Rumor: Two Canucks hit the trade market

With league-wide trade interest, will GM Benning finally embrace a full rebuild?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Rumor: Two Canucks hit the trade market
Keystone Press

The three-way Matt Duchene / Kyle Turris trade this past weekend between the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators has turned the NHL trade market upside down. Thankfully TSN analyst Frank Seravalli has inside knowledge of the trade landscape and has compiled his list of the NHL’s Top 10 Trade Bait.

Interestingly enough, two Vancouver Canucks have found their way onto Seravalli’s list with pending free-agents Thomas Vanek at #5 and Erik Gudbranson at #9. With the Canucks getting off to a surprising 8-5-2 start though, how likely is Canucks GM Jim Benning to move players off his roster? Vanek and Gudbranson might be appealing to a playoff bound team, but with the Canucks still in the hunt, they’re unlikely to move either player unless the return is a massive overpayment.

That’s not to say that Benning won’t make a move at some point, though. If the Canucks find themselves out of the playoffs by the February 26th trade deadline, don’t be surprised if Benning does some wheeling and dealing. He made out quite well for himself last year in shipping out longtime Canucks Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen. Could he have another trick up his sleeve?