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A quick start key to boosting Drew O’Connor’s trade stock in 2026-27

Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By Jeff Paterson

Aug 12, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 12, 2026, 14:38 EDT

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The cold, hard reality for Drew O’Connor is that the only thing that really, truly matters next season is boosting his trade value.

The likeable, low-maintenance winger is firmly entrenched in a middle six role on the Vancouver Canucks, for now. But with the team rebuilding and needing to harvest as many assets as possible, O’Connor has the potential to be a key trade piece for the hockey club ahead of next March’s National Hockey League trade deadline.

A 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent, the Chatham, New Jersey native should be an attractive addition for a playoff-bound team. He has size and speed and is coming off a career-best 17-goal season. Beyond that, O’Connor has developed into one of the Canucks top penalty killing forwards. The hockey club needs to continue to lean into that facet of his game with an eye toward pedalling him later in the season.

Exceeding expectations: a fast start that attracts attention around the NHL

In some regards, O’Connor’s situation parallels Kiefer Sherwood’s a year ago. He’s a likeable guy who has played hard and played well for the Canucks. But at his age and with an expiring contract in an escalating salary-cap world, it seems in the organization’s best interest to consider moving on from him rather than extending him.

Due to his league-leading hit totals and his 17 goals in the first half of last season, Sherwood fetched a pair of second-round picks from the San Jose Sharks. It’s highly unlikely that O’Connor can yield that kind of return, but if the Canucks put him in positions to succeed – and he responds – perhaps they can ask for a couple of lesser draft picks for O’Connor.

Looking at the team’s current depth chart, it seems O’Connor is slotted in as the third left winger behind Jake DeBrusk and Liam Öhgren. In that role, he could find himself playing on a line centred by Filip Chytil or Aatu Räty. Stylistically, O’Connor’s speed would seem to fit well with a player like Chytil. However, those two spent just 33 minutes together at 5-on-5 last season. By comparison, O’Connor played more with Räty than any other Canucks forward last season, spending 275 minutes together at 5-on-5. And the results were encouraging, with the Canucks outscoring their opponents 10-7 during that span.

Meeting expectations: consistent depth scoring and developing into a key penalty killer

If there is a knock on O’Connor, it’s that he can go long stretches without leaving any kind of mark on hockey games. With his 6’4” frame, he’s not overly physical, although he did finish fifth among Canucks forwards in hits last season. However, he had just 77 hits in his 82 games, so he’s not a player opposing defencemen fear when he’s hustling in on the forecheck. O’Connor is more of a disruptive force using his speed, reach and hockey sense.

According to NHL Edge data, his top speed of 36.7 kmh put him in the 79th percentile of all NHL skaters for speed. And his 14 bursts of 35 kmh or greater slotted him in the 94th percentile in that category. So without a doubt, O’Connor can get around the ice in a hurry, and in today’s NHL, speed is a coveted commodity.

As the Canucks consider their options with the player, it’s important to note that O’Connor has modified trade protection. He has a 12-team no-trade list, which may complicate matters for the hockey club, but also leaves management with more than half the league to work with.

Below expectations: a slow start and no trade traction

While Drew O’Connor has set himself up for a raise on the $2.5 million he’ll make this season, it doesn’t feel like the Canucks should be the team to give him that salary bump. Instead, the Canucks should work with the player and his agents, Matt and Ryan Keator, to find a preferred destination that will allow O’Connor to chase a Stanley Cup next spring. If O’Connor remains with the Canucks past next spring’s trade deadline, something will have gone awry for a team that can’t afford many missteps in its rebuild.

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