On Friday’s mailbag episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal explored what the Trade Deadline might look like for the Canucks with just over a week to go. With a number of key decisions looming, they focused on how the team should approach potential moves, including the futures of Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and overall roster construction.

The discussion kicked off with whether the Canucks should move Boeser before the deadline or keep him as their own rental before letting him walk in free agency.

“After last night’s game [vs. Anaheim], it’s reckless to keep Brock Boeser as your own rental in the name of chasing playoff revenue mainly because you’ll be passing up on assets that you could be getting and ones you’ll need if you have any hope of quickly re-tooling this team the way the Washington Capitals did. If they keep Boeser, make the playoffs, and he walks; that’s a failure. But if they keep him as their own rental and miss the playoffs? You’re at ‘everyone needs to be fired’ point.

“Here’s the thing: Pius Suter, Derek Forbort, Brock Boeser are all UFAs who should be gone, and I say that because those three guys aren’t winning this team games. You can replace what you’re getting from Brock Boeser right now, and I think you could do it with Jonathan Lekkerimäki—albeit a watered-down version. They can still go out and make that additional trade, sell at the deadline, and remain competitive—you can have it both ways, and the Canucks need to have it both ways.”

Harm agreed with the idea of making smart moves but pushed back on the idea of trading Suter.

“If anything, Suter is a guy I’d hang onto not only because I think it makes sense to extend him because of how versatile he is, but if you trade him, your centre depth is brutal at that point. Teddy Blueger has been outplayed decisively at the 4C position, and now you’d be asking him to play 3C.

“Suter too, unlike Boeser, isn’t going to command a significant return. From a contender’s perspective, he’s not skilled enough to be in the top-six, so you’re talking about a bottom-six guy, and at that point, he’s 5’11, so he’s undersized, a slow skater, not physical. He’s kind of a tweener-type of player where we look at him and really value him from a hockey perspective and want to keep him, but I don’t think the market values him the same way. Think about why he was available in free agency for that cheap in the first place.”

“If that turns out to be the case, I don’t think the Canucks should trade Suter for anything less than a second round pick. If you can’t get that, then just re-sign him,” added Quads.

Quads then shifted the conversation to Elias Pettersson and how moving him wouldn’t necessarily signal a rebuild but rather a necessary shift in the roster’s composition.

“This idea that I’m coming from is that I don’t think Pettersson or Boeser are helping them win games, and trading both of those guys doesn’t signal to Quinn that they’re giving up and tanking,” said Quads. “Of course, it depends what you get back in those trades and what you do with those assets, but this team turned J.T. Miller into Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson, and Drew O’Connor. How different does the roster look if they do more things like that, but instead of Miller you have a better asset in Pettersson, who will get you more in a trade? It’s about changing the look of the team, and it’s becoming increasingly evident to me that Petey isn’t going to figure it out here. I’m not saying that’s because he’s giving up or doesn’t try or anything like that, but I think this is a player that clearly thinks at a different level and is too deep into his own head. It feels like he’s not going to figure it out here.”

Harm then pointed out the significant hole the Canucks would be left with at centre, regardless of whether Pettersson stays or goes.

“The organization is in a spot where in two years, whether you keep or trade Pettersson, they’re going to be stuck without a true franchise centre,” Harm said, “and that’s while already not having a true second-line centre, because in an ideal world, Chytil is a 3C. When you have holes that deep with a forward group who, the majority have never had a 50-point season in their career, you’re so short on high-end skill relative to contenders.

“And now, we’re talking about Demko and his injuries, so it’s not just Pettersson they’ve lost as a star player but Demko and J.T. Miller as well. So outside of Hughes, they’ve lost most of their star power. With these dynamics in play, yes, management will have cap space and assets, but the path to building a true Stanley Cup contender with the two years Hughes has left on his deal is really narrow, and the plan relies a lot on hope and ifs. I worry if they can get it done quickly enough while they still have Quinn.”

You can watch the full episode below:

Get ready, hockey fans! The Daily Faceoff Deadline is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we’ve got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!