Why the Canucks should keep Adam Gaudette instead of trading him

Vancouver Canucks forward Adam Gaudette has reportedly been in the trade works. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the team is trying to work on something in regards to a Gaudette trade.

His name has been brought up in rumours before and the Nashville Predators have been speculated to have shown interest in the 24-year-old centre.

While it would be best for the Canucks to be sellers at the deadline because the playoffs are very unlikely, Gaudette shouldn’t be one of the moving pieces.

Fans on Twitter aren’t really too keen on the idea of Gaudette being traded either.

Gaudette’s value is low

Gaudette has four goals and three assists this season. He’s had plenty of scoring chances but he has missed on them, including some glorious ones.

Daniel Wagner of Vancouver is Awesome made a good point on why Gaudette shouldn’t be traded. Gaudette’s on-ice shooting percentage 3.75% and that goes to show how he is missing more shots than putting them in the net.

When it comes to the Canucks’ bottom-six forwards, Gaudette is the worst among them when it comes to Wins Above Replacement.

So if the Canucks trade Gaudette now, they won’t be getting much value coming back because he hasn’t been putting up eye-catching numbers offensively and hasn’t been great defensively either.

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Gaudette could still improve his game

When Gaudette first arrived in Vancouver in the spring of 2018 after a Hobey Baker winning season at Northeastern, there was a belief that he could be a decent top nine player for the Canucks.

Many fans believe he can still be just that. He has shown flashes of it especially on offence, but his defensive game could use some work.

“I just want to keep improving,” said Gaudette to the media Zoom call on Saturday. “I think that’s been a big staple in my game every game and every season. That’s all I can control and all I can do is just work on my game and get better, day in and day out.”

Gaudette has been moved to the wing over the last few weeks and that allows him to be more free offensively while also putting less pressure on him in the defensive zone.

“It’s a little different,” said Gaudette when asked about the position change. “But I don’t think it affects the way I play whether that’s offensively or defensively very much.”

On the wing, Gaudette has looked more noticeable especially with the scoring chances and on the rush. Here, he does a good job to get away from Shea Weber and sets up a scoring chance for Jimmy Vesey, who is unfortunately stopped by Carey Price.

Gaudette has taken a step back this year after getting 33 points in 59 games last year. He has been getting outworked defensively and the Canucks have been giving up lots of goals while he is on the ice. It’s also been a struggle to score but he has put in a great effort doing so and has just been unlucky. It wouldn’t make sense to trade him now because of these reasons.

However, Gaudette is making $950,000 this year and is due for another contract next year. It will likely be another cheap show-me deal that is low risk and high reward. I don’t think we have seen the best of him yet and while he has shown flashes of it, he still can be an effective top-nine forward.

I’m not saying that Micaela Gaudette’s husband (shutout to the Broadscast) is untouchable, but there are still improvements to be made to his game and with his value so low, the Canucks should not trade him.