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.
Count me as super hesitant to trade Gaudette. https://t.co/OHZOFNz68o
— Sean Warren (@SeanWarren234) March 27, 2021
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.
The #Canucks are reportedly looking at trading Adam Gaudette. All you have to do is look at his PDO to see why they might trade him and also why it would be the absolute worst time to do so. pic.twitter.com/N57gGJGiSw
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) March 27, 2021
When it comes to the Canucks’ bottom-six forwards, Gaudette is the worst among them when it comes to Wins Above Replacement.
Here's how Boyd compared to the rest of the Canucks' depth forwards in WAR so far this season.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 22, 2021
Think it's a smart pickup. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/lChuX3YroS
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.”
Adam Gaudette meets with media to talk about his weight, the days off, and improvement. pic.twitter.com/eHu4rnIMHZ
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 27, 2021
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.
Adam Gaudette goes for the scavenger but his buddy picks up the most-wanted by accident #Canucks
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) March 21, 2021
12/ pic.twitter.com/CcwPI8ErOI
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.