It would seem the stakes surrounding the Vancouver Canucks trade talk have officially been lowered.

This time last week, we were still discussing JT Miller (and Elias Pettersson) rumours. Now, a week later, Miller is a New York Ranger, and several new players have joined the Canucks, including Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, Drew O’Connor, and – most relevant to the current topic at hand – Marcus Pettersson.

It would seem that the third and latest Pettersson is also the top-four, puck-moving defender the team has been looking for. He’s stepped right into ice times of 25:57 and 23:03 in his first two games as a Canuck, and there is already talk that an extension might be right around the corner.

All of which has led, in turn, to a discussion on Carson Soucy’s future in Vancouver.

Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that the Canucks had made Soucy “available” on the trade market, something that was then echoed by Rick Dhaliwal. Later, Pierre LeBrun clarified that Soucy still wished to “make it work” in Vancouver but that his camp and the Canucks were also mutually considering trade options.

The reasoning here is simple enough to parse. Marcus Pettersson’s arrival ensures that both spots on the left side of the Canucks’ top four are spoken for. At the same time, the younger Elias Pettersson has turned heads in his most recent call-up, and the coaching staff is having a hard time taking him out of the lineup.

Derek Forbort is also still in the mix, and on Monday against Colorado, he occupied the absent Quinn Hughes’ spot on the top pairing while Soucy slid over to the right side of the bottom pairing.

There is an argument to be made here that Soucy currently ranks fifth on the Canucks’ left D depth chart, behind all of Hughes, both Petterssons and Forbort. That, combined with Soucy’s $3.25 million cap hit this year and next, is the reason a new home might be a good thing for both sides here.

Depth.

The Canucks very plainly still hope to make the playoffs in 2025. Teams headed into the postseason typically add blueline depth, not subtract it. And despite his struggles this season, Soucy remains a fine depth piece that the Canucks don’t have to pay to acquire.

Most fans seemed happy to see Soucy step in for Noah Juulsen on the right side on Tuesday, and that is just one way in which he can still contribute to this lineup. Covering injuries is obviously another one.

The Canucks have the cap space to accommodate a more expensive depth contract at the current moment. So why not hang on to Soucy?

The notion of getting his contract off the books for next season – when the younger Elias Pettersson’s spot on the team is even more assured – is also important. But then, that’s something that can wait for the offseason. With the cap going up, it stands to reason that finding a home for Soucy in the summer will be just as easy, if not easier than it is right now.

The Canucks might prefer to move Soucy now. But they can definitely afford not to, and there are some potential benefits to hanging onto him. This will become important later when we discuss the potential return.

If the Canucks were to wait until the offseason to trade Soucy, the market would be tough to gauge from our present-day perspective. Plenty of teams might be interested in a year of Soucy instead of committing to an expensive long-term UFA addition, or they might show increased interest after striking out on said UFAs.

But if the Canucks’ aim is to trade Soucy within this season, now that’s a market we can assess.

A good potential trade destination for Soucy right now is a team with ample cap space on hand and some sort of depth issue on the left side of their defence. A lack of size on the blueline would also be a positive indicator. Here are a few teams we believe might be interested in the here and now:

Current left side:  Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, Mattias Samuelsson [injured]

Deadline cap space: $25.17 million

The Sabres are currently last in the Eastern Conference. So, why would they be adding players to their roster? Well, because they’ve been rebuilding for long enough. If they can add someone now who can bring them closer to being a playoff team, they should do it, and Soucy could certainly bring some elements to their roster that they are lacking.

A dearth of size and physicality on the Buffalo blueline has been a talking point, as has been an absence of pushback. Soucy could arrive now, help improve matters, and then stick around for next year when the Sabres really hope to make some noise.

Current left side: Joel Hanley, Jake Bean, Tyson Barrie [RHD], Kevin Bahl [injured]

Deadline cap space: $80.03 million

It’s kind of astonishing that the Flames are currently tied with the Canucks in the standings with a blueline like that. Even when Bahl is healthy, it’s nothing to write home about, and Soucy could reasonably fit in anywhere from two to four on that depth chart.

The Canucks would probably prefer to avoid trading Soucy within the division. Then again, as they work around Soucy’s no-trade clause, a return home for the son of Viking, Alberta, may be appealing.

By the way, that’s not a typo on the deadline cap space. The Flames could afford to double their on-book salary at the deadline and still fit under the ceiling.

Current left side: Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, Keaton Middleton

Deadline cap space: $3.99 million

Canucks fans may have noticed the Avalanche dressing the hulking, but plodding, Middleton on their blueline on Monday night. If they’re looking for someone with a little less size and a decent amount more skill, Soucy could be the guy.

The Avalanche do have the space to afford him right now. But we have heard they are also in the hunt for a new 2C, and so that space might have to be spent elsewhere, resulting in them needing to clear out some further room.

Current left side:  Denton Mateychuk, Jake Christiansen, Jack Johnson, Zach Werenski [injured]

Deadline cap space: $84.36 million

The Blue Jackets really shouldn’t be on the cusp of a playoff position, especially not with Werenski out of the lineup. And yet…

That left side currently being led by the rookie Mateychuk is something that will need to be addressed at some point. Columbus badly needs depth, and they’ve got far and away the most cap space in the league, so cost is not an issue.

Soucy would play an increased role in the immediate future and probably still continue to have a role to play well into 2025/26.

Current left side: Gustav Forsling, Niko Mikkola, Uvis Balinskis

Deadline cap space: $3.51 million

What?! The defending Stanley Cup champs might have interest in Soucy? It’s true. The Panthers have been playing with a pared-down blueline all season long, and that’s been somewhat with the understanding that reinforcements would eventually be on the way.

Forsling and Mikkola are fine top-four defenders, but they probably require a more versatile option behind them than Balinskis. Soucy would also seem to play a physical style that is in keeping with how Florida likes to do hockey. The fit is surprisingly good!

Current left side: Alexander Romanov, Adam Pelech, Dennis Cholowski, Mike Reilly [injured]

Deadline cap space: $1.95 million

Really, the Islanders should be more concerned about their right side, as all three of Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield are currently injured. Still, when all players are healthy, one looks at that left side and sees a number of question marks.

The Islanders are within three points of a playoff spot and pushing hard. Adding another physical defender now helps stem the tide of injuries, and we can’t help but think that Soucy is a Lou Lamoriello type of player.

They don’t currently have the space but do have the option to exploit LTIR.

Current left side: Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit, Dakota Mermis

Deadline cap space: $3.83 million

Toronto’s blueline has been a talking point all season long, especially on the left side. Benoit seems to have worn out his welcome a bit as an everyday player, and Soucy brings similar size and physicality with a fair bit more skill.

The Leafs are also a team that has demonstrated more of a willingness to play defenders on their off-side, meaning they could get a lot of diverse use out of a player like Soucy.

Current left side: Josh Morrissey, Dylan Samberg, Logan Stanley, Ville Heinola

Deadline cap space: $9.64 million

The top team in the Western Conference, too?!

Jets fans have been generally dissatisfied with Stanley’s play on the left side this season, and if there’s a weak spot to be found on this Winnipeg roster, it’s there.

Soucy could step in for Stanley now and probably improve upon his standard of play. Winnipeg is also pretty close to home for Soucy, which would be a positive in working around his no-trade clause.

One will find a wide range of opinions on the internet regarding Soucy’s value. The most simplistic will state that, as Soucy is on a non-expiring $3.25 million contract and is currently struggling to stay in the Vancouver lineup, he’s a cap dump that the Canucks will need to pay to get rid of.

But we disagree. For one, the salary cap is going way up next year, and that makes a $3.25 million cap hit significantly more palatable. More importantly, however, we return to that aforementioned truth that the Canucks – with $12.25 million of estimated deadline cap space themselves – don’t have to trade Soucy at all.

Waiting until the offseason to move Soucy and keeping him in Vancouver as a depth option is a perfectly viable outcome. Therefore, there is pretty much no reason for the Canucks to pay anything to trade Soucy.

There’s really no reason to trade him at all unless they get a little something back in return for him.

Let’s be clear here: we’re not talking about anything significant. The primary ‘return’ for Soucy will be cap and roster space next year, and there’s not much doubt about that. But that same cap and roster space can be achieved in the offseason just as easily. A team wanting Soucy right now will have to pay something.

What is that something? Not a first or second-round pick, we’re pretty certain, nor a prospect of that sort of value.

Even a third-rounder might be stretching it. The Canucks did, after all, pick up Nikita Zadorov for just such a price last year, and Soucy would definitely seem to hold lesser value. Call a third a real stretch goal in these negotiations.

But a fourth-rounder? That’s definitely doable. As is a prospect project with some reasonable question marks. Whether the Canucks hold onto these assets or whether they flip them for other players they might need more than Soucy remains to be seen. These assets won’t be difference-makers. But they won’t be entirely without value, either.

That’s the key takeaway about Soucy’s trade value: it has to be something, or else there is no reason to trade him quite yet.