Canucks GM Jim Benning has taken a wait-and-see approach to trade deadline negotiations, while Tampa and Arizona beat him to the punch.
Vancouver Canucks fans are eagerly waiting for the trade deadline, and hoping that general manager Jim Benning sees the light and triggers a full rebuild.
Vancouver just came off their five-day break. During that break, all the teams whom they are fighting for a playoff spot won multiple games. Their playoff odds, which were slim to begin with, have now fallen to less than one-percent. That makes two years in a row they have entered a trade deadline well out of the playoff picture.
Clearly, it’s time to sell off the veterans and build for the future.
When the GM confirmed on Friday that he asked all players with no-trade clauses for a list of teams, the mood among fans became cautiously optimistic. Maybe he would be proactive, get ahead of his competition and get a hefty return for Jannik Hansen, Alexandre Burrows or Ryan Miller. Could we be seeing the return of “Trader Jim”?
Every year, the NHL waits for the first shoe to drop at the deadline. On Sunday, it happened, and the Canucks were not involved.
First, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings:
Official from LA: Bishop and 5th-rd pick in 2017 for Budaj, Erik Cernak, a 7th-rd pick in 2017 and a conditional 2017 pick.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 26, 2017
Then, the Arizona Coyotes traded Martin Hanzal to the Minnesota Wild in a large, multi-player, multi-pick deal:
Martin Hanzal and Ryan White from ARI to MIN for picks as specified here: https://t.co/VBUkOjV4DA
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 27, 2017
Both those deals are bad news for Vancouver. Rumors had circulated about Miller-to-LA and Hansen-to-Minnesota possibilities. But whether “Trader” Jim’s asking price was too high, or he was just beaten to the table by Steve Yzerman and John Chayka, there are fewer trading options for Vancouver after today.
Good News, or Bad News?
But all is not lost. Matt Sekeres points out two pieces of good news:
If a #Hanzal deal is near as reported, could really set rental market. #Coyotes were asking for a motherload. Test of seller's market.
— Matthew Sekeres (@mattsekeres) February 26, 2017
This is big for #Canucks. Means #Wild could still, theoretically, have room for Hansen. #NHLTradeDeadline https://t.co/cXU2bIrmgp
— Matthew Sekeres (@mattsekeres) February 27, 2017
The Coyotes got a boatload of assets in the Hanzal trade. If Benning was waiting to see how much he could get for his players, he just got his answer: a lot.
Plus, Arizona retained 50-percent of Hanzal’s salary and cap hit. If the Wild still have interest in Hansen, they may have left themselves enough salary cap room to still make it work.
Then again, maybe they are interested in someone else altogether:
From what I've been told, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Minnesota picking up Evander Kane between now and Wed. #NHLTrade
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 27, 2017
Just like Benning, fans will just have to “wait and see”. In the meantime, let’s preview the three games coming up this week.