Canucks trade targets: 14 top-six forwards who could boost Vancouver's attack

New York Times

a day ago

The Vancouver Canucks are going to try and be 'all in' this summer.
This is a club that's hungry to get back on track. A club that will stop at nothing to upgrade their top-six forward group and get back to contending after a nightmare campaign.
In order to go 'all in', however, Canucks president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin may have to get creative and aggressive on the trade market. Vancouver isn't viewed as a destination for the top unrestricted free agents this summer, a challenge that further complicates the task at hand for Vancouver hockey operations leadership.
So who could Vancouver target? Who could realistically be expected to move this summer? Let's break down 14 realistic trade options to upgrade the Canucks' top-six forward group this summer.
Lafrenière is coming off a down year, during which he scored only 45 points. Colleague Arthur Staple said there's 'probably some buyer's remorse' on the Rangers end regarding the seven-year, $7.45 million AAV contract extension they signed Lafrenière to last October and suggested that GM Chris Drury could gauge the trade market on him this summer.
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This could be an intriguing buy-low opportunity for a player with star, first-line upside. Just a year ago, Lafrenière scored 28 goals and 57 points despite barely getting any power-play time. He looked like a bona fide game-breaker in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs when he scored eight goals and 14 points in 16 games. Lafrenière would instantly become the Canucks' best winger if he can return to the form he showed in 2023-24, and could shatter his previous 57-point career high if he's given the first unit power-play opportunity he hasn't received in New York.
Yes, his stepback in 2024-25 was disappointing, but nearly every Rangers player underperformed this season. It's tempting to look at Kaapo Kakko's offensive glow-up moving from the Rangers to the Kraken and wonder what a change of scenery could do for Lafrenière.
The Golden Knights may look to shed a contract or two to open up the cap flexibility to go big-game hunting this summer. Perhaps that's where Nic Roy, who's been a luxury depth contributor and is coming off a disappointing playoff performance, could become expendable because of his $3 million cap hit.
Roy has a massive 6-foot-4 frame, plays a heavy, gritty style, possesses underrated offensive puck skills, and owns above-average defensive metrics. He's consistently scored close to the half-a-point-per-game mark over the last few seasons, but he could break out if given an increased opportunity. When Jack Eichel was injured from mid-January to early March during the 2023-24 season, for example, Roy moved up the lineup into a top-six role and scored 19 points in 19 games.
It's not often that you see a 23-year-old centre coming off a 60-point sophomore NHL season available on the trade market.
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The 2020 No.9 pick is an excellent net-front scorer — he ranked top 10 percent among all NHL forwards at generating both shots and goals from 'high-danger' areas, according to NHL Edge — with a knack for finding soft ice and connecting on tips and deflections. He's an intelligent, responsible player at both ends of the rink with solid two-way numbers. He's also a scrappy, fierce competitor.
However, there are also enough question marks to cast doubt on whether Rossi would be an ideal fit for the Canucks. For starters, he's only 5-foot-9 — is that a dealbreaker for a Vancouver team that's already small and non-physical up front?
Secondly, Rossi was paired with one of Kirill Kaprizov or Matt Boldy for most of this season. By riding shotgun with one of those star playmaking wingers, Rossi was able to fit in as more of a complementary offensive contributor on his line rather than the main driver. Would he still be able to thrive as a bona fide top-six producer in Vancouver, where he wouldn't have a star winger of that calibre to play with?
Rossi is also below average in the face-off dot and may not have much upside beyond the 60-point mark he reached this season, as both his individual and on-ice shooting percentages were relatively high.
The Dallas Stars have a lot of work to do to cement themselves as a Stanley Cup favourite for next season, and they'll likely be motivated to take some big swings this summer.
The Stars, however, will be limited by a lack of overall cap space. And given all that they have to accomplish, both to upgrade their lineup and retain a handful of key expiring players, including Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene and Markus Granlund.
Entering the final year of his contract, which carries a $4.5 million annual average value, Marchment could shake loose as a result of Dallas opting to make some difficult budgetary choices this summer. A big-bodied, consistently productive second-line forward, Marchment would bring a ton of traits — including his goal scoring touch, and power forward game — that the Canucks would surely prize.
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Peterka is a speedy, dynamic winger with star potential.
The 23-year-old has steadily increased his offensive production every year since entering the NHL. He scored 32 points in 72 games as a rookie, broke out with 28 goals and 50 points as a sophomore in 2023-24 and hit a career-high 68 points this season. He boasts a wicked shot that can beat goalies clean from a distance and is above average at driving controlled zone entries and rush chances.
Peterka has scored 2.25 points per 60 at five-on-five over the last two seasons, which ranks 19th among all NHL wingers (minimum 1,000 minutes). He has defensive flaws but is young enough still that those may improve with increased experience and maturity.
Peterka will be in high demand if available, meaning the biggest question mark isn't fit-related but rather acquisition cost-related. Do the Canucks have the trade chips that would put them over the top in a bidding war?
The Canucks will be missing a pure top-six goal scorer if Brock Boeser walks in free agency. Could Marchessault replace some of that scoring at a reasonable $5.5 million cap hit?
Marchessault carries some risk because he's 34, undersized at 5-foot-9 (although he's a fiery, hard-nosed competitor), and is signed through the 2028-29 season. His production fell to 21 goals and 56 points this season, but that's not too shabby considering how anemic the Predators were offensively this year. It's even more respectable when you remember that Marchessault hasn't had a true top-six playmaking centre to play with in Nashville.
Overall, Marchessault has remained productive through his early 30s. He scored 42 goals in 2023-24 and won the Conn Smythe the year prior in 2023. The Canucks should consider kicking tires on him if the acquisition cost is discounted, though they'll need to avoid landing on the 15-team no-trade list he's contractually entitled to.
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A right-handed centreman who contributes in every area of the game, J.G. Pageau has been a high-end third-line centre across the past decade.
Now 32-years-old, there are some signs of slippage in Pageau's game — his skating speed, notably, fell off somewhat relative to his career norms this past season — but he still produced over 40 points this past season, while contributing effectively shorthanded and on the power play. He's also a genuine ace face-off winner in the circle.
Pageau only has one-year remaining on his current contract, and a 16-team no-trade list. If he were willing to come to Vancouver, he'd bring a ton of credibility, utility and experience to the Canucks' forward group, even if he isn't really the 'top-two line centre' that Vancouver would ideally identify and acquire this summer.
St. Louis Blues centre Brayden Schenn was shopped ahead of the NHL trade deadline, but remained with the Blues and was a productive part of their stunning second-half run to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Entering an offseason in which Schenn will turn 34, the tough-as-nails, one-shot scoring pivot will see his full no-trade clause become a 15-team limited no-trade clause on July 1.
There's risk associated with a potential Schenn acquisition, given his age and the term remaining on his $6.5 million (AAV) contract which won't expire until after the 2027-28 campaign. Schenn, however, is an assertive physical presence and a top notch leader in the locker room, traits that the Canucks might understandably prioritize after what happened last season.
Beyond Schenn's goal scoring touch and physical, pugnacious style of play; Schenn would potentially offer some sneaky value to a Canadian franchise acquiring him this summer.
Schenn's current contract was heavily front loaded, so while his cap hit reads $6.5 million across the next three seasons, the actual compensation he's due over the next three seasons averages south of $5 million per year. With the salary cap set to explode in the years ahead, adding the more affordable years of Schenn's contract might help free up an internal budget team — which the Canucks haven't traditionally been, at least not when it comes to spending on player personnel outside of the pandemic-impacted seasons — continue to spend to the upper limit of the salary cap, even as that becomes a more expensive prospect in the years to come.
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Even at 33, Rust is showing zero signs of slowing down as a first-line winger.
Rust is an excellent skater, a tenacious puck retriever, and a prolific scorer. He produced 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games this season and 28 goals in 62 games in 2023-24. Rust is dependable at both ends of the rink, a high character, low maintenance personality, and, of course, Rutherford has a long history with him. He has three years left on an affordable $5.125 million cap hit.
Rust's no-movement clause will expire on July 1, and the rebuilding Penguins could look to cash in on the veteran winger's value. He would be a terrific on-ice fit for the Canucks, but there's a risk that you'd be buying too high on an older, oft-injured player who's coming off a season where his 16.2 percent shooting clip was above his career norms and could modestly regress.
A big bodied middle-six forward capable of playing all three forward positions, Morgan Geekie exploded for 33-goals this past season. While Geekie has provided the Boston Bruins with a spectacular level of surplus value over the past two seasons, his success in his platform year may make it complicated for the Bruins to retain him.
As productive as Geekie was this past season, he's still a more credible fit in the middle of the lineup than at the top of it. And yet, as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, the Bruins may be careful about tendering Geekie a qualifying offer this summer.
While these types of dynamics can cause a player to become available on the trade market, it's not a profile that the Canucks have been hesitant about gambling on under Allvin and Rutherford's leadership. Both Ethan Bear and Filip Hronek were somewhat similarly positioned when the club dealt for them over the past few years.
Järnkrok is more of a versatile bottom-six utility player than a top-six solution, but he could be an interesting buy-low candidate on a cheap $2.1 million AAV. The 33-year-old struggled in the playoffs returning from injury, but he's been an underrated third-liner throughout his career because of his two-way IQ and consistent secondary scoring.
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Zacha isn't a perfect player, nor is he a flashy solution, but he possesses attributes that would appeal to the Canucks.
The 28-year-old owns a large 6-foot-3 frame, has averaged 54 points per season over three years in Boston, and has recently evolved into an above-average face-off man. Zacha has plenty of experience soaking up difficult top-six matchups. He has two years left at an affordable $4.75 million AAV and could be realistically available as the Bruins enter a rebuild.
Zacha is a slightly below-average two-way play driver. However, the bigger concern is whether his production in Boston has been inflated somewhat by playing alongside David Pastrnak. Zacha has been stapled to Pastrnak's line for most of the last three years, and the Canucks don't have a superstar winger of that calibre for him to play with in Vancouver.
Erik Haula, 34, has proven to be a versatile, preternaturally confident, swift skating middle-six forward across a 750 game NHL career.
Entering the final year of his three-year contract with the New Jersey Devils, Haula's full no-trade protection will convert to a six-team no-trade clause on July 1. Relatively speaking, the Devils aren't flush with salary cap space this summer, and may ultimately consider shedding some salary if they decide to pursue star-level talent in free agency or on the NHL trade market.
Depending on how the dominoes fall, Haula's $3.15 million cap hit and diminishing trade protection could cause him to shake loose at a cut rate price on the trade market. Especially given that Haula is coming off of a disappointing 11-goal, 21-point season.
A few years ago Trevor Zegras, a versatile, charismatic 24-year-old forward with absurd puck skills and the creative flair of a true showman, appeared to be on his way to being one of the next faces of the NHL.
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Stalled development, however, contentious contract talks and a couple of difficult injuries — a torn meniscus in Zegras' knee that required surgery to repair, and a broken ankle the prior season — has altered Zegras' trajectory, and the industry perception that surrounds him. In the blink of an eye, Zegras has gone from an EA Sports cover boy to a distressed asset.
As a potential trade target, Zegras possesses the ultimate boom-bust profile. He is, as it stands, an immensely skilled but imperfect NHL-level player.
Undeniably, the risk for whatever team swing the bat and attempts to acquire Zegras is significant. His defensive details are genuinely lacking, his lack of progress in the face-off circle makes him a probable winger over the long-term, and his overall skating burst looked somewhat diminished last season in the wake of a pair of serious lower-body injuries.
The upside on Zegras, however, is also enormous. His skill level and creativity as an offensive force leaps right off of the ice, and it's genuinely special that at a precocious age, his age-21 and 22 seasons, Zegras was a two-time 60-plus point forward. More than that, Zegras was a solidly consistent five-on-five play driver as a young forward, which is very rare for any NHL player at that age.
Given that Zegras' flaws are sure to be priced into his acquisition price, pursuing him on the trade market seems like a straightforward gamble on an extraordinarily gifted young man maturing in his mid-20s. That feels like precisely the sort of bet that a Canucks team in need of adding elite skill above all else this summer should consider strongly.
(Top photo of Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)