2 players for the Canucks to buy and one prospect to sell at the trade deadline
The Canucks need to solidify their team if they plan on making a deep run in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and two particular players can help.
Jake Guentzel would be an ideal addition in Vancouver, but trying to afford and keep him for more than just the rest of 2023-24 wouldn’t be simple. While Guentzel coming to and staying in Vancouver is not impossible, it probably isn’t the most likely transaction that will happen at the 2024 trade deadline, meaning Vancouver will likely look elsewhere for last-minute additions.
That said, expect the Canucks to potentially look to acquire a name or two that won’t be head-turning, but enough to give you hope that they will at least get consistent once more instead of playing like the 0.500 team we have seen lately.
However, just because you don’t need to expect a blockbuster move come March 8th, any trade the Canucks make won’t come without a cost. So look for them to give up at least one prospect at the deadline, even if, as this article suggests, the best fits for them won’t light up the scoreboard in clutch moments.
Canucks can make an impact without a huge move at the trade deadline
The fans and the franchise have waited far too long to bring a Cup to town, so if trading for even someone on the bottom-six means giving up a decent prospect, then it’s a move worth making. It’s always good to see the front office thinking forward, but Vancouver has been too good of a team this season to let this opportunity go to waste.
One reason is that the Canucks should be in win-now mode, given the excellent season they have enjoyed to date. They will also likely swap with a team looking to add a talent they may insert into their lineup next season, so trading away one future asset for the present will work for the Canucks at the deadline.
Player to buy: Brandon Duhaime
While the Canucks haven’t been as consistent in scoring lately, they are still third in the league with 224 goals as of March 3rd, and you can expect them to rediscover their rhythm following a pedestrian February. Therefore, why not add a young, defensive-minded forward like Brandon Duhaime?
The winger won’t score, and he’s someone you set and forget on your fourth line, but he’s a cost-effective piece who will get into an opponent’s mind with the kind of hits he makes.
During his first season in the league, Duhaime crossed the 200-hit threshold, and he followed that up with 146 in just 51 games last year. He takes a simple approach, and it’s one that works well with Vancouver’s physical game. Yet, at the same time, his style is still a sound complement to the high-scoring team they have been. Duhaime would also help the Canucks out when they’re shorthanded, as their penalty kill still lags below the NHL average.
Opponents have also had a tough time scoring when he’s on the ice at even strength and 5-on-5, and that has been a theme since the 26-year-old entered the league. The Minnesota Wild have never seen their on-ice save percentage drop lower than 91.0 percent in the aforementioned situations, and with better goaltending in Vancouver, he can make an even bigger difference.
Prospect to sell: Aatu Raty
The two players listed as ‘to buy’ in this piece are lower liners, so yeah, spoiler alert if you haven’t yet looked at the following section. Anyway, we discussed earlier how Vancouver should be more than okay with mortgaging a future asset for the present, even if a player they plan on ‘buying’ will likely be there between March and June in a best-case scenario.
Aatu Raty is a prospect who has seen 12 games in the NHL with the New York Islanders before he ended up in the Canucks system, where he scored two points (both goals) in those contests. Raty has spent most of his time with the Bridgeport Islanders and the Abbotsford Canucks (though he appeared in three games with the big club), where he has been moderately productive.
Raty will never play on the top-six when he makes the eventual jump to a full-time NHLer, but he will be great on the lower lines. He won’t be as physical as Duhaime, but his simpler, faster game will still work in Minnesota should the Canucks make such a trade with the Wild.
As for the other lower-liner in this article, he plays for a team that may see several forwards move at the deadline. Therefore, Raty could have a decent chance to make that team’s big club out of camp next year should there be a trade and turnover on the bottom-six.
Player to buy: Kyle Okposo
Kyle Okposo is almost an afterthought in this league, but talk about someone who could bring an incredible layer of leadership to the Canucks organization. Having served as the Buffalo Sabres captain over the past two seasons and an alternate captain before that, Okposo’s presence in the locker room would be huge for an already ultra-talented Canucks team.
Unlike Duhaime, Okposo can still score, with 22 points and 12 goals in 59 games this year. He can also build chemistry with linemates quickly, something we saw in Buffalo when he started playing alongside Peyton Krebs and Zemgus Girgensons, and they don’t make many mistakes in the defensive zone.
Especially Okposo, as the Sabres save percentage at even strength and 5-on-5 is a respective 92.7 and 93.4 when he’s taking shooting lanes away from opponents. And while he doesn’t play special teams often, Okposo makes for a great insurance policy on the man advantage or shorthanded if injuries strike, and he can still put up an admirable effort in both situations.
Like Duhaime, Okposo wouldn’t cost much to bring to Vancouver, considering his age and status as a fourth-liner. But he plays a solid offensive game, and defensively, he’s still one of the better forwards in hockey.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of March 3rd)