Welcome to Trade Deadline Week, and not only that, but what could be one of the most important Trade Deadline Weeks in Vancouver Canucks history. GM Patrik Allvin, POHO Jim Rutherford, and the rest of the front office have left a surprising amount of business on the table to this late date. Now fans and media alike are expecting multiple trades to reach completion within the next five days or less.

Whether that actually happens or not remains to be seen, and fans certainly have their reasons to doubt, given how deadlines have gone in the past. But it seems all but certain that something will happen, and probably multiple somethings, given how many pieces the Canucks have on the table.

From what we’ve heard, it’s nearly everyone. Essentially, everyone who’s not a direct part of the ongoing youth movement or named Filip Hronek. But not all trade chips are created equal.

Heading into this vital week of transactions, we thought it was a good time to re-assess and rank the Canucks’ many on-the-table assets in a listicle-type format by maximum potential return.

We’ve left out the aforementioned Hronek and everyone 26 and under. And we, of course, welcome all debate on the rankings in the comment section.

Elias Pettersson
Potential Return: 1^st round pick, quality prospect, young NHLer, cap dump

It’s a bit of a tough break having to start out a list with its most controversial entry, and right on the heels of a benching. But if other teams are truly pursuing Pettersson the way pundits say they are, he still holds the potential for the greatest return of all the Canucks’ many trade chips. The idea here is that any team making a pitch for Pettersson obviously has some belief in his bouncing back, and should be willing to pay for that chance. He’s no longer returning true 1C value, but even good 2Cs have gone for large packages in the past. Two pieces for the rebuild, a mid-range NHLer, and some salary ballast is about the most the Canucks could hope for, but that’s still quite a lot, all things considered.

Conor Garland
Potential Return: 1^st round pick and prospect

With four assists through four games in February, Garland appears to be heating up at the right team. Even if he didn’t, however, he was going to draw interest from around the league due to the quality of his past work. Even with his pending extension in hand, Garland makes a fine salary for his typical production, and carries with him lots of effort-based intangibles. He’s a unique enough asset that an acquiring team should be paying at least a little bit of a premium for him, and that makes him the only other player on this list that can potentially return a first, and maybe even slightly more.

Tyler Myers
Potential Return: 2^nd round pick and prospect

The Myers trade hasn’t happened yet, as of this writing. But if and when it does happen, the return will be dependent on how much compromise had to be reached in picking out a preferred destination. If all is relatively fair, then a defender of Myers’ calibre, size, and handedness should return a second round pick as a bare minimum, with at least a little something on top of that if multiple teams are in the bidding.

It is also possible, however, for the Canucks to accept less in order to send Myers somewhere he’d rather go, so be prepared for that.

Jake DeBrusk
Potential Return: 2^nd round pick and mid-round pick

DeBrusk had been finding some ways to stay productive despite the team struggling around him, but he’s gone ice-cold of late and is now on pace for career-worst numbers. Still, at the age of 29 and with four 20-goal campaigns on his resumé, there should still be some interest from any team looking for scoring, and particularly scoring on the power play. DeBrusk’s $5.5 million cap hit should remain reasonable as inflation continues across the NHL, and there will be at least a couple teams convinced this was just an environment-induced one-year blip for DeBrusk. That could put him in the second round pick range, plus a tad more.

Marcus Pettersson
Potential Return: 2^nd round pick and late-round pick

The Canucks ended up swapping the 12^th overall pick for Pettersson and the next guy on this list. They won’t get that kind of value back for either of them. Pettersson’s play this season has been bad, and perhaps the worst of the Canucks’ top-four. But he was considered an ultra-reliable veteran very recently, and surely some of that reputation still survives. The fact that Pettersson is still able to eat minutes alone, and that he carries plenty of size with him, should still leave the door open for some suitors. Getting a first back isn’t doable, but a second still might be, with maybe something extra just so the Canucks can feel good about it.

Drew O’Connor
Potential Return: Two 3^rd round picks

For a while there, O’Connor was really on a roll, and looked like a player who could incur a massive deadline return. He’s cooled of significantly since, but remains on pace for about 20 goals while playing an important depth role and continuing to do things like kill penalties. O’Connor’s frame, his speed, his range of abilities, and that $2.5 million cap hit combine to make him a great bottom-six addition for a team headed to the playoffs this season and next. He’s not a premium piece, but he’s excellent cost-effective depth, and that should entail a return beyond the standard mid-round pick. Make it two mid-round picks, at least!

Teddy Blueger
Potential Return: 3^rd round pick

Blueger over Kane? You bet! Given Blueger’s excellent play since returning to the lineup, his long-time veteran reliability, and the fact that he plays the centre position and plays it well, and you’ve got the Canucks’ most valuable pending UFA. Either Kane or Blueger is likely to play a depth role with whatever contender they land with, and Blueger is probably the more likely of the two to make a true impact from lower in the lineup. Given the dryness of the centre market, we’d like to imagine Blueger could incur a second round pick, but setting sights on a third does seem more realistic, in the end.

Evander Kane
Potential Return: 3^rd round pick with retention

There remains reported interest in Kane around the league, but it has been said that he’s probably a “backup” option for many teams. The right prognostication here seems to be that a deal will get done, and that the Canucks will get slightly back more for Kane than they paid, but only if they’re willing to employ retention to make him a cheaper asset. By all indications, they are willing, and that should help ensure Kane gets at least a third back.

Kevin Lankinen
Potential Return: 4^th round pick

Lankinen has been leading the tank from the crease of late, but the goalie market is still scarce enough, and he’s got enough of a track record as a reliable backup, as to not completely shred his value. We’ve said before that we think a Lankinen trade, if one occurs, is best saved for the offseason, but if someone is looking for some depth heading into the playoffs, he will be one of the few options available. Don’t expect a team to pay much with that much contract still attached to Lankinen, but don’t expect him to have crossed over into negative territory quite yet, either.

David Kampf
Potential Return: 4^th round pick

Kampf is your standard fourth line/healthy scratch depth acquisition for a playoff-bound team. His ability to play centre, his strength at faceoffs, and his history of killing penalties are all desirable bonus traits that could slightly increase the return, but we’re talking in the range of a fourth rounder instead of a fifth. Kampf just doesn’t have enough offensive ability to garner anything more.

Brock Boeser
Potential Return: Late pick plus another bad contract

Has Boeser firmly crossed the threshold into negative value? We’re not entirely convinced. This is still a goal-starved league, and Boeser can still put goals on the board, especially at key times. No one is looking to take on that contract, but if it could be swapped out for a shorter-term bad contract, maybe there’s something to be had there. The Canucks won’t get anything of significance back for Boeser at this point, but they could perhaps get out from under his extension without really having to pay for it.

Thatcher Demko
Potential Return: No/negative value

If there is one Canucks asset that we cannot assign any value whatsoever to, it’s the perpetually-injured Demko. Until he can prove an ability to return to health for any sort of reasonable term, Demko looks like an $8.5 million cap penalty moving forward. If he can put together a string of starts next season, maybe that starts to change. For the time being, the Canucks would have to pay someone to take him on, and even then they might have a hard time finding a willing partner.

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