Vancouver Canucks should trade for C Alex Galchenyuk

With Montreal Canadiens centre Alex Galchenyuk reportedly on the trade block, the Vancouver Canucks should take a look at making a play for him.

As the Vancouver Canucks head into one of their most critical offseasons in franchise history, all eyes will be on what general manager Jim Benning does on the trade market.

Following a second consecutive season that saw Vancouver finish among the top three worst teams in the NHL, speculation is that the Canucks could look to ship out veteran Chris Tanev. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks don’t seem keen on such a move right now.

Should the Canucks get involved in the trade market, pure logic would suggest that Benning will be a seller in the offseason. But now that a big name may be available, perhaps he should look at being a big-time buyer.

Friedman (per Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports), appeared on Edmonton’s 630 CHED and dropped a mega piece of news regarding Montreal Canadiens centre, Alex Galchenyuk:

"“I do think Montreal will try and trade Galchenyuk. I do. I think it’s likely he’s going to go. But not 100 percent. But I’d say more likely than not they try to trade him.”"

And with that, it’s time for Benning to give Canadiens’ general manager Marc Bergevin a call.

Galchenyuk is what the Canucks need

Galchenyuk hasn’t exactly lived up to expecations since the Canadiens took him with the third pick in 2012. As the Canadiens continue to fall apart in the postseason (despite the excellent play from Carey Price), it’s clear the roster needs a bit of a shakeup.

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As Montreal explores a Galchenyuk trade, the Canucks should be all over it. He’s exactly the type of player this team needs on offence.

Galchenyuk has good size (6-foot-1, 210 pounds), and has a pair of 20-goal seasons under his belt. That includes a 30-goal and 56-point campaign in 2015-16.

Obviously, Galchenyuk isn’t a superstar by any means. But he might be a better fit as a first-line centre than Bo Horvat or Henrik Sedin. Given Vancouver’s lack of muscle up front, Galchenyuk would also shore up that weakness nicely.

Galchenyuk also just hasn’t been a great fit on a Habs team that’s built entirely around its star goalie and strong defensive group. Perhaps he would discover his full potential on a younger team, led by new Canucks head coach Travis Green. Maybe Green even tries to build the offence around Galchenyuk.

What the cost would be

It’s impossible to guess what Bergevin’s asking price is for Galchenyuk. On one hand, he is only 23 years of age and is capable of scoring 20 goals and 40 to 50 points a season. But on the other hand, he’s been incredibly inconsistent in his first five NHL seasons. Will any team willingly surrender a lot, not knowing what version of Galchenyuk they’ll get in return?

Maybe, maybe not. But as long as Benning isn’t being asked to give away Horvat, Brock Boeser, Olli Juolevi, Troy Stecher or the fifth-overall selection, then he should try to do whatever it takes to land Galchenyuk.

Could Benning do a Sedins-for-Galchenyuk swap? Unlikely, but that could make sense for both teams. What about 19-goal scorer Markus Granlund and Erik Gudbranson, plus maybe a second or third-round selection?

Benning would have to give up at least a young forward and one or two more assets. But knowing he’d be getting a young, big and 20-goal scoring centre should be enough to swing such a trade if the Habs are interested.

Conclusion

First off, we don’t know if the Habs are definitely going to trade Galchenyuk. For another, we don’t know what the asking price is. We also don’t know if the Canucks are even thinking about inquiring for Galchenyuk’s services.

But the Canucks don’t have many “wow” players that fans will specifically pay to watch next season. Galchenyuk hasn’t been that guy in Montreal, but he could be that top-line centre Vancouver desperately needs.

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If the price is right for both teams, then the Vancouver Canucks should seriously consider trading for Alex Galchenyuk in order to shore up the long-term outlook at centre.

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