The Vancouver Canucks could re-sign the following players on their blue line: Filip Hronek, Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Meyers, and Ian Cole. And to be honest, they should re-sign Hronek and one of the other aforementioned players while letting the other two walk.
One reason is that there is one young blueliner on the San Jose Sharks who was the subject of trade rumors around deadline season earlier this year, and that could once again be the case in the offseason. Mario Ferraro is a young, physical defenseman who has the potential to give the Canucks much more longevity than the likes of Meyers or Cole.
Ferraro can easily play top-four minutes, as was the case this past year when he averaged 22:52 of ice time per game, and he nearly reached the 200-block milestone with 195 this season. A physical player, Ferraro routinely delivers triple-digit body checks, and he landed 124 this past season in 78 contests.
Vancouver Canucks can get even younger on the blue line in 2024 offseason
Ferraro would cost the Canucks $3.25 million a year, which would cost more than Ian Cole or Tyler Meyers in 2024-25. The former made just $3 million last season, and the latter’s contract worth $6 million AAV just expired, and Meyers will likely re-sign on a deep discount should he return to the Canucks.
So there would be opportunity cost in this situation: Trade for a player like Ferraro, who could be part of this team for the next decade, perhaps, or keep a pair of reliable yet aging players whose time in the league could be up in any given season?
Overall, trading for a player like Ferraro and inserting him into a lineup that he can be part of for a while is enticing if general manager Patrik Allvin is willing to give up compensation and bring him over. But there could also be more financial risk involved, and Allvin would also know what he’s getting in Cole and Meyers, something that can’t be said for Ferraro.
This would be an unprecedented trade for sure, but considering the number of Canucks defensemen who are currently pending free agents, it wouldn’t be a bad one. And the potential long-term rewards of bringing a player like Ferraro to British Columbia could make this one worth the risk.
(Statistics powered by Hockey-Reference)