The Vancouver Canucks, according to multiple reports, made Carson Soucy available via trade earlier in February, but no such deal has been struck... yet.
Soucy, 30, has instead remained in Vancouver and, at least for now, stabilized a spot on the bottom defence pairing for the Canucks. After some healthy scratches and rebounding, Soucy's improved play has not removed him from trade contention. In fact, some would argue that this has made him an even more desirable trade target.
One of those people is NHL insider Frank Seravalli, who has ranked Soucy as a top-10 NHL trade target, doubling down on the reports from just a few weeks ago.
"Vancouver sent all 31 clubs a memo on Feb. 3 notifying them that Soucy was available. One issue: Soucy has a full ‘no-trade’ clause. Uninterested in leaving posthaste, Soucy decided that he wanted to take a couple weeks to try and get his game in order in Vancouver and see if he could rebound from what he admitted has been a tough year," said Seravalli. "Then the 4 Nations break hit. Soucy can see the writing on the wall and a healthy scratch on the horizon, and he wants to play. He’s a super attractive trade chip if the Canucks retain salary."
Soucy's placement on the list of 45 players is notable; only Buffalo's Bowen Byram and Chicago's Seth Jones rank higher at the position, with players like Mario Ferraro, Jamie Oleksiak, and Rasmus Ristolainen all coming in lower on the list.
The former Seattle defenceman has two years remaining on his three-year, $9.75 million contract with the Canucks, which makes him available at a modest cap hit with some term left on the deal.
It is still unclear what the market might be for Soucy, though the Canucks might just be happy to get additional cap space and a roster spot with players like Marcus Pettersson, Elias Pettersson, and Victor Mancini joining the fold in recent weeks. This will allow them to bolster the forward group and conduct some other business, such as re-signing Brock Boeser, another top trade candidate on Seravalli's list.
The 6-foot-5 Soucy has two goals, seven assists, and nine points in 57 games with the Canucks this season.