Which Canucks are likely to be moved at the trade deadline?

Believe it or not, we are less than a week until the March 21 trade deadline. For the Vancouver Canucks, it looks to be another interesting deadline day for them.

What makes things even more interesting is that ideally the Canucks would be sellers so they can focus on the future but they find themselves in the midst of a playoff race and at the time of this writing just sit only one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild-card spot. The Canucks are also 7-2-1 in their last ten games and since Bruce Boudreau took over as the head coach on December 5, the Canucks have gone 22-9-5 and are eighth in the entire NHL since then.

What kind of deadline should we expect from the deadline? With the Canucks fighting for a playoff spot, there could be a few moves, a quiet deadline or maybe, just maybe, a trade that shocks Vancouver so much that people start falling off their chairs and dropping their phones simultaneously.

Over the past couple of months, plenty of trade rumours coming from various hockey insiders has been brought up. The trade rumours at times were like hearing an Ed Sheeran song. You like it first but everywhere you go, you just can’t escape him and hear him multiple times a day.

Various players have been mentioned in these rumours, so with the deadline in just a few days, let’s go over which of the Canucks brought up in rumours are likely to be traded. Patrik Allvin has got some decisions to make.

Disclaimer: This is just pure speculation from my own mind and I cannot predict the future like some mythical oracle. Knowing hockey, you will never know what could happen.

Conor Garland: Possible he could get traded

Conor Garland was acquired along with Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes in the big draft-day trade. He then signed a five-year contract worth 4.9 million dollars per season.

Garland had a great start to the season but has kind of cooled down since. He is also second behind Miller in even-strength goals with 13. (Only one has been on the power play.)

Satiar Shah of Sportsnet 650 said on Canucks Central last week that if the Canucks trade with the Penguins, Garland could be the one shipped out instead of Boeser. If the Canucks want to trade for Marino for instance, it would be more ideal if Garland went back the other way.

Garland has also been linked with the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver has been linked to Pavel Zacha. The Canucks would be better off trading Garland for picks and prospects and younger players with more upside instead of Zacha himself but it’s possible he could come in a package.

Tyler Motte: Likely to be traded

Tyler Motte has been an effective fourth-liner for the Canucks and one that contenders want.

Irfaan Gaffar of the Fourth Period has linked Motte to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.

TSN insider Darren Dreger was on Wednesday’s edition of the Sekeres and Price show and he said Motte’s name keeps on being heard in the trade rumour department.

Motte is also a pending UFA and it would be better for the Canucks to get assets back instead of letting him walk for nothing. He is also going to want a big raise from his 2.4 million dollar AAV and could be looking at a four-year deal.

Motte could go for a high pick and while he is a good player for the Canucks he could easily be replaced by someone like Will Lockwood. I feel like Motte is the most likely to be traded at the deadline.

Tyler Myers: A small chance he gets traded

Believe it or not, there is interest in Tyler Myers. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that at this point there is nothing serious due to Myers having a full NTC which becomes a 10-team no-trade list starting July.

Myers signed a five-year contract worth six million dollars per season in the summer of 2019 and it was a divisive move among Canucks fans. This season, he has done well for the most part, particularly since Boudreau arrived.

Moving Myers would be a big step in creating cap space but it is not going to be easy. Myers would also have to waive his NTC. It would also be hard to replace Myers on the right side of the blue line which already isn’t very good.

If Myers does get traded he could go in a package for Boeser or Garland but it also would be tough to avoid acquiring another big contract coming back.

Travis Hamonic: Probably won’t get traded

Another name that has been thrown out in the rumour department is Travis Hamonic.

His name was also mentioned by Dreger on Sekeres and Price but also by Chris Johnston on Wednesday’s edition of That’s Hockey on TSN.

Hamonic has improved in recent games scoring a few goals but throughout the season he missed time due to a personal issue and an injury. He also has made some pretty bad defensive mistakes.

Hamonic signed a two-year contract worth three million dollars in the offseason and he also has an eight-team no-trade list.

Like Myers, it will be hard to replace him on the right side and I’m not sure if there is enough value for him thanks to all the time he has missed and his poor defensive play.

Jaroslav Halak: Probably won’t get traded

It’s been a tough season for Jaroslav Halak and he ended up getting pulled in his last two starts.

Halak also has a no-move clause and already received his bonus of 1.25 million due to starting 10 games this season. That will count against next year’s cap.

A bunch of teams need help with goaltending, particularly the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. The situation is still unclear on whether or not Halak will get traded but it would be tough to find interest in him due to his poor performances. I would bet on him not getting traded but again, things could change.

Which Canucks do you think will be traded? Are there any players I missed? Let me know in the comments below or in the Facebook comments or on Twitter!