With the BC Lions delivering a bombshell of good news to the Vancouver market with Tuesday’s announcement that quarterback Nathan Rourke is on his way back to the Leo’s Den, it got us here at CanucksArmy thinking about ones that got away from the local hockey team.
These are active players that were once in the Vancouver Canucks’ fold who would look good in a Canucks uniform next season. For the purposes of this exercise, the salary cap doesn’t matter. Just let your mind wander a little in the middle of August to a place where one-time Canucks players (or prospects) walk back through the door, ready to suit up in 2024-25.
Gustav Forsling
Without a doubt, the Canucks – and 31 other teams – would love to have the Florida Panthers stalwart on their roster. A 2014 fifth round pick who was dealt to Chicago and then spent time in Carolina before finding a home in South Florida, Forsling is a 28-year-old who just led the Panthers in average ice time per game (23:25) and added 13 points in 24 playoff outings en route to the Stanley Cup in June. A late bloomer, Forsling has come into his own as one of the best two-way defenders in the game. The Canucks were onto something when they drafted Forsling a decade ago, but flamed out in a big way when they dealt him to the Blackhawks for 17 games of Adam Clendenning (who spent last season in Finland). Dare to dream of a world in which Quinn Hughes and Gustav Forsling patrolled the left side of the Canucks defence. Okay, snap back to reality.
Bo Horvat
Bo in the bumper. He’s been missed in that spot since he was shipped to the Islanders 18 months ago. The Canucks have tried to replace their former captain in the slot on the power play, but haven’t had nearly the success they did when he was on patrol there. Horvat had developed into one of the best slot merchants on the power play in the NHL. Since his departure, the Canucks have rotated a number of players through the position – most of them right-handers – and it just hasn’t been the same. Horvat, obviously, had more to offer than just power play prowess, but that’s where his absence has been felt the most. A face-off ace, too, he could certainly step in and take some key draws for the hockey club. Imagine that depth down the middle once again if Horvat returned to Vancouver.
Jared McCann
Think the Canucks could find room for a 28-year-old centre with a 40-goal season on his NHL resume? Yeah, me too. Admittedly, it’s taken a while – and a tour of three other organizations – for the 2014 first rounder to find a home in Seattle where he has tallied 27, 40 and 29 goals in his three seasons with the Kraken. McCann showed flashes of the player he’s become when he scored nine times as a teenaged rookie in the 2015-16 season before he was shipped off to Florida. The Canucks were so bad back then they had the need for a 19-year-old to be an everyday player rather than sending McCann back for another season of junior. Were there some maturity issues? Sure. Was that understandable? Again, yeah. But there is no question that Jared McCann and his heavy shot would look good on this side of the border these days rather than scoring against the Canucks as part of their I-5 rival.
Tyler Toffoli
Looking back, Tyler Toffoli’s brief time in Vancouver looks like a footnote on his career resume. He played just 10 regular season games and only seven games in the 2020 playoff bubble before walking away in free agency months later. Now 32, Toffoli still has the knack for the net scoring a career-best 34 goals in Calgary two seasons ago and a total of 33 last season split between New Jersey and Winnipeg. Things didn’t exactly work out the way he and the Jets had hoped, getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs by Colorado. But Toffoli was a seamless fit in his short stay with the Canucks and should have had several more seasons after being acquired at the 2020 trade deadline. Sure, he’s getting on in years, but there was a reason the Canucks had interest in him at last spring’s deadline and again as a free agent this summer. Ultimately, Toffoli chose San Jose. But he’d still look good in a Canucks uniform. I guess now he’d have to arm wrestle Vincent Desharnais for jersey number 73.
Chris Tanev
Another blast from the past, but there were so many reasons the Canucks were linked to Tanev last season and into the summer. The low-maintenance veteran is wildly popular with his teammates and coaches for the way he plays. And he can still play – even as he approaches his 35th birthday. Big minutes, hard minutes, penalty killing, shot blocking, defending through positioning and outsmarting opponents, Tanev has been rock solid throughout his career. And now he’ll ply his trade in Toronto. But he would have been welcomed back into the Canucks fold had he chosen to sign here this off-season. Tanev has been gone for a while now, but never forgotten in these parts. Part of the best Canucks teams of all time more than a decade ago, there would surely be a spot for Tanev if he strolled into the home locker room at Rogers Arena once again.
Nowhere did we say players had to be in the NHL to make this list, so we’ll throw Nikita Tryamkin into the mix as well, just for fun. When you think of the way Rick Tocchet wants his defence corps constructed, Tryamkin was merely ahead of his time here the first go round. He’s 29 (he turns 30 later this month) and is playing regularly for Yekaterinburg Automobilist in the KHL. Just imagine what Tocchet and Adam Foote could do if they had a chance to work full time with the 6’7” 257 point behemoth who spent parts of two seasons (2015-2017) in the Canucks fold. Suddenly, I sort of want to see this happen. The Canucks could have Tyler Myers (6’8”), Vincent Desharnais and Nikita Tryamkiin (6’7”), Carson Soucy (6’5”) and Derek Forbort (6’4”) on their defensive depth chart.
Since contracts and salary caps get in the way of this sort of thought exercise, I’ll settle for Nathan Rourke returning to BC and hopefully leading the Lions to a Grey Cup title at BC Place in November.
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