End Of January Trade Targets For The Vancouver Canucks

While the NHL trade deadline is still a couple of months away, the Vancouver Canucks’ unspoken trade deadline of the end of January is fast-approaching. Last season, fans welcomed Elias Lindholm to the Canucks after a pre All-Star weekend deal sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, and a first and fourth-round pick to the Calgary Flames. The season before, former captain Bo Horvat was traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty, and a first-round pick that eventually helped acquire Filip Hronek. Let’s take a look at a few options for this season’s pre-deadline splash.

Ivan Provorov, Columbus Blue Jackets

3G, 15A in 41GP

A big presence on the blueline who can consistently put up 25–35 points in a season, Ivan Provorov is on the last year of a $6.725M AAV contract signed with the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2019. He’s due to hit free agency after this season, making him a likely trade candidate for any team who comes calling. This season, he’s averaging 23:28 minutes per game, second only to Zach Werenski on his team. Provorov can provide something that the Canucks desperately need right now — puck movement from the blueline.

There are a couple of problems with acquiring Provorov. Unless he absolutely loves it in Vancouver, chances are, he’ll only be a playoff rental. He has also recently expressed a desire to stay with the Columbus Blue Jackets, meaning that he may not even get traded at all. As well, he carries a hefty price tag that would all but guarantee at least one of a Canucks top prospect or first-round pick being sent the other way. He’s also not particularly strong in his own zone, making this a risky pickup especially given his cap hit. Vancouver has seen recent success with Russian defencemen that they’ve acquired mid-season and bade farewell to in the offseason — could Provorov be the next one?

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Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram, Buffalo Sabres

Cozens - 8G, 12A in 41GP

Byram - 5G, 17A in 41GP

Wouldn’t this be something? Bowen Byram has frequented hypothetical trade threads and articles all around Vancouver, but throwing Cozens into the mix would make the Canucks a substantially younger team. Once co-captains of Team Canada during the 2021 World Juniors, Byram and Cozens could be solid additions to a Vancouver team looking to shake things up.

Cozens has the potential to elevate himself to a solid two-way, second-line centre. He had a down year last season, and currently, it looks like he’ll be repeating a similar effort. With that being said, Cozens is only 23, meaning that he has plenty of time to develop. He’s currently under contract until 2029, with the deal paying an AAV of $7.1M. If Vancouver is looking to acquire a centre while upgrading their defence, then this is the type of deal they should be looking at.

On paper, a deal for Byram sounds great. While it’d be refreshing to add a player like Byram to Vancouver’s defensive core, injuries have been common in the defenceman’s career, particularly early in his time with the Colorado Avalanche. It has been reported that Byram has endured three concussions since making his NHL debut. However, since joining the Buffalo Sabres, he has yet to miss a game. Byram’s skills would be an asset to Vancouver, as he’s effective at joining the rush and staying calm when defending in his own zone. At the end of the day, if Byram can stay healthy, acquiring him is worth taking the risk.

Brian Dumoulin, Anaheim Ducks

0G, 8A in 40GP

While this isn’t exactly the same splash of a trade that the Canucks typically make at the end of January, the acquisition of Brian Dumoulin checks a few boxes off management’s list. One, he wouldn’t cost the same type of money that a bigger-name player like Provorov would. Two, he can eat up minutes to ease some of the workload off of players like Tyler Myers or Carson Soucy. Three, he’s a former Pittsburgh Penguin. He joined the Penguins the season prior to Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet joining as an assistant coach, and stuck on the team until his departure in 2023.

Dumoulin could provide a steady veteran presence on the blueline — one that has been through the playoffs plenty of times and has even won a couple of Stanley Cups. However, Dumoulin does have a 10-team no-trade list, the contents of which are currently unknown. If he’s open to coming to Vancouver, he could provide more stability on the back-end, freeing up other defencemen to focus more on offence.

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