The Vancouver Canucks are far from out of it in terms of the playoff race. In fact, they are still very much in the running to snag a seed as high as the 2nd place slot in the Pacific Division. However, those stats should not let Canucks management fool themselves into thinking that this team is anywhere close to great, because really, it is nothing more than mediocre at best; they’ve kept themselves afloat on the back of hockey’s weakest division, and even that has been barely enough.
With the trade deadline fast approaching, GM Jim Benning and Co. need to figure out what exactly they’re going to do with regards to the future of the team. Do they stand pat and hope for a run at the post-season, or do they offload veterans on expiring contracts for draft picks? While it could easily go either way, the logical move would definitely be the latter.
The Canucks Should be Sellers at Trade Deadline
The Canucks boast a stockpile of expiring veterans on contract this year, including multi-30-goal scorer Radim Vrbata, depth forward Brandon Prust, top-four defenceman Dan Hamhuis, and depth defenders Matt Bartkowski and Yannick Weber. In the case of Vrbata and Hamhuis, the potential for value is relatively high. Despite disappointing seasons for both of them (just 11 goals and 22 points in 48 games for the former, while the latter has missed a quarter of the season and counting due to injury), they’ve gained enough of a reputation as top-end players that the pick-up of a 2nd round or late 1st round pick would hardly come as a complete shock. When taking into account that now-Ducks defenceman Kevin Bieksa snagged a 2nd at last year’s draft, and the fact that he is, in the eyes of many, a worse player than Hamhuis (an Olympic gold medalist in 2014), the upside for value is high.
Additionally, the Canucks are in a decent position to stockpile picks in the mid-to-late rounds with many of their depth pieces. With the likes of Weber, Prust, Bartkowski and Chris Higgins (who currently plays for the AHL’s Utica Comets) all on contracts set to end, it’s very possible we’ll see many – if not all – of them moved on February 29th. While none of them are particularly valuable assets, it’s possible clubs would see them as the final touches to a Cup contending roster. Weber, for example, had 11 goals last season, which may be attractive to some teams. Bartkowski has a reputation as a quality puck mover. Prust is known as a good locker room guy, while Higgins, despite the frustration from fans this year, is still very much an NHL caliber bottom-six forward. It won’t be much, but together, they might be able to snag the team a handful of late selections in the 2016 entry draft.
Don’t let their position in the standings fool you. The 2015-16 edition of the Vancouver Canucks is very much a mediocre hockey club. The seemingly smart move would be to ship out as many veterans as possible by the 29th of February, and guarantee a pick in the top-10, instead of barely missing the post-season because of a late push, or inevitably getting knocked out easily by a stronger opponent within the conference. Sure, it’s fine and dandy to make the playoffs and gain that revenue, but long term, the right move is to sell at this year’s trade deadline.
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