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Vancouver Canucks Trade Proposals: Luca Sbisa Edition

By David Joun

Apr 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa (5) after having his lip cut by a high stick from Chicago Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette (not pictured) during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa (5) after having his lip cut by a high stick from Chicago Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette (not pictured) during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning announces Jake Virtanen (not pictured) as the number six overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

With GM Jim Benning cracking open the frozen NHL trade market with the early trade, it is open season for the Vancouver Canucks.

When the Vancouver Canucks made the unusually early move to grab defenseman Erik Gudbranson, it reminded us that even the biggest of trades can happen at the most unexpected times.

So here at The Canuck Way, we are going to a weekly dive into the NHL trade market and see what the Canucks could pull off as the offseason rolls on. This should hopefully keep us ready and alert for even the most unexpected trades.

It was obvious who the Canucks should try to move out, now that Gudbranson is in the mix. Let’s see how Luca Sbisa would do on the trade block.

An Overview: D Luca Sbisa

Best known as a provider of grit and physicality from the blueline, Sbisa’s resume has all the right things to make him a high-value asset and trade bait. He is only 26 years old, he is physical, and he is even a member of Team Europe for this year’s World Cup of Hockey!

Who doesn’t like a 6-foot-2 defender who can hit, clear out the front of the net at times, and launch a few blistering slappers from the blueline?

Some Vancouver fans, apparently.

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Although not as egregious as his performance in the 2014-15 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Sbisa’s injury-riddled 2015-16 campaign has earned him mixed reviews.

Sbisa has been getting better at not giving away free scoring chances, but his overall performance left room for improvement. Although occasionally playing top-four minutes, he was never a shut-down top-four player.

People will quote Sbisa’s Corsi numbers and point out his -6.9 percent relative Corsi for and correctly identify it as one of the team’s worsts. In fact, Sbisa is at the very bottom of the category. But guess who is second-last: Nikita Tryamkin.

On a side note here: Guess who is second-best in the category: Brendan Gaunce.
For Pete’s sake, Gaunce is not worth more than Tryamkin. Please. End of story.

Sbisa also proved as an effective partner for Ben Hutton when viewed with the WOWY metrics. Bottomline, Sbisa is not a worthless defenseman by any means, even through the eyes of analytics. Just be sure you look deep enough and not just at the Corsi’s and the Fenwick’s.

I hope I made my point clear that Sbisa is an asset worth trading for in today’s NHL.

His upside is as a fringe top-four physical boost while his downside would be as a top-six who can eat up big minutes against weak opposition.

Let’s take a closer look at who Luca Sbisa really is on the trade market.

Next: LUCA SBISA: What is he worth?

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