The Vancouver Canucks teardown started last season when they traded JT Miller, and the final straw might happen on Friday before the trade deadline. The last time Vancouver made a playoff run in 2023-24, the top scorers were Miller, Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek, and Conor Garland. With Miller's trade last season, Quinn Hughes' trade to the Minnesota Wild earlier this year, and the potential movement of Pettersson, Boeser, and Garland at the deadline, it could only be Hronek remaining.
It's hard to understand why Hronek would want to stay with all those players heading out the door. However, his no-move clause gives him the chance to waive any deals the Canucks make. By all accounts, Hronek is happy in Vancouver and has no interest in moving.
There seems to be an overall issue with the dynamic in Vancouver. There have been some very talented players come through over the past few years, but the team chemistry crumbled from within. It could be time for a full reset as the Canucks enter into the next era, and Patrik Alvin can finalize it at the trade deadline.
Elias Pettersson is unhappy in Vancouver
Pettersson is not having a good time playing for the Canucks. The former 100-point scorer has been in a funk ever since last season, when he had issues with Miller. However, even though the Canucks traded Miller and Hughes and kept Pettersson in that three-headed monster, the time might be here to let the final domino fall.
Pettersson has been extra sour with the media lately, and he has zero goals in his last 15 games. He had two assists in his last outing against the Carolina Hurricanes, but they'd be better off letting that be his swansong with the organization. It was his first points in four games since the Olympic break, and he finally recorded two shots in that game after zero in his first three.
Ironically, his monkey-off-the-back game against the Hurricanes may have been because of some extra motivation. If the Swedish forward is reading the media headlines, Carolina is one of the teams that could find a way to fit him into the lineup.
The Canucks are going to have to retain some of Pettersson's salary in a deal, even though they might not want to. As evidenced by the Tyler Myers trade, teams are paying extra assets for salary retention, and the Hurricanes would likely offer a great deal to Vancouver to make Pettersson's contract worthwhile.
The Pettersson era is over in Vancouver. The dream scenario for the Canucks is to move away from him, restart, and get some assets for him on the way out.
Canucks should trade Conor Garland, Evander Kane, Brock Boeser
If the Canucks are going to do this with Pettersson, there is really no point in keeping anyone around. The ugly culture forming in Vancouver needs a full-blown rebuild, and that means trading Garland, Kane, and Boeser at the deadline, as well. With no above-average players remaining for the remainder of the season, the chances of the Canucks landing Gavin McKenna to be the new face of their franchise increase 10-fold.
Garland is the type of player that teams will pay a premium for as the deadline draws close on Friday. He is a gritty, playoff-type player who you can see fitting into the middle-six on a Stanley Cup-contending team. When Vancouver made their improbable playoff run in the 2023-24 season, Garland was one of the players who stole the show, and he can do that again with another organization.
Likely against his better judgment, Boeser decided to give the Canucks a chance and return to the team after it looked like he had one foot out the door in free agency. The return didn't work out, and he has to be regretting the decision. It could be a great time for Allvin to make it right and send him to another team.
Kane might be the hardest player to move for the Canucks. His play has been declining, which is why he ended up in Vancouver from the Edmonton Oilers, and there doesn't seem to be many teams lining up for him at the deadline.
If the Canucks don't find a way to move a couple of these players, plus Teddy Blueger, before Friday's deadline, there is really no way to explain the strategy the organization is employing. It'd be a nightmare scenario in the Pacific Northwest if the Canucks don't make some moves.
