The Vancouver Canucks have spent much of the 2025-26 campaign shuffling their various trade chips and considering a series of big moves.

But it must be said that the biggest chip has already been cashed in, and the biggest move already made. Coming into the season, there was little doubt that – even with only two years remaining on his contract – Quinn Hughes was the team’s single-most valuable asset. In truth, it wasn’t even close.

And in the end, Hughes did prove to have immense value. When his trade eventually went down, Hughes returned a truly gigantic package of assets that included all of Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, and Minnesota’s first-round pick.

That’s all over and done with now. But in the wake of it all, we can’t help but wonder: in a post-Hughes world, who is now the Canucks’ most valuable asset? Note that we’re not using the phrase ‘trade chip’ here, because we’re going to be talking about some players that are more-or-less untouchable from a Vancouver perspective. We’re talking instead about the theoretical, in-a-vacuum type of pure value, and from where we’re sitting, we can see at least five candidates worth considering.

We can start with the honourable mentions, or the players who are definitely not the most valuable asset for one reason or another, but who bear noting all the same.

It’s not Elias Pettersson, given that contract and the uncertainty surrounding his performance. Some, like this author, will attest that Pettersson’s worth is currently underrated, and it’s certainly not into the negative as some have suggested. Still, there are enough question marks tied to the player to prevent him from having anywhere near true 1C value.

There are also far too many question marks surrounding Thatcher Demko and his health for him to get much consideration here, in addition to the general volatility of the goalie market.

We can discount the idea of most of the other veterans here; folks like Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Jake DeBrusk, and Marcus Pettersson. All fine vets, but all mired in difficult seasons of some degree, and all too middle-of-the-lineup to enter too much into this discussion.

We say ‘most veterans’ here, because there is one that could be considered the Canucks’ new best asset, and that’s Filip Hronek. We’ve talked recently about his potential trade value. But even if the Canucks plan to hang on to Hronek, he remains an incredibly important, rare, and valuable asset. In short, Hronek is an all-around top-pairing right-shot defender who is just 28 and is signed to a $7.25 AAV contract until 2032. Specifically, Hronek has seemed to play some of his best hockey without Hughes, and has now plainly taken over as the Canucks’ number one defender.

Whether we’re talking about how much other teams might pay for his services or just what he’s going to do on the ice for the Canucks over the next while, Hronek should be rated extremely highly. And if being the ‘most valuable asset’ just meant the player that was going to have the largest impact over, say, the next five years, Hronek would be as good a pick as any.

All other candidates for the distinction are significantly younger. Here, one gets their preference of two 20-year-old defenders already thriving at the NHL level in Buium and Tom Willander. Buium, drafted at 12^th overall in 2024 and then made the centrepiece of the Hughes trade, has traditionally been seen as the prospect with the higher upside of the two, and already has 18 points in 41 games as a rookie.

But then, Willander was drafted slightly higher – at 11^th overall in 2023 – and projects to have a more well-rounded game in the end. He’s also got 12 points through his first 31 games, which is not terribly far off Buium’s pace.

In the end, both Buium and Willander project as long-term top-four pieces at minimum, and each seems to have the potential to end up as top-pairing defenders if all goes as well as possible. Move far enough ahead into the future, and eventually one has to figure that Buium and Willander’s cumulative value from here on out will eventually surpass that of Hronek.

It’s a question of whether one more values Buium’s top-notch offensive output, or Willander’s ability to impact the game at both ends – not to mention his rarer right shot. If we had to make our pick, we’d probably name Buium as the more valuable asset of the two, but it’s close.

Another youngster who probably should be mentioned here is recent World Junior bronze medalist Braeden Cootes. He’s the Canucks’ top prospect by a long shot now that Buium and Willander have firmly graduated, and he is a right-shot centre, which is the next-most-scarce asset in hockey after right-shot defenders.

Cootes’ long-term upside remains up for debate, with some pegging him as a middle-six two-way centre at best, and others believing he has true top-six potential. Ultimately, until he shows more at the NHL level, it’s tough to call him a better asset than either Buium or Willander. But there are probably at least a few pundits and executives out there who would outright prefer him over the other two, and so he gets at least a name-check here.

So, there you have four candidates for the distinction of the Canucks’ new most valuable asset in a post-Hughes world. But we promised five options, and you know we’ve saved the best for last. But if it’s not Hronek, Buium, Willander, or Cootes, who could it possibly be?

Well, we can’t exactly answer the ‘who’ question yet, because it’s more of a ‘what’ at this point. We’re talking, of course, about the Canucks’ 2026 first-round pick.

As of this Tuesday morning writing, the Canucks have the second-worst record in the league. If they stay in that spot until the end of the regular season, they’ll have the second-best odds at first and second overall, and would be guaranteed to draft in at least the top-four selections.

Right now, as an undefined pick, the Canucks’ first is probably already a more valuable asset than any of the other four we’ve mentioned. Sure, they say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but in this case, it’s about a 50/50 shot at Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg hiding in that bush. As good as Hronek is now, and as good as Buium, Willander, and Cootes will be, they still don’t quite compare to a genuine shot at a truly elite talent. The thing with the top of the draft is that it’s typically the only reliable way to get one’s hands on those sorts of players.

Put it another way, and both Hronek and Buium have already been moved once. The Canucks’ first-rounder, as it stands, is a completely untouchable asset. As it should be.

Wait until the lottery is over, and the value of the Canucks’ pick could go up or down. Win the lottery, end up with 1OA, and it gains value. Lose down to fourth overall, and the value goes down.

Either way, though, a top-five pick in the 2026 Entry Draft is still probably the Canucks’ most valuable asset in a post-Hughes world. Until, that is, the pick gets used, at which point whoever the Canucks drafted will take over that distinction.