The Vancouver Canucks – and the rest of the league, for that matter – have been presented with the rarest of opportunities, as Valeri Nichushkin of the Dallas Stars is apparently available for the right price.

Mike Heika of Dallas News brought to light Nichushkin’s availability, suggesting that the Stars could float their budding winger for a ‘big fish’ acquisition on the trade market. The Stars, who are rumoured to be looking to add depth on their blue line, are reasonably seeing their young stable of electric forwards as the requisite surplus to make such a move happen.

As I alluded to, it’s not often a player of Nichushkin’s ilk finds himself bandied about in trade rumours. I’d hardly call today’s developments definitive by any means, but there’s certainly smoke.

Once considered by many to be a top-five talent in his draft campaign, Nichushkin’s early NHL success was interrupted by a lingering hip injury which required surgery to get right – essentially wiping out Nichushkin’s second season. Although Nichushkin has returned to relative health in this campaign, he’s struggled to recapture the immediate success that launched him into the conversation among the league’s best young talent.

While the Russian sniper has struggled to regain the good favour of Lindy Ruff, it bears mentioning that relative to his age and intermittent health struggles he is playing relatively well all the same. Nichushkin’s two-way game is solvent and his speed allows him to have a positive impact on his team’s ability to control play in the neutral zone. Then again, these are things Canucks fans should know all-too-well at this stage.

Which brings us to why Nichushkin is an appealing option. It’s not an entirely unfair assumption at this stage that Nichushkin’s trade value will never be lower at any point in his career. Nichushkin is returning from the same hip injury which wiped out one of Hunter Shinkaruk’s seasons and halted his progress the next; the Stars depth means that he’s spent the majority of this season away from Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. 

Lower is a relative term though and I’m hardly suggesting that the Canucks can pry Nichushkin from Dallas for pennies on the dollar – just that his value likely doesn’t reflect his ability.

For the Canucks part, they’ve a few assets which might be of interest to the Stars. Chief among them is Dan Hamhuis, who has looked stellar in a two-game sample since returning from a 21-game absence due to a shattered face. A few months of Dan Hamhuis likely isn’t enough for several years of a cost-controlled, ascending asset. Perhaps one of the Canucks budding young forwards and a pick could sweeten the pot to their liking.

This is all speculation on my part though and finding a fit is likely more difficult than the paragraph prior gives credit. if the Canucks are serious about accumulating young talent and finding the next wave, this is as good a place to start as any.