The Canucks built themselves a bit of a cushion in the standings before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. But a disastrous 1-4-0 post-break road trip has left their playoff spot vulnerable.
Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)
The Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues are now just one point back from the second wild-card spot, and the Utah Hockey Club is two points behind Vancouver.
Suddenly, there’s a multi-team battle in the Western Conference as well as the East.
But if you look at the Vancouver Canucks’ trade-deadline history over the 20-ish years that Francesco Aquilini and his family have owned the team, this is not a club that waves the white flag and sells everything that isn’t nailed down at the trade deadline. The lure of extra revenue from playoff games has always been strong. And right now, the club faces extra pressure to prove that it’s on a path to a championship before Quinn Hughes starts weighing his options as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027.
The Canucks captain remains Vancouver’s best and most important player, even though he hasn’t looked like his usual self since he got back into the lineup over the past three games. He isn’t putting up points, with just one assist, and he was a minus-3 in Thursday’s 5-2 loss in Anaheim and again in the 6-3 defeat against Seattle.
As Hughes has been reportedly battling an oblique injury, he appeared to “tweak something,” in the words of coach Rick Tocchet, when he got spun around in front of the Vancouver net on Seattle’s second goal on Saturday, early in the second period. The TV cameras caught him trying to stretch out his midsection multiple times after that, and he finished his last shift with 9:05 remaining in the third period.
Hughes has played through other injuries without missing a beat. This one seems to be hampering the skating power that originates in his core, and has dimmed the superpowers of the current Norris Trophy holder.
For the Canucks, the good news is that they’re on their way home. They’ll play just one more game before the March 7 trade deadline, hosting Anaheim next Wednesday. In the midst of the busy late-season schedule, that could give Hughes an opportunity to rest and get treatment.
A Hughes setback is disappointing to the fanbase and could put Vancouver’s playoff spot in jeopardy. But it’s unlikely to push management into a sell-off before next Friday.
However, that’s not to say that the roster won’t look different once the deadline dust has settled.
This will be GM Patrik Allvin's and president Jim Rutherford’s fourth deadline in Vancouver. And while they made their big deals early when they traded Bo Horvat in 2022 and brought in Elias Lindholm in 2024, they’ve also shown that they won’t let the assets they acquire from big deals burn holes in their pockets.
It took them just over a month to turn the first-rounder they got from the New York Islanders for Horvat into part of the package that brought in Filip Hronek. And the Rangers’ first-rounder that came back in January’s J.T. Miller deal lasted just hours before it was flipped for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor.
On Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, Elliotte Friedman said the Canucks are still looking to add to their forward group, which already includes recent additions O’Connor and Filip Chytil. With the strong first impression made by defenseman Marcus Pettersson, it’s believed that Vancouver is making Carson Soucy available. He has been healthy-scratched twice in the last month, but could be a tradable asset after acquitting himself quite well during the road trip.
Saturday was another lukewarm outing for the $11.6-million center Elias Pettersson, who had no shots on goal, four missed shots and a 7-for-17 run in the face-off circle. With the clock ticking until his full no-movement clause kicks in on July 1, talk of a trade will persist, but it’s unlikely that a Pettersson deal would happen at this time.
Brock Boeser is more of a wild card. And even though he’s a loyal lifetime Canuck who would love to stay, just one assist and a minus-four over the last five games is not up to the level that Vancouver needs from him right now. Peak Boeser is a reliable point-producer and sharp scorer with a defensive conscience, and that’s probably the type of player that management is looking to add. This season’s Boeser is still a sharpshooter who connects on 17.3 percent of his shots, but he isn’t shooting enough or preventing enough goals when he’s on the ice.
Boeser will be coveted if he hits free agency on July 1, and that’s what sets up the Canucks’ dilemma. Do they open the vault and sign him to a big extension this week, when he’s going through a dry patch? Do they hold their cards and see what transpires leading up to July 1, even as the rising salary cap will likely increase players’ expectations across the league with every new contract that gets finalized? Or, do they trade him — then turn around and try to acquire another scoring winger who can play a similar role?
Could Vancouver be looking for more of a power forward type? One-time Canuck Kevin Bieksa, who never backed down from a fight during his playing days, left us with some food for thought during Saturday’s post-game on Hockey Night in Canada.
“It’s not a hard team to play against,” Bieksa said. “It’s hard right now, when you have a team with some good players... But not a lot of bite. Got a lot of stick-checkers out there.”
Buckle up.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.