Monday Mailbag: Trade Speculation Edition

The short answer is it depends on whether or not there’s a market for either of them. Teams are always looking for defensive depth at the deadline, so I could see them getting calls on Michael Del Zotto. I wouldn’t expect much in return, but I could see them getting a late pick back if nothing else. I’m not sure we can say the same for Nilsson. The salary is too high for the performance he’s given over his time here and the goalie market is non-existent. I wouldn’t expect him to get moved unless a goalie on a contending team suffers a surprise injury heading into the deadline.

My guess is he’d get his ass handed to him. Virtanen’s no delicate flower, but Lucic is probably the toughest player in the league. That’s not just me blowing smoke, either. There are a few NHLers who have gone on record about it.

The truth is, I don’t really want Jake fighting anyway. He’s got some warts, but he’s skilled enough to keep a spot in the lineup without getting into any shenanigans. Sure, he should be a physical player, but he can keep it between the whistles.

Unless of course you’re literally talking about dancing, in which case I’d imagine the lead-up would be quite different, but the outcome would be about the same.

Colton Parayko. The Blues are selling and he would give the Canucks an excellent young core to build around along with Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes. He’s only 25, which puts him right in the age range the Canucks should be looking at, and with a few more moves that could put the team back on the upswing. Unfortunately, the price tag is probably prohibitive, but you never know.

It’s certainly possible. Hutton’s really turned things around this year and has come up alongside some of their other young players. He seems like a nice guy and a good teammate and I’ve never been given a reason to believe otherwise, and at 25 there’s no reason the Canucks would have to make a trade if they believe in him.

That having been said, it’s obviously all about the return. He was talked about as a potential piece going back in a deal for Tyson Barrie not too long ago, obviously there wouldn’t be any objections if that happened.

This is always a tough question to answer this early because we have no idea where players will be drafted and where they will fit into their team’s plan. Plenty of good players spend more time in junior or in the minors than they ought to while others are rushed, depending on the context of where they were taken and by which team.

If I had to guess, I’d say Dylan Cozens probably has the best shot of playing next season given that he’s got size and speed on his side. I’ve also heard the same case made for Kirby Dach, but I’m less convinced he can make the jump.

They’re undefeated in regulation over their past six games, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that before their recent run they had lost 12 of 13. I think it’s too early to really say whether or not they’ll be comfortable moving Sutter although will say that Adam Gaudette’s emergence as a legitimate option at centre means it’s on the table now. I don’t think I would have said that a year ago.

The Canucks aren’t a good team, but then again you could say that about at least half the teams in the Pacific Division right now. I’d say Vegas and San Jose are pretty much locks to make the playoffs, and Calgary is looking tough to catch right now, although obviously a lot can change. With Edmonton’s recent surge under Ken Hitchcock, I’m not seeing an easy path to a playoff berth right now. But it’s possible. All it would take is for one team in the Pacific to hit a run of bad luck and the Canucks could find themselves in the mix.

As far as if they actually get there? They’ll get trounced, no question. I don’t think there’s single team in the playoff picture at the moment that they could be expected to beat in a seven-game series.

If Jim Benning can pull that off he deserves the award for GM of the year. That would be a significant underpayment for Burakovsky, who’s young, has draft pedigree, and a proven if somewhat underwhelming track record at the NHL level. If they’re going to get him, a guy like Ben Hutton or Nikolay Goldobin makes a lot more sense. I’d imagine the Capitals are looking for a good return, and for that reason I’d pass unless they’re willing to take a veteran in return.

Unfortunately I think Pettersson is still slightly below that level. I see him more as a guy like Evgeni Malkin or Pavel Datsyuk or Nicklas Backstrom. He’ll be talked about as an elite player of his era, but not quite as a generational talent. There’s nothing wrong with that, obviously. I just think only one or two players per era can really have the “generational” label attached to them, and with guys like McDavid, Matthews, Laine, Dahlin, and Eichel all already in that conversation we’re already in danger of defining the term out of relevance entirely.

Sven Baertschi for Andre Burakovsky straight up. I’m not sure why the Caps would do it, but we’ve definitely seen more lopsided one-for-one trades in recent memory. Burakovsky and Baertschi have the same amount of points over their careers, but Baertschi’s scoring pace has been a bit better. The Caps get a player who’s in his prime right now and can probably slot in on any of the team’s top three lines. The Canucks get a player who might not pan out to be quite as productive offensively, but who’s younger and will still be in his prime when they’re competitive. Baertschi would have to prove he can stay healthy first, though.