logo
CanucksArmy has no direct affiliation to the Vancouver Canucks, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
JPat’s Monday Mailbag: When do Canucks starting trading away pieces?
alt
Photo credit: © James Guillory-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Nov 24, 2025, 12:30 ESTUpdated: Nov 24, 2025, 12:07 EST
Comments
It’s Monday. And it feels like one of those Mondays after the Vancouver Canucks’ spiritless 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Every day feels like one of those Mondays right now.
These, as you have likely figured out, are not the best of times for this hockey club. The team is spinning its wheels near the bottom of the standings. It’s getting torched for way too many goals on a nightly basis. And there is no hero waiting in the wings to ride to the rescue. For now, this is the group the Vancouver Canucks are moving forward with. Many of you seem to be anticipating the dismantling of this roster. A number of the questions in the CanucksArmy mailbag this week asked about trades and the timing of deals. Let’s jump in and try to answer some of those queries.
Forget the brother aspect of this question for a moment (even though that’s almost impossible to do). If we believe that winning is the best case the Canucks can make to entice their captain to re-sign here long term, then sitting tied for 29th in points and solo 30th by points percentage the week of American Thanksgiving is hardly a convincing argument. I am not in Quinn Hughes’ head, so I don’t want to be presumptuous here, but the evidence is on the ice every night. Even with the best defenceman in franchise history, this team is dead last in goals against in the NHL at the moment. This is not a very good hockey team. Why would a superstar player in the prime of his career, who controls all the cards, want to stick around while this team flounders near the bottom of the standings? It’s getting harder by the day to see a path forward on this file. That doesn’t really answer the question, I know. But even the richest offer in franchise history and one of the most lucrative in hockey history likely won’t be enough at this point. Hughes will get paid wherever he plays, and the name of the game is winning. And the Canucks simply don’t do enough of that. Enjoy Quinn Hughes every time he suits up for the Canucks. It just feels like the clock is ticking and the noise is growing louder by the day.
This one is curious. Give up a (modest) asset for a player. Use the player out of position. Then declare the experiment over after three weeks. Let’s be clear, Lukas Reichel hasn’t performed well for the Canucks. But he was also asked to be a centre, and it’s clear he’s not. Does that mean he can’t be a winger on this team? Maybe they should commit to giving him a two-week run as a winger only to see what he can do at his natural position. The season is slipping away. If Reichel doesn’t work as a winger either, there is no harm in that. But the team really ought to see what this guy can do at the position he’s most comfortable in. I don’t expect him to be a revelation on the wing, but have you looked at the winger depth on this roster lately? Could Lukas Reichel not give the Canucks the same production as Evander Kane right now?
I thought it might be a completely preventable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Sunday against Calgary. I thought wrong. Despite putting his team shorthanded for yapping first at the Flames and then the officials, Evander Kane continued to hold down his left wing spot on the team’s top line with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. It wasn’t until the third period, with the team trailing 4-1, that Adam Foote started to shuffle his lineup, and Kane dropped down to a line with Aatu Räty and Kiefer Sherwood. As last night’s game slipped away, it felt like a prime opportunity for Foote to send a message to a handful of his veteran players, including Kane, but not exclusive to the 34-year-old winger. However, the head coach opted not to. Kane’s overall ice time was diminished a little, but I’m not sure any real message was sent. Kane has now gone eight games without a goal and has just three through 23 games. It’s not all about goal scoring, but certainly more was expected in that department. The biggest issue with this roster right now is even if Adam Foote parks Evander Kane – or puts him in the doghouse as you suggest – there aren’t many better options right now to get promoted. This roster is seriously flawed. Kane is a part of it, but he’s by no means the only issue.
Yeah, I think there is. What they’ve got isn’t working. So why stick with it? Conor Garland has no trade protection in the final year of his current contract before his new extension kicks in. A player who works and competes as hard as he does on a nightly basis would have considerable value around the league. It may not be a good look to recommit to a veteran player and then turn around and deal him, but hockey is a business, and some difficult decisions are going to have to be made here. Garland is a movable asset, as is Kiefer Sherwood, and while both are popular players in this market, the team isn’t winning with them these days. So it’s hard to suggest either is untouchable. We’re not seeing many trades around the league yet this season, but with U.S. Thanksgiving just days away now, trade season may be about to begin. I’m not suggesting a Garland (or Sherwood) trade is imminent, but I do think there is a good chance one or both get moved along. I’m in the camp of when, not if.
I need to see this team healthy before I can start worrying about the trickle-down effect. I’d like to see the club start to move some pieces in and off the roster today. Send Tom Willander down to Abbotsford and bring up Victor Mancini. Send Jiri Patera back to the minors and call up Nikita Tolopilo. Put Arshdeep Bains on waivers and see if he clears. Use that roster spot on Jonathan Lekkerimäki. These moves won’t make the Canucks Stanley Cup contenders, but rolling with the same lineup nightly isn’t garnering results. So mix it up a little. What do they have to lose? Bains needs some game action, and sitting in the press box for five straight makes little sense. Willander should probably have developed longer in the AHL, but got his opportunity sooner than expected. He’s been fine, but I’m not sure he couldn’t use more development time, and Mancini probably deserves another look with the big league club. When Blueger is ready, Mackenzie MacEachern can probably go back to the minors. Or maybe it’s Max Sasson. When Nils Höglander gets the green light for game action, the team may need to make a decision about finding room on the roster. But perhaps by then there will be another injury, or maybe the club will have pulled off a trade, or maybe they’ll truly know that Lukas Reichel’s time here is over. The bottom line is it’s simply impossible to project roster slots weeks into the future.

PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB

This article is a presentation of the Arnold Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club. Spring preparations are underway with opening day on May 9th. Whistler Golf Club is now accepting online bookings for the entire 2025 season, so no need to wait to get those times locked in. If you have a group of 12 or more, get those times on hold now as prime times are filling up fast. For more information, head to https://www.whistlergolf.com/

Editorials

Breaking News