On Wednesday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed the recent trade that saw top NCAA scorer Isaac Howard moved from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Edmonton Oilers – and whether a similar opportunity exists for the Canucks.
Howard, who won the 2025 Hobey Baker Award after a 52-point season with Michigan State, was dealt to Edmonton for Sam O’Reilly – a 2024 first-round pick who just wrapped up a dominant junior season in the OHL. The move gives the Oilers a more NHL-ready piece, while Tampa receives a younger, less-developed prospect in return. Could the Canucks make a similar move?
“The scenario is, they give up a prospect who isn’t NHL ready right now and get one who is close,” said Quads. “For someone like Jonathan Lekkerimäki – if he’s going to play NHL games, how far away is he from being ready? It’s not the same conversation as Sam O’Reilly, a guy who’s 19 years old, has won back-to-back OHL championships, and is putting together a pretty impressive resume.”
“However, Jonathan Lekkerimäki isn’t the equivalent to Sam O’Reilly,” Quads continued. “So I don’t look at it as a Lekkerimäki swap being an upgrade per se. Braeden Cootes likely fits that profile, but it would be incredibly bold to trade him for a more ‘ready’ prospect. So Harm, is there an Isaac Howard trade out there for the Canucks?”
Harm pointed out that Howard’s availability came down to circumstance. “It would be tough to find that kind of opportunity. The reason Howard was available was because he made it clear he wasn’t going to sign with the Lightning. It was similar to the McGroarty situation in Winnipeg, which led to the swap with Pittsburgh for Brayden Yager.”
The reality, Harm explained, is that these trades are rare, and the Canucks’ specific positional need makes it even harder to find a comparable option.
“The Canucks are also specifically looking for a centreman, and we know how rare it is to find top-six centres in the NHL right now,” he said. “With that scarcity in mind, teams aren’t going to be rushing to look at a blue-chip centre prospect and say they’re ready to get rid of this guy – especially if it’s for a winger like Lekkerimäki.”
Harm reiterated a point he’s made before: despite his impressive shot and pedigree, Lekkerimäki’s trade value may not be what some fans assume.
“I’ve made this point before, but a smaller, undersized winger like Lekkerimäki – his trade value isn’t as high as people may believe,” he said. “I think the Canucks are way better off keeping Lekkerimäki and hoping he can develop into a top-six goal-scoring winger over the next couple of years than they are trying to cash in on him.”
Even if the Canucks were open to dealing from their prospect pool, Harm doesn’t believe Lekkerimäki would be the piece teams are asking about.
“If there is that kind of swap available,” he added, “I would assume teams would more so be asking for their D-prospects like Tom Willander or Elias Pettersson [D-Petey] over Lekkerimäki.”
For now, it seems like Vancouver’s best bet is to stay patient – and hope that internal development turns Lekkerimäki into the type of impact player teams are searching for, rather than shipping him out to chase someone else’s.
You can watch the full replay of the show below!
Sponsored by bet365
