If nothing else, Saturday afternoon's home game with the Seattle Kraken only reinforced the need for defensive help. Up 4-1 with five minutes remaining in the third period and cruising to victory, the Vancouver Canucks suffered a spectacular collapse and subsequently lost 5-4 in overtime.
The collective defensive effort of the Canucks has been inconsistent so far this season, and ahead of Sunday's slate of action, they are ranked a lowly tied-21st in average goals per game and have a team save percentage which ranks just tied-25th. For context, last season they were tied-fifth in average goals allowed per game, with a team save percentage of tied-eighth.
Not helping the situation was the injury to top pairing defenceman Filip Hronek at the end of last month, with him not expected to be back until the beginning of February at the earliest. Then there was another injury to teammate Quinn Hughes which kept him out of the Kraken game, although the latest update indicates his absence won't be long-term.
A Canucks prediction from Johnston
Regardless, the Canucks do need some defensive help to strengthen the blue line, but the question is who? Well, one suggestion has come courtesy of respected NHL insider Chris Johnston, in part two of his and Pierre LeBrun's look at where some of the top targets will end up at this season's trade deadline on Mar. 7.
Written for The Athletic (subscription required), Johnston predicts that New York Rangers defenceman Will Borgen will go to Vancouver. Even allowing for this being a fun exercise, would acquiring him be just what's needed to improve the Canucks roster?
Now first of all, it's important to note that Borgen was only traded to the Rangers recently from the Kraken, and has played four games in New York. However, the feeling is that if The Broadway Blueshirts can't stifle their current free-fall, they may look to move him and get something in return for a player set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
In this respect, it should be noted that Borgen has a cap hit of $2.7 million for the 2024-25 campaign. As per PuckPedia, the Canucks have around $2.171 million of cap space at the time of writing and are projected to have just over $5.687 million at the deadline, meaning they can theoretically accommodate such a trade.
Pros and cons of Borgen
Again though, is Borgen really what the Canucks need or are even looking for? He does have certain attributes the team could use, particularly as a big, aggressive right-shot defenceman, who also has decent wheels and athleticism.
In addition, the 28-year-old can play on the penalty kill and overall be the type of meat-and-potatoes player who is unafraid to get down and dirty, evidenced by 59 hits and 42 blocks in 37 games this season. He is capable of playing on the second pairing if needed, which is where he currently resides in New York.
One thing you won't get from Borgen is much offence, with him having produced just 55 points (nine goals and 46 assists) in 251 career NHL games. He's also well on course for a career-worst in +/- rating with him sitting at -15 at the time of writing, although in fairness to him this is just as much a reflection of the teams he has been involved with.
Ultimately, we're not opposed to a trade for the 2015 fourth round draft pick as such; he certainly wouldn't make the Canucks any worse. However, you have to think general manager Patrik Allvin needs to aim higher, in order to find the type of help which can turn around the defensive fortunes of an underperforming team.