A win over the Leafs. Back-to-back victories on home ice for the first time this season. A three-game win streak. Points in seven of the last eight games. And now two weeks off? Life is good. But even though the Canucks schedule is on pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off, Canucks talk isn’t going to stop any time soon.
There are many questions surrounding this team just weeks ahead of the National Hockey League trade deadline and beyond that into the season’s stretch run. Buoyed by the instant impact of last week’s trades, many of you are wondering about the what the front office has up its sleeve between now and March 7th. We don’t have a crystal ball, but we’ll do our best to answer some trade questions — and a few on other topics — in this week’s mailbag. Let’s get started:
Any centre drafted in the middle of the first round of the 2025 draft isn’t likely to an impact producer for a couple of years. With Quinn Hughes working his way to the end of a value contract, the Canucks probably aren’t banking on their picks this summer stepping in to help any time soon. So with that in mind, I think there’s a solid chance the Canucks move their own first rounder. They just traded the Rangers first to Pittsburgh. They moved the Islanders first to Detroit a couple of seasons ago.
They sent their own first to Calgary last year. At some point, you want to restock the pipeline with top end talent and first round picks are the surest way to do that. But Colorado just came through town with just two of its own draft picks in the line-up: Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Draft like that, and you can get creative with how you choose to use your other picks. Let’s see what happens between now and the March 7th trade deadline, but I think it’s better than a 50-50 proposition the Canucks peddle their 2025 first round selection ahead of the June draft.
Yes. The simple answer is that Quinn Hughes is the only untouchable in the organization. The Canucks felt good about the fact they were able to make the Pittsburgh trade without parting with any of their young defencemen: Tom Willander, Elias Pettersson, Kirill Kudryavstev and Sawyer Mynio. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t touch that stockpile if the right deal comes along.
That is now clearly a position of organizational strength and if they have to move one of those (hopefully not Willander or Pettersson), then they’d have to consider it for sure. Those types of prospects – Kudryavtsev and Mynio – alone aren’t going to help the Canucks address a need at centre. But they could be the kind of sweetener necessary to get a trade across the finish line. And if you move one of those guys, you still have the other three. So yes. A thousand times yes. 
Things have been as quiet around Pius Suter as they were for Suter himself for most of January. Fortunately, the Swiss centre put an end to a torturous 23-game goal-scoring drought with goals in three of four games recently. His overall season numbers are solid, although they were juiced by an overheated start. Still, he’s got 14 goals and 24 points in 51 games and is headed for a career-high in goals (15) and likely a career-best in points (36). He’s a smart, low-maintenance, versatile forward with a high work rate who contributes as one of the team’s top penalty killers. He’s the kind of player the Canucks should want to keep around as long as the price tag makes sense. But to answer your question, no, there is nothing new to report on any kind of extension for Suter at this point. But it only ever takes one phone call.
Simply put, I don’t think the Canucks do. The Devils have Jack Hughes locked up for three more seasons beyond this one at $8M per. He’s a 23-year-old with a 99-point season on his resume. And Luke is a 21-year-old who had 47 points as a rookie defenceman. Why would the Devils want to part with either of those assets? Those are the kind of pieces teams build around. So, I hate to disappoint, but I just don’t see a trade scenario worth exploring here – even if it’s hypothetical. Some things simply aren’t worth digging into.
To recap: Horvat to New York Islanders for a 1st rounder, Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Räty. The first was then packed with a second to Detroit for Filip Hronek and a fourth rounder. Beauvillier was moved on to Chicago for a fifth rounder that was sent to Calgary in the Nikita Zadorv deal and then on to San Jose. 
Miller was dealt to the New York Rangers for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a conditional first rounder which was then flipped to Pittsburgh along with Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais and the rights to Melvin Fernstrom for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor.
Maybe it’s recency bias, but I think I prefer the return on the Miller deal. While Hronek addressed the club’s biggest need at the time and has come as advertised, the jury is still out on Räty becoming an everyday regular in the NHL. That said, he’s only 22, has played 21 games for the big league team this season and seems to be showing growth in his game when he’s in Abbotsford.
So he appears to be developing. The pick in that trade turned into Ty Mueller who recently represented Abbotsford in the AHL All Star weekend and is having a fine first professional season in the AHL. But in Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor, the Canucks look to have three plug-and-play pieces at the NHL level, and Mancini is an intriguing prospect. I think over the long haul, the return on the Miller deal will prove to be the more effective trade for the Canucks. And in the short term, it’s pretty much impossible to argue with a 3-0-1 record and just five goals against.
‪@kellyclair.bsky.social‬
Why was the Petey, Hogg, Karlsonn line dismantled? They were doing well.. and should the Canucks look at hiring a sports psychologist for Petey?
I have to admit I was a little surprised at the move earlier this week to swap out Linus Karlsson for Nils Aman. While not overwhelmed with Karlsson at the NHL level, I have to give him credit for his latest stint with the big club. Not only did he score his first NHL goal in Nashville, but played a role in a couple of other goals by getting to and staying in front of the net to create screens. The line was dismantled once the Canucks traded JT Miller and opted to move Elias Pettersson between Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser.
Ideally, you’d want your top centre to play with the team’s top wingers but it’s pretty clear that none of those three is lighting things up right now. While Boeser scored Saturday against Toronto it was on the power play and he wasn’t with Pettersson and DeBrusk at 5-on-5. So Rick Tocchet continues to move his pieces around looking for something that clicks. Back to your initial question, after watching him Saturday, Nils Aman doesn’t seem to be a fit on the fourth line. I would prefer Karlsson get back into that spot after the 4-Nations break. As for Pettersson and a sports psychologist, I have no doubt the hockey club will make every resource available to every player – not just its highest paid player –  if it hasn’t already. 
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