The Canuck Way
Fansided

6 incredibly bold predictions for the Vancouver Canucks offseason

By David Quadrelli

ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 06: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) during a NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues on April 06, 2019, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 06: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) during a NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues on April 06, 2019, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – FEBRUARY 04: Chris Tanev #8 of the Vancouver Canucks skates against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Wells Fargo Center on February 04, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – FEBRUARY 04: Chris Tanev #8 of the Vancouver Canucks skates against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Wells Fargo Center on February 04, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /

3. The team shakes up the defence via trade

It seems like every year for the past three or four years, there are tons of trade rumours surrounding Chris Tanev. The fact of the matter is, the best time to trade Tanev was years ago. His value has depleted with all of the injuries, and the guy just can’t seem to catch a break. An interesting take I read from one of the commenters on one of my articles was that the team needs to get rid of Edler and Tanev because their health problems always result in the Canucks falling out of the playoff race.

The comment said that they can’t be relied upon as a first pairing and that they need sheltered minutes. While I agree with parts of this statement, I don’t know who the Canucks would bring in to replace their top pair, but they certainly can’t walk away from both Edler and Tanev and simply toss the keys to Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher. Not if they hope to make the playoffs.

Speaking of Hutton, he may be the only defencemen on the left side that the Canucks have that holds decent trade value. The only problem is, if the team were to trade Hutton, Olli Juolevi would need to finally be ready to step in and play big minutes.

It’s a fine line because while you don’t want to walk away from a homegrown defenceman who is finally seeming to come into his own, you also don’t want to miss out on the prime time to trade him as we saw with Tanev. It would be a bold move for the Canucks to trade away either Hutton or Tanev.

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