The Vancouver Canucks were already short of a top-four defenceman when healthy. Add an injury to Filip Hronek, who missed Friday’s game against Buffalo and is undergoing further evaluation for a reported shoulder injury, and the organization is teetering on the edge of a blue-line crisis. A right side with Tyler Myers, Noah Juulsen and Vincent Desharnais is problematic.
The Canucks squeaked out a 4-3 overtime victory over the Sabres without Hronek, but that was more of a gutsy, bend-but-don’t-break performance that leaned heavily on goaltending rather than a sustainable formula.
Vancouver is also entering a tougher stretch where it’ll play 10 games in 19 days, which includes contests against Tampa Bay, Florida, Colorado and Vegas, all of whom rank top-10 in goals scored per game. Should the Canucks expedite their search for a top-four defenceman with Hronek out? What options could be available on the trade market and does the club have what it realistically takes to make a move?
Patrik Allvin’s front office shouldn’t leave any stone unturned in their hunt for additional defensive help, but it’s also important that they avoid making a knee-jerk move. It’s easy for media and fans to play armchair GM, but the logistics of crafting a fair trade that makes sense both short- and long-term are complicated.
Here are some of the factors the club should be considering:
• The Canucks shouldn’t just target any top-four defender, their ideal fit would be a high-end puck mover who can take the lead driving their pair.
• A right-handed defenceman would fit best, but a lefty would be fine too because Erik Brännström or Carson Soucy can temporarily play their off-side until Hronek comes back (both of them have experience playing the right side).
• The overall supply of quality top-four defenders on selling teams is awfully thin and the number of contenders who’ll be in the market for blue-line reinforcements is high. Prices will likely be expensive because of that.
• If Vancouver pays big for a defender, it should be for a player with term beyond this season. The return on investment would be poor if the club spends big on a rental that potentially walks for nothing in the summer.
• A rental would be acceptable if the acquisition cost is modest like last year when the Canucks gave up a third-round pick for Nikita Zadorov, but it may not be easy to find cost-effective options this early into the season. Remember that the Flames were motivated to sell Zadorov early because he requested a trade.
Flames defender Rasmus Andersson would be a near-perfect blend of ability, stylistic fit, handedness and contract status (signed through 2025-26 at a $4.55 million cap hit). There’s no indication that he’s available right now, though, as Calgary is off to a better-than-expected start. Andersson’s name didn’t appear on the trade boards of either The Athletic’s Chris Johnston or Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. That’s why he won’t appear on this targets list despite being exactly what the Canucks could use.
Here’s a brief overview of the other potential options on the market. Truthfully, they’re underwhelming, which is why I don’t think management deserves flak if they cannot execute a quick move to shore up the defence.
Pettersson, a left-shot rental, is a dependable shutdown defender with a massive wing span and sufficient secondary puck skills. He can play the right side if necessary and has a strong history of excelling next to offensive-minded partners, meaning he’d be an attractive contender to play with Hughes for however long Hronek is out. The Penguins are reportedly one of the teams that have explored the possibility of acquiring Nils Höglander, and the Canucks reportedly have interest in Pettersson, making this an intriguing possibility to watch.
Höglander’s cratering ice time and recent struggles, plus Hronek’s injury don’t give the Canucks a lot of leverage in negotiations, though, so the big question is how much would the Canucks have to add on top of the 23-year-old winger to make a trade go through? There’s risk in overpaying for a rental who could walk in the summer and leave the Canucks with a top-four hole again.
Stylistically, he isn’t a perfect fit either. He isn’t a dynamic puck-mover and is unproven as far as driving his own pair.
Borgen has been a steady, underrated player since arriving in Seattle. He drove solid, albeit unspectacular results over the last two seasons next to Jamie Oleksiak on the Kraken’s second pair, but has been relegated to the bottom pair this season because of Brandon Montour’s arrival on the right side.
The 27-year-old right-shot defender isn’t the dynamic puck mover or high-end top-four piece that the Canucks are looking for, but consider him an effective band-aid solution to shore up the right side if Hronek is going to miss considerable time. Borgen has good size (6-foot-3), defends hard, is mobile, has top-four experience and would probably clock in at a reasonable, Zadorov-like acquisition cost.
Borgen is on The Athletic’s trade board, but would GM Ron Francis be ready to start selling this early into the season? Francis had a splashy offseason and could end up on the hot seat if Seattle misses the playoffs again, so he could be incentivized to wait until closer to the deadline to sell pieces off.
Bowen Byram is off to a strong start this season in Buffalo. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Byram’s dynamic skating, age (23) and high-end upside are tantalizing.
Consistency and head injuries have been an issue for him, but this is a player who flashed star potential and led the Avalanche in five-on-five ice time during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He’s off to a strong start this season with 13 points in 24 games while logging huge top-pair minutes next to Rasmus Dahlin.
Why did he appear on Chris Johnston’s trade board then?
Well, it’s not that the Sabres are shopping Byram, but they have to be mindful of their cap picture beyond this season. Byram will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season and will command a huge raise because of his start. Buffalo already has nearly $24 million committed to three left-shot defenders in Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson. Do the Sabres want to commit an additional big-money contract to a fourth left-handed blueliner?
I reached out to Sabres beat reporter Matt Fairburn for insight on the situation. He indicated that Buffalo wouldn’t be eager to move Byram but if the organization did go down that route, the return would need to include some win-now pieces given that the Sabres are in contention for a playoff spot. He specified that they could use a top-six forward and a right-handed defenceman.
This is the biggest hang-up: Even if Byram is available, the Canucks likely lack the marquee win-now piece to get a deal done. Vancouver’s best shot at building a fair package would be built around futures, but Buffalo, who has a stacked prospect pool and wants to get better now, might not be interested in a futures-oriented deal.
Jiricek, a right-shot drafted No. 6 in 2022, appears destined for a fresh start. I asked our prospects expert Scott Wheeler for some insight on why he’s stalled and what his outlook is.
Jiricek’s a bit of a juxtaposition. This is his fifth full season of pro hockey despite having just turned 21, which is obviously extremely advanced. His production at Czechia’s top level at 17 and 18 and in the AHL at 19 and 20 plot him on a star trajectory from a data standpoint. And he’s 6-foot-4 and 200-plus pounds to boot. But there are also some practical flaws in the eye test (primarily sloppy pivots/feet going backwards and bad reads to overcompensate) that have posed a challenge as he has tried to establish himself as an 82-gamer at a very early age. I do think it’s important to remember that even though it feels like he has stalled, and he has in some ways, he’s still the eighth-youngest defenseman to play in an NHL game this year and D his age are often still in Europe or just getting started in the AHL after junior.
Offensively, he can hammer it, he plays a confident style on the puck, and he actually moves quite well and handles quite well going forward. Defensively, there is upside in his length and he does have some natural instincts, but the timing and footwork is the X-factor in setting his ceiling. We’re still talking about a high-end D prospect here.
Initially, the Blue Jackets were rumoured to be seeking an elite prospect (like Vancouver’s Tom Willander, which wouldn’t be worth it) in a one-for-one type of swap. But now Columbus is reportedly open to packages built around draft picks.
The Canucks could kick tires on Jiricek, but I see a couple of major stumbling blocks.
Firstly, while he’s close to being NHL-ready, he’s ultimately still a prospect in the AHL. He has defensive flaws and doesn’t skate very well yet. This isn’t a player who’s going to magically solve the club’s top-four issues for this season. Heck, there’s no guarantee he can do that next season or even the year after. He’d be a much better fit for a young team on the rise rather than a win-now club like Vancouver.
Secondly, even if Allvin tries to build a package around draft picks and Höglander, it’s unlikely that will be the most attractive offer from Columbus’ standpoint. The Canucks’ first-round pick, for example, will likely be late because they’re a good team. If you’re Columbus, you’d probably prefer a first-round pick from a non-playoff team since it’ll likely be significantly higher and more valuable.
Will the 7-12-5 Predators make a hard shift to a rebuild? If they do, Carrier would be a player to monitor.
The 28-year-old right-shot doesn’t fit the size element that the Canucks usually chase — he’s listed at 5-foot-11, 174 pounds — but he has a proven track record of driving strong defensive results and crucially, has accomplished it in a role where he’s trusted to play shutdown minutes defending against top forward lines. Carrier is a mobile skater, an above-average puck mover and a ferocious competitor who plays much bigger than his size.
Carrier would represent a definite upgrade for the Canucks’ blue line but does he move the needle enough to justify taking on his $3.75 million cap hit through 2026-27? If he was a rental, this would be a good fit because of his puck-moving acumen and experience logging difficult matchups, but the term left on his deal is a complicated fit. Between Carrier and Myers, the Canucks would end up with $7.75 million committed long-term to two right-shot defenders who top out as ideally being No. 4/5s. That doesn’t even include Desharnais’ $2 million on the right side.
The player is a good stylistic fit, but the contract might be suboptimal to have on the books beyond this season.
Provorov is an experienced all-situations minute muncher who can play both sides of the blue line. His performance under this heavy workload has been inconsistent over the years. There were some seasons in Philly where he looked like a top-pair stud and others where he got his teeth kicked in and struggled mightily.
He was underwhelming during his first season in Columbus but is off to a strong start this year, with the Blue Jackets handily outshooting and out-chancing opponents during his five-on-five shifts.
Provorov would be a top-four upgrade, but I’m skeptical about the fit for a couple of reasons. First is the acquisition cost: Columbus is seeking a first-round pick and the Canucks shouldn’t pay that price for a second-pair rental defenceman.
Secondly, Provorov has spent most of his minutes this season caddying Zach Werenski (although recently he’s played with Damon Severson). I’m not convinced Provorov is capable of driving his own pair at a high level which is concerning given the potential asking price.
Walman, a 28-year-old lefty with a $3.4 million cap hit through 2025-26, is having a huge bounce-back year in San Jose.
The strong skating puck mover has already piled up 17 points in 21 games and is impressively winning his two-way matchups. San Jose is remarkably generating more shots and expected goals than it’s allowing during Walman’s minutes and it’s translated to a plus-four goal differential at five-on-five. That’s wildly impressive considering the Sharks are a bottom-feeder team.
Walman spent the previous two seasons playing on Detroit’s top pair. He struggled at times last season but was a revelation in a big minutes role the season prior. His skating and skill on the breakout are enticing, but a trade fit with Vancouver isn’t exactly a slam dunk.
If you’re San Jose, wouldn’t it make sense to keep Walman as a veteran so that the likes of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith have a legit offensive defenceman to play with? They could easily just sell him as a rental next year. It may take a steep price for the Sharks to give up Walman this season, which would be a gamble for an acquiring team because he’s had an up-and-down track record over the last three seasons.
(Photos of Will Borgen and David Jiricek: Kirby Lee and Bob DeChiara / USA Today)
