Vancouver Canucks: Trading Chris Tanev is not an option

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, teams are inquiring about Vancouver Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev. Here is why they shouldn’t be considering any offers for their top blueliner.

The NHL trade deadline is now just seven days away, and Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning will likely be one of the busiest over the next week. Though Erik Gudbranson and Thomas Vanek are most likely to get traded, No. 1 defenceman Chris Tanev is now entering the rumour mill.

On Saturday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that other teams are checking in on Tanev, though the Canucks don’t seem keen on moving him:

"“He’s hurt right now, which could potentially complicate matters, but what I’ve been told is that the Canucks have told teams — including, I believe, Toronto — ‘If you’re serious, it’s going to take a special offer to do this.I think the Canucks realize still that even though they are rebuilding, you want to give your young players a chance. And you’ve got to be serious, really serious, if you want to get Tanev out [of Vancouver].”"

It’s a good thing that the Canucks are rightfully attaching a very expensive price for Tanev’s services. But really, they should be virtually hanging up the phone on any call for Tanev. The Canucks cannot afford to part with him.

That is unless they’re being offered a Sidney Crosby/Connor McDavid-type player or a handful of early draft picks. And obviously, no general manager in the league will be giving Vancouver an offer like that for him. Tanev isn’t quite a Norris Trophy-level blueliner.

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The Canucks are devoid of quality top-four defencemen, let’s not suger coat this.

Alexander Edler is injury-prone and slowing down. He is not the same top-pairing blueliner that led them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.

Erik Gudbranson is likely gone. Troy Stecher, Michael Del Zotto and Ben Hutton can skate well and move the puck, but they haven’t shown their abilities to play well against the opposition’s top lines. Derrick Pouliot has been much better than expected. No complaints.

Then you look at the Canucks prospects pipeline, and you see they’re devoid of quality talent on the back end. We don’t know if Olli Juolevi will be the top-pairing defenceman that scouts were high on when he went fifth-overall in the 2016 draft.

Conclusion

The Canucks are among the NHL’s worst defensive teams this season. They allow 3.15 goals and 32.2 shots per game, according to NHL.com. Yet Tanev is logging the big minutes and matching up well against the top players. Imagine how much worse the blue line would be without him?

Let’s not forget he’s signed to a bargain $4.45 million cap hit through 2019-20, according to CapFriendly. Why would the Canucks give up on a 28-year-old who can help them through this rebuild? You’re not getting equal value in a trade for Tanev.

Unless the Canucks plan to sign a couple of notable names in this summer’s free agent market, trading away Tanev brings more risks than rewards. He’s by far their top defenceman, and they’re most definitely not getting better without him.

Next: Vancouver Canucks: Adam Gaudette's options

There’s no indication that the Canucks to intend to trade him. Good, because they have no reason to move out their best blueliner.