The Time Has Come For Canucks GM Allvin To Shake Up Vancouver's Roster

The 2024-25 season has not gone the way the Vancouver Canucks had hoped for. The team has dealt with significant injuries throughout the season and a rift between two-star players that are clearly impacting the locker room. While there are still two months left before the trade deadline, it would be in the Canucks best interest to make a move sooner rather than later and try to get the season back on track.

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Vancouver has a couple of issues they need to fix. The biggest need is a puck-moving defenceman who can play either beside Quinn Hughes or on the second pairing. While stacking the blue line with a physical defenceman has its benefits, this tactic has hurt the Canucks this season as Vancouver's defencemen often struggle to make breakout passes and can't contribute consistently in the offensive zone.

Over the past few weeks, there have been plenty of names the Canucks have been linked to that fit this description. Some include Buffalo Sabres' Bowen Byram, Columbus Blue Jackets' Ivan Provorov and New York Rangers' Braden Schneider. While Vancouver will have Filip Hronek back soon, it is clear that they need to add another puck-moving defenseman if they want to have some success during playoff time.

The Canucks also need to add another top-six forward to help with their goal-scoring. Vancouver sits 29th in the league in shots per game, while their 3.00 goals for per game ranks 18th. Yes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and J.T. Miller have all missed time this season, but even when the forward group is healthy, they have struggled to generate shots and score consistently.

Based on the Canucks play style, there are a few players that might be available who could help this lineup. Some of the names include Sabres' Dylan Cozens, New York Islanders' Kyle Palmieri and St. Louis Blues' Brandon Saad. All three could not only help Vancouver with some of their scoring needs but also provide an extra layer of depth to the Canucks roster.

Lastly, the most complicated issue Vancouver needs to sort out is the rift between Miller and Pettersson. At this stage, there is no point in denying that a rift exists, as enough insiders, as well as former players and coaches, have spoken on the subject. The big question now is whether GM Patrik Allvin needs to conduct a trade to fix this issue, or can the players finally fix their relationship on their own?

While a trade may be the best option, the problem is getting fair value back. In both scenarios, the Canucks are most likely parting with the best player available and will need a massive package even to make the trade possible. That being said, there is enough reporting that indicates Vancouver is open to moving one of their top centers at some point this year.

Despite the Canucks currently sitting in a wild card spot, they can't continue to play the way they have and expect to qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Some significant roster holes are hindering the team from reaching their full potential, which is why they have a .575 points percentage through 40 games. If these issues aren't addressed soon, it could prevent Vancouver from building off a successful 2023-24 campaign.

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