The Vancouver Canucks finally ended the Quinn Hughes saga on Friday, trading their captain to the Minnesota Wild. Now, the basement-dwellers in British Columbia have to pick up the pieces. The next move for the Canucks should be to trade every valuable piece before the trade deadline and rebuild for the future.
The Canucks had a great core that has been taken apart one trade at a time. Bo Horvat, JT Miller, and Hughes are all out the door, and Vancouver's front office has not replaced that talent yet. With little to no chance of making the playoffs this year, they should be the biggest sellers at the trade deadline. That does not mean just pending free agents heading out the door, however. This should be a full-scale rebuild, centered around the Hughes return.
The most obvious trade candidate for the Canucks this season is forward Kiefer Sherwood. With 13 goals in 32 games and an expiring contract, he may be the biggest piece moved at the March deadline. A lot of contract extensions were signed before this season, including Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov, making the free-agent pool quite thin.
Sherwood got off to a great start to the 2025-26 season, with nine goals in the first 12 games. While he has slowed down significantly since then, he could still be a great depth piece for a contending team. Trading Sherwood won't bring in a huge return, but a mid-round draft pick would be helpful for Vancouver in this rebuild.
There are other pending free agents that the Canucks could send off at the trade deadline. But dealing Evander Kane is not going to solve the problem at this point. This has to be a complete teardown, and there may be no better time to do it than this trade deadline.
The Canucks can be the only sellers at the trade deadline
Despite already trading Hughes, there are some more pieces on the Canucks that could net them a big return. Gutting the core of this team is the only way for Vancouver to move forward. And with a new coach in Adam Foote, they have security behind the bench that can last through a rebuild. The Canucks have not been known to tear it down under the current ownership. But trading Hughes leaves them no other option.
The first piece that general manager Patrik Allvin and president Jim Rutherford should put on the block is Conor Garland. He is due $4.95 million for this season, but his new team could have to take on more than that. The Canucks gave Garland a six-year contract extension, paying him $6 million per year.
At 30 years old, Garland does not fit the window of the Canucks anymore. But he will be hard to trade, as he has only six goals in 26 games this season. With the barren free-agent market coming up, a desperate team looking for offense could convince itself that Garland is worth it. Getting out of this horrendous extension would be great business for Vancouver.
Tyler Myers has one year left after this season and could be another trade candidate. But the big name the Canucks should look to get off the books is Jake DeBrusk. He is 29 years old and has five years remaining at $5.5 million per season on his contract. The former Boston Bruins first-rounder has been disappointing in Vancouver, but has a no-move clause that could keep him in Western Canada.
The Canucks have a lot of renovation to do before they can become Stanley Cup contenders. Allvin and Rutherford cannot sit on their hands now, as their job security has never been weaker. The Canucks should trade Sherwood, Myers, Kane, DeBrusk, Garland, and anyone else over 26 years old who is willing to waive their clause. Gavin McKenna awaits at the top of the draft, and this could be the time for the Canucks to race for the bottom.
