Top 3 forwards the Canucks missed out on at the NHL trade deadline
The Canucks have played excellent hockey since a pedestrian first two months of the calendar year, but the NHL trade deadline was a missed opportunity.
The NHL trade deadline is a time when the best teams in the league take advantage of the opportunity to make their ideal situations even better. And while the Canucks division rival, the Vegas Golden Knights, got better than arguably anyone else during the trade deadline season, general manager Patrik Allvin still chose not to add any significant talent, or even a serviceable piece.
If you’re a Canucks fan, inactivity was the last thing you wanted to see from Allvin. The team may have worked its way out of its recent subpar stretch from the second month of the year that saw Vancouver fade into obscurity for three weeks, but it also should have sent a message to Allvin that he needed to further address his team and that recent addition Elias Lindholm wasn’t the answer.
Canucks could have improved with one more forward at the NHL trade deadline
In the following slides, you will see three forwards Allvin could have acquired for Vancouver at the NHL trade deadline. Given cap restraints, they wouldn’t have added all of them to the organization, but just one, whether it’s the blockbuster deal listed or one of the two potential bargains, would have paid dividends.
All three players would have pitched in with scoring, two of which with depth scoring and the other, in what would probably have solidified the league’s best the top-six. Two of the three also would have given Vancouver some sound help on defense, and even the third player listed has surprisingly fared better when his team has not been in possession of the puck this season.
And given the recent news regarding goaltender Thatcher Demko’s injury, such potential play in the defensive zone among the forwards listed would have been a luxury for at least the foreseeable future.