on him.
Canucks Should Use Hoglander, Not Willander or Lekkerimaki in Trade Talks
The Canucks only have two legitimate blue-chip prospects right now, Lekkerimaki and Willander. Unless it’s for an eye-popping return, Allvin should say no to any proposal involving them. Yes, they need a top-four defenceman, but if Dubas or Hughes want Willander or Lekkerimaki in a package for Pettersson or Matheson, Allvin needs to hang up the phone. They are not worth selling the farm for. I would even hesitate to add a prospect like Elias Pettersson or a first-round pick to the mix, but you have to give up something to get something, so that might have to happen to get a deal done. All in all, the Canucks need to be careful when trading for a top-four defenceman this season. They can’t afford another Lindholm/Zadorov debacle that left them without both players when the dust settled on free agency.
