Canucks Trade Deadline Preview: Allvin prioritizing long-term amid inconsistent year

After making two of last year’s bigger rental acquisitions in Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, albeit well ahead of the National Hockey League trade deadline, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said his team is in a different position this season.

They’re also in a different spot in the standings, mired in the wildcard mosh pit instead of playing for the Pacific Division title and home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

“I think you’re always trying to make the team better,” Allvin told Sportsnet during a weekend interview in Seattle. “But I think we’re in the position this year where… I don’t envision any pickups like last year.

“That’s something we obviously discuss a lot — where we are as a team and a group. I would say last year, I felt that the team, the way they performed and everything went right for us, that they deserved those late additions. I think this year is a little bit tougher for us because we’ve had inconsistency. Part of it is also where we’ve gone through injuries.

“When we’ve played at our best, I believe that we’ve played really well. But it’s too much ups and downs, and that’s been the hardest part to evaluate the individuals and also the team performance.”

Allvin and hockey-operations president Jim Rutherford have been one of the NHL’s most active management groups since they took over the Canucks a little more than three years ago. But if they make a deal before Friday’s trade deadline, it will likely be with a long-term outlook.

Allvin made a blockbuster trade on Jan. 31, sending top centre J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in a deal that netted Vancouver a total of four players.

Two of them, defenceman Marcus Pettersson and winger Drew O’Connor, have already been re-signed.

Any rental-deals involving the Canucks are likely to have them as sellers, as Vancouver has top-six winger Brock Boeser, third-line centre Pius Suter and big, depth defenceman Derek Forbort all eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1. Typically, Allvin would rather get something than nothing, especially after Zadorov and Lindholm walked away in free agency last summer.

But despite all their problems in a season nobody on the West Coast expected, the Canucks are still in a position to make the playoffs in April. And Allvin doesn’t want to jeopardize that.

With superstar defenceman Quinn Hughes under contract for two more seasons — management desperately hopes to re-sign him in the summer of 2026 — there will be no rebuild-style selloff in Vancouver.

“When you’re looking at teams that are talking about rebuilding, they’re looking to get players like Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson,” Allvin said. “We have those guys. There’s not a guarantee that (players like that) are going to be available in the draft. And if they are, they might be good four or five years from now. Finding superstars like Quinn, it’s hard.

“I believe that with this group, we’re just going to continue to build and get better. I don’t envision us to take a step back. The results might not be the way we want (this season), but I don’t envision us to take a step back.”

Cap space committed to 2024-25: $82.9 million (19 players)

The Canucks need far more than they thought they would when this season began, but at least their blueline appears as solid as it has been since the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals team was dismantled a decade ago. Marcus Pettersson was the key component of the return from the Miller transactions, young Elias Pettersson has impressed as a 21-year-old rookie call-up, and top prospect Tom Willander is expected to leave Boston University and challenge for an NHL spot as soon as next season.

They also acquired defenceman Victor Mancini from the Rangers and have impressive, skilled blue-liners Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio in the development pipeline.  

Re-signing Kevin Lankinen has solidified Canuck goaltending, even with uncertainty over Thatcher Demko’s health and future with the team. But up front, and especially at centre, there are some serious holes. The top-line void left by Miller is the biggest, but the Canucks just need more speed, size and scoring generally. Winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki, 20, has 19 goals in 32 American Hockey League games during his first season in North America, and Aatu Raty looks like he’ll be a bottom-six NHL centre. But Vancouver needs more for its attack.

Lukas Reichel, LW, Chicago Blackhawks: Loaded with speed and dynamic talent, the 22-year-old winger’s development appears to have stalled in Chicago, where the 17^th pick of the 2020 draft has been a healthy scratch. After an encouraging final quarter to the 2022-23 season, Reichel has just 11 goals and 35 points in 117 games since then, so the Blackhawks will be listening to offers. The acquisition cost would be significant, but Reichel offers a high reward with his high risk.

Casey Mittelstadt, C, Colorado Avalanche: So far, it doesn’t look like Mittelstadt, acquired a year ago from the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram, is going to be the second-line-centre solution for the Avalanche any more than Alex Newhook was. But Colorado, despite its uneven season, is trying to win now, and it will be costly to get Mittelstadt. The 26-year-old, two-way centre has two more years under contract at $5.75 million and would immediately help the Canucks’ top six.

Josh Norris, C, Ottawa Senators: Norris doesn’t appear on a lot of trade boards because he’s 25, under contract for five more seasons and is not a player the Senators “want” to trade. But since signing his $63.6-million extension in 2022 (after a 35-goal campaign), the shoot-first centre has been slowed by injuries and hasn’t popped as Ottawa had hoped. Norris has 31 points in 52 games this season. Owed five more years at $7.95 million, Norris is a big ticket. But his age, position and scoring ability check boxes for the Canucks, and he also happens to be one of Hughes’ closest friends.

Ryan O’Reilly, C, Nashville Predators: OK, hear us out. At 34, O’Reilly would be a prized pickup — a potential “final piece” — for an elite team trying to win a Stanley Cup this spring. That’s not the Canucks. But the centre also has two more years under contract at a bargain $4.5 million and continues to play at a superior level. Vancouver needs a centre who can win faceoffs and replace departed J.T. Miller in a matchup role. Equally important, they need to upgrade their culture and leadership. Few players exemplify leadership and character more than O’Reilly, whose remaining term also dovetails with the two-year window the Canucks have left with Hughes.

Brock Boeser, RW: After eight years, 532 games and 420 points, the Canucks’ longest tenured player is their most valuable trading chip. The 28-year-old is eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1, and the sides have not gotten close in negotiations. Boeser wants to stay, and management, at the right price, would like to keep him, so the right-winger who scored 40 goals last season (and has 18 in 53 games this year) could survive the deadline in Vancouver. But if someone makes the Canucks a strong offer, it will be tough for Allvin to say no.

Pius Suter, C: Another impending UFA, Suter is a two-way centre who plays with more grit than most people realize, and with 16 goals and 28 points in 59 games, is on pace for a career season. He may have priced himself beyond what the Canucks want to pay for a third-line centre, but the 28-year-old is going to get paid by someone. Who doesn’t want a dependable, versatile pro who goes quietly about his work and can play up or down the lineup, centre or wing, and both special teams?

Carson Soucy, D: Soucy’s disappointing season has included a couple of healthy scratches, and the mobile, six-foot-five defenceman has been bumped to the bottom of the lineup — and currently, to his off-side on the right — by the arrival of the new Petterssons, Marcus and Elias 2.0. He has a season remaining at $3.25 million, which could deter some renters, but also demonstrated in the last year’s playoffs that he can thrive in the tough-going and match up against good players.

Derek Forbort, D: Between the loss of his father early in the season, then a significant leg injury, Forbort’s transition to the Canucks has been difficult. But his one-year, $1.5 million contract is expiring, and the 33-year-old is a good penalty killer who plays a robust game and profiles as the big, depth-defenceman contending teams love to have on their playoff roster.

Draft Picks: The Canucks won’t be spending draft picks on rentals. But they’re also trying to retool and upgrade for next season and give Hughes a reason to re-sign by contending soon. As they showed by flipping first-rounders to acquire Filip Hronek two years ago and Marcus Pettersson in January, Vancouver management is willing to spend a top draft pick for a player to help them now and in the future.

Other considerations: We haven’t listed the Canucks’ original Elias Pettersson on the assets-to-trade list, partly because it’s extremely difficult to trade a struggling, $92.8-million player when the in-season market is so limited. But make no mistake, the 26-year-old centre, considered untouchable until this season, could be traded before his no-move clause activates on July 1. In 94 regular-season and playoff games since last Feb. 16 — about the time management forced him into contract negotiations ahead of last year’s deadline — Pettersson has 18 goals and 58 points. His cap hit is $11.6 million for the next seasons.