Vancouver Canucks nearly traded for P.K. Subban

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks nearly pulled off a trade for P.K. Subban in 2016. The star defenceman would get traded to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber.

The Vancouver Canucks haven’t made a blockbuster deal since shipping away star goalie Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers four years ago. But general manager Jim Benning got pretty close to pulling off a coup that almost landed P.K. Subban.

Speaking on Sportsnet’s 31 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Canucks were close to trading for Subban at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft in New York. The Habs coveted Pierre-Luc Dubois, whom the Columbus Blue Jackets selected with the third-overall pick.

The Canucks picked fifth, and settled for defenceman Olli Juolevi. Friedman explained that if Vancouver somehow managed to get Dubois, a trade could have gone down:

"“Vancouver has confirmed this to me. There was a chance the Canucks were going to get PK Subban that night. The problem was that Pierre-Luc Dubois was not going to fall to Vancouver’s pick, because Montreal knew Columbus was taking him. If Montreal believed that Dubois was going to be available at five, PK Subban could have been a Vancouver Canuck.”"

It was just another example of the draft bringing horrible luck to the Canucks. Despite finishing 28th in the league standings, they wound up moving down to fifth. The last-place Toronto Maple Leafs won the lottery and selected Auston Matthews. The Winnipeg Jets selected sniper Patrik Laine with the second pick.

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Many expected Jesse Puljujarvi to fall to the third spot, but the Jackets went with Dubois — and the former went to the Edmonton Oilers with the fourth pick.

Four days after the draft concluded, Subban was dealt to the Nashville Predators in exchange for fellow star blueliner, Shea Weber.

Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin received plenty of criticism for the trade, given how Weber is four years older and carries a cap hit just over $7.857 million through 2025-26. Subban was also a beloved idol in Montreal, having donated $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The Canucks were fined $50,000 for tampering when Benning admitted he was in contact about trading for Subban and was going to pursue Steven Stamkos in free agency.

Had the Canucks owned the opportunity to draft Dubois, it’s safe to assume they would have had to throw in much more to trade for Subban. The 2013 Norris Trophy winner was just 27 years of age at the time of the trade, and is among the game’s elite all-around players. Montreal surely would have demanded more assets in a Subban trade.

The Canucks drafted P.K.’s younger brother, Jordan, with the 115th pick in 2013. He never played an NHL game for them, and was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Nic Dowd on Dec. 7.

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Adding Subban could have been a franchise-changing move for the Canucks, but their placement in the draft lottery prevented any deal from getting done. It only adds pressure for Juolevi to blossom into the top-pairing defenceman the Canucks have lacked for a while.