3 untouchable prospects the Canucks must not trade at the deadline
While the Vancouver Canucks should buy at or before the 2024 trade deadline, there are a few prospects they should strongly consider keeping around.
The Vancouver Canucks have 83 points, and they continue to lead the league in that ever-important category as of February 27th. Regardless of how many points they will ultimately end up with as the trade deadline draws nearer, it’s practically a consensus that the Canucks will look to add to their lineup, and that will likely involve giving up a prospect or two.
And okay, yeah, that’s almost always the nature of the NHL trade deadline, especially when the league’s elite works toward a trade with an organization that figures to be a few years away from competing. However, it doesn’t mean they need to trade away either their top talent in the pool, or an intriguing up-and-comer who is starting to figure things out.
The Canucks have a few prospects in the system they should refrain from trading
One reason the Canucks can’t afford to trade away so many prospects comes thanks to how much potential roster turnover there will be over the next two offseasons. While it’s expected to make a big trade and to try for a Stanley Cup in 2023-24, the Canucks must also think long-term, and look to hang onto prospects who they could ultimately insert into their lineup.
Their current defensive rotation is a huge reason why they must hang onto their top talents in the pool, as they have four blueliners set to become unrestricted free agents following the 2023-24 season, and another in 2025. There are also six forwards who will be pending UFAs either in 2024 or 2025, so once again, general manager Patrik Allvin must look beyond this season to build a long-term winner in British Columbia.
So, which players should be non-negotiable at the 2024 trade deadline when the phones start to ring? To foreshadow, there is one dynamic forward plus two blueliners who should all find themselves playing in Vancouver over the next few seasons, where they can help sustain the team’s success throughout the rest of the decade.
Tom Willander has been as-advertised so far and must stay in the system
The 11th overall pick in the 2023 draft, there is no way the Canucks need to trade such a high-potential, high-impact player who will end up in the top-four once he fully develops his game. He’s a two-way player who looked phenomenal with Rogle BK J20 in J20 Nationell in 2022-23, putting up 25 points and four goals in 39 contests, and Willander was just getting started.
He parlayed that performance into an 18-point outing in 30 contests at Boston University, and he also showed an ability to be continually disruptive when his team was trying to regain puck possession.
While Willander won’t be NHL-ready next season and it would be wise for him to stay at Boston University, he’s one of those players who will eventually be a long-term fit for the Canucks on the blue line. And given what we have seen recently during his time in Sweden and at Boston University, there is no reason to believe he won’t be a two-way player when he eventually sports a blue and green uniform.
Vancouver will need to sign some defensemen to extensions or at least bring in some stopgaps in the meantime. But like the other two players on this list, Willander will be more than worth the wait, so they need to keep him off the table when they start trade negotiations with other teams.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki has too much superstar potential to trade away
Drafted 15th overall in 2022, Jonathan Lekkerimaki has been one of the biggest names in hockey for some time, and while he didn’t post encouraging numbers for Djurgardens with just nine points in 29 appearances in 2022-23, Lekkerimaki’s play dramatically turned around in the postseason qualification when he put up 15 points and five goals in 15 contests.
He found himself playing for Orebo in 2023-24, and he’s been outstanding, with 28 points and 18 goals in 40 contests, plus sound production in international play. Given these numbers, Lekkerimaki has shown way too much superstar potential to be used as a trade piece near or before March 8th.
You can expect more production like Lekkerimaki has recently given us in the coming years, and it won’t be long until he makes his debut in North America should the Canucks hang onto him. As it stands, Patrik Allvin is showing no signs of moving Lekkerimaki come the deadline, and there is a good chance the 19-year-old will play in Abbotsford next season.
Give him a year or two of AHL play, and watch him make a smooth transition to the NHL come 2026-27 at the latest. Sure, it will be a wait, but Canucks fans will be glad the organization held onto who may be the top prospect in Vancouver’s pool.
Elias Pettersson has the potential to become a complete player
Not every player needs to be the class of their respective organization’s pool to be considered a top prospect, and Elias Pettersson is one of those high-potential players who fit that mold. At 6’4, 209 lbs, Pettersson possesses remarkable size that puts him into the mold of a hard-hitting, stay-at-home blueliner, but he’s transforming into much more than that.
There have been times during his stint in Sweden that Pettersson has shown us he can be a serviceable player in the offensive zone. In 2021-22, he posted 18 points and 10 goals in 37 contests with Orebro in J20 Nationell, plus an additional 10 points and two goals in six playoff games.
That production continued in 2022-23, when he put up 15 points and five goals in 14 games before graduating to the SHL and appearing in a combined 56 contests between the regular season and the playoffs. This season, he saw 30 games for Vasteras HK and added another 14 points and three goals, further showing us that a two-way game is developing for the blueliner.
While Pettersson may not be more than a future defenseman on the third pairing at the NHL level, he plays hard, isn’t afraid of contact, getting in the way of pucks, or fighting to gain puck possession, and, of course, two-way potential. Overall, he’s showing too much potential to hand off to another organization, especially if the Canucks are only interested in a rental at the deadline.
(Statistics and data provided by Elite Prospects)