The Canuck Way Mailbag: Boeser, Ekblad, trades, more

The Vancouver Canucks have lots to think about this offseason. Potential trades and buyouts are the hot topics of this week’s edition of the mailbag!

The Vancouver Canucks continue to wade through the offseason as everyone speculates what moves could happen between now and the beginning of the 2020-21 season. The Brock Boeser trade rumours have returned as Matt Dumba appears to be on the trading block after the Minnesota Wild re-signed Jonas Brodin to a pricey long-term contract, and of course, the rumours are swirling about what may happen to Loui Eriksson, Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi and the like.

The Canucks may turn out to be one of the most active teams on the trade front, and even in free agency despite Jim Benning’s comments to the contrary. Now that Alex Pietrangelo looks to be on the way out of St. Louis, the rumours will undoubtedly pick up about where he might land. Should they take a run at him if they are able to shed some salary? That could be a possibility, but we all know every team that can take a run will ultimately do so, which means they will have some competition.

This edition of The Canuck Way Mailbag was full of trade speculation, and why not? The Canucks are going to need to be active as they try to navigate the murky waters of the salary cap while trying to improve the team for the bright future they are undoubtedly going to have. So with all that said, let’s get to your questions!

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, so it’s unwise to just shrug these rumours off as just rumours. With that being said, I would not move Boeser for Dumba. In fact, I would not move him at all given that he is just entering his prime in the NHL. If the Canucks trade him for a defensive upgrade like Dumba, the top-six goes from one of the best in the NHL to just average, especially if Tyler Toffoli isn’t re-signed.

The Canucks need to deal from a position of strength and moving Boeser right now when you don’t have a capable replacement is not proper asset management in my mind. Who at this point will replace him? I know they have Vasili Podkolzin coming soon, but he’s not a proven commodity, even though he has immense potential written all over him. Boeser is good for 20-25 goals every season, and it’s not like the Canucks have anyone right now that could take over that production.

In addition, Boeser is a strong presence in the locker room and one of Elias Pettersson’s best friends. I know hockey is a business, but potentially upsetting one of your most important star players may not be the best idea. Benning has said that he won’t be trading Boeser, and I tend to believe him. I think there will be plenty more moves before that is even on the table. Though, I will not say that it will never happen.

I think Jim Benning’s most likely move will be Sutter. He has a palatable one season left on his contract at $4.7 million AAV and he still is a capable penalty killer with the potential to score 10-15 goals. He could also be a veteran presence for a young team looking for more experience in their locker room.

Sutter probably won’t be moved on his own, as a sweetener will probably be needed in the form of a prospect or draft pick. The Canucks may also need to retain some salary to get a deal done, which kind of defeats the purpose of moving him unless the number is relatively low. Regardless, I think he will not be on the roster next season.

Antoine Roussel is an intriguing name on that list, especially considering his age and versatility. At 30-years-old, he still has some good seasons left and he could fill a void in a team’s lineup that is lacking a physical aspect. Like Sutter, he also adds that veteran presence and character to a team’s identity. Additionally, he could be traded on his own without a sweetener.

With Nils Hoglander, Zack MacEwen, and Kole Lind busting down the door in the near future, Roussel’s roster spot will need to be vacated fairly soon. Why not trade him when he’s still a marketable asset?

More trade speculation

That was an interesting development to come out of Harman Dayal’s most recent piece in The Athletic (subscription required). Aaron Ekblad, who was a first overall pick back in 2014, is a franchise defenceman with elite play driving abilities that rival some of the best in the game today. Imagine him on the right side of Quinn Hughes, that’s nightmare fuel for the rest of the NHL and a dream come true for the Canucks.

However, given that he is an elite defenceman, it will cost a pretty penny to acquire him if the Florida Panthers go down that road. Similar to Pietrangelo, there will be many suitors lining up to acquire his services. Unlike him, this would be a trade, not a signing. General manager Bill Zito will without a doubt want either a combination of premium draft picks and prospects or a high-end prospect or player like Podkolzin or again, Boeser. Like Dayal mentioned, they will be looking for scoring depth even if one of Evgeni Dadonov or Mike Hoffman flies the coop in free agency.

Unlike Dayal, I don’t think the Canucks should be mortgaging their future on a high-priced defenceman like Ekblad. Sacrificing Podkolzin, Boeser, or future first-round draft picks would be a bad decision in my mind. His cap hit of $7.5 million could also pose a problem down the road when they need to sign Pettersson and Hughes to matching $10 million contracts. With that said, if a miracle happens and Benning is somehow able to pry him away without paying a premium, I am all for it.

All this discussion is a moot point anyway, as I don’t think they will be moving a young asset like Ekblad over Anton Stralman, Keith Yandle, or Mike Matheson.

The priorities right now are to get better on defence and potentially at the third-line center position. Don’t get me wrong, I have all the faith in Adam Gaudette and his offensive abilities. He just has to become a more reliable faceoff man and two-way threat. Without an improvement in that aspect of his game, I would much rather move him to the wing and have a proven player in the dot get puck possession for his line.

With Nashville Predators’ GM David Poile advocating change this offseason, the Canucks could look to re-acquire Nick Bonino to take over that role. He’s a proven faceoff man with a 52.9 percent success rate over the last three seasons and he’s good for 18-20 goals as well. He also displayed some solid play driving abilities with a 50.4 Corsi-for percentage in 2019-20. Not to mention he is a clutch performer in the playoffs too. His salary isn’t overly high and he’s only signed for the 2020-21 season, so it’s not a long-term investment. Unfortunately, he is 32, but at this point, he would be a better Sutter than Sutter is right now, especially if Benning is able to move him.

As for defencemen, I agree with Ray Ferraro’s take on potentially acquiring Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils. He is a very underrated player on the backend with mobility and a great shot from the point. He also plays in all situations and is one of the better penalty killers in the NHL. Oh yes, he is also a right-shot defenceman too. He is just approaching his prime at 26-years-old and his cap hit isn’t overly high at $4.17 million AAV. It’s hard to say what the Devils will want for him, but it should be a heck of a lot less than what the Wild’s asking price is for Dumba.

It’s also interesting that the Canucks were linked to Severson back in 2018. Now there was a different GM back then, but it shows that Benning was at least interested in him at one point. Could he go down that road again? We will just have to wait and see.