In this edition of the Vancouver Canucks News & Rumors, the organization has multiple trade targets in Jake Guentzel, Tyler Toffoli and Jordan Greenway. Additionally, the organization signed Elias Pettersson to a contract extension. Also, the trade deadline will be the cutoff point for Phil Kessel.
Canucks Trade Deadline Targets: Guentzel, Toffoli, Greenway
The 2024 Trade Deadline is on March 8, and the Canucks have a few trade targets. Sportnset’s Elliotte Friedman said the organization will look at adding a forward, and defense is less important. The Canucks are reportedly interested in Guentzel, Toffoli and Greenway.
For Guentzel, the Canucks are aggressive in trading for him, but Friedman added he’s not sure how possible a deal is. Rick Dhaliwal said the Canucks don’t want to give up a first-round pick, Jonathan Lekkerimaki or Tom Willander, making it harder to acquire the Stanley Cup champion. Therefore, pivoting and attempting to trade for Toffoli makes sense. As Dhaliwal and Drance report, his chemistry with Pettersson during their brief stint together in the 2019-20 season could play a hand. Additionally, Pettersson is a huge fan of the winger. Meanwhile, Greenway is a player the organization has held an interest in for some time (from ‘How the Elias Pettersson deal got done: A trade offer, a face-to-face meeting and a change of heart,’ The Athletic, March 2, 2024).
“The lack of heaviness in the team’s forward lineup has factored heavily into the organization’s thinking during Joshua’s absence, which is why we’re also keeping an eye on Jordan Greenway.
“The team has rated Greenway highly for a long time, and he could be a deadline target that shakes loose in the sort of price range the Canucks would prefer to pay ahead of March 8.”
However, according to Dhaliwal, the ask is high for Greenway. Additionally, the Canucks have been poking around Arizona Coyotes forward Jason Zucker, but Dhaliwal once again states the ask is high for the forward. The Canucks will gear up for their first playoff appearance since the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The organization needs to add a top-six forward as the group has struggled to produce as of late.
Lead Up to Pettersson’s Extension
The biggest news coming from the Canucks this season is Pettersson’s contract extension. The forward signed an eight-year, $92.8 million deal with the organization on March 3.
A lot happened leading up to the forward signing the deal. Pettersson preferred to wait until after the season to sign as recently as the 2024 All-Star Break. Meanwhile, the Canucks believed they’d get a deal done but didn’t want to be backed into a corner similar to the Calgary Flames when Matthew Tkachuk told the club he wouldn’t sign an extension in the summer of 2022. Therefore, the organization created a new deadline, as Friedman reported.
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“Early last week, (president of hockey operations) Jim Rutherford and (general manager) Patrik Allvin met with Pettersson near the team’s dressing room before a practice. They made their case. They thought it was affecting his play. They thought it was affecting the team. They thought an extension would bring massive positivity to help end the Canucks’ first slump of the season. They brought up Tkachuk, and they brought up that, if Pettersson did not show a desire to commit, they would consider trading him.”
Trade talks with the Carolina Hurricanes accelerated negotiations between the two sides as well. The Hurricanes made a serious offer, but whether the Canucks front office took it under serious consideration or not is unknown. The deal was reportedly built around a pair of talented young players, a first-round pick, and a high-end prospect. As for Pettersson’s side, the forward wanted to wait and see if the organization would do its part in building a competitive team.
“Pettersson made it very clear before the season he wanted to win. But it goes deeper than that, not only about what went right on the ice, but how effective the organization worked from top-to-bottom,” Friedman said. “Several sources said he needed to be convinced it wasn’t just the players who showed the highest level of commitment. Allvin was talking about proving that to Pettersson. When the ball was on the five-yard line, no fumble in the biggest moment.”
Pettersson gave Canucks a team-friendly deal, which allows them to spend their cap space in other places. It gives the Canucks a better chance to re-sign Filip Hronek at a reasonable price and keep one of their many role players, including Teddy Blueger, Dakota Joshua, Tyler Myers, Nikita Zadorov, and others.
The Kessel Situation
The Canucks and Kessel situation will come to a close this week. The organization must sign the forward before the trade deadline to maintain his eligibility to compete for the team in the Stanley Cup playoffs. If the Canucks sign him before the deadline and add him to the main roster, it will allow them to preserve their roster call-ups. After the deadline, teams have four ordinary call-ups before the postseason.
Kessel has skated with the Abbotsford Canucks, and the organization is monitoring his physical ability after being away from the game for multiple months. The three-time Stanley Cup champion is eight points away from having 1000 in his career.