Vancouver Canucks management is currently scattered across the globe as the Olympic break and the accompanying trade freeze play out.

For general manager Patrik Allvin and amateur scouting director Todd Harvey, that means taking in games in Sweden for the purpose of getting live viewings of some of the players Vancouver will consider strongly with their four projected picks in the top-50 of the 2026 NHL Draft.

When the trade freeze lifts on Feb. 22, the Canucks will hope to execute a series of moves to better position this flailing hockey club for the future. There are a variety of pending unrestricted free agents the club will need to move, including Teddy Blueger, Evander Kane and David Kampf, prior to the deadline. Fans in the Vancouver market would very much like to see the club shed an additional veteran with term, although the club has some time to reach that point and isn’t proactively or urgently looking to do so necessarily.

While the Canucks will look to sell prior to the March 6 NHL trade deadline, team sources have indicated to The Athletic that the club doesn’t necessarily believe it can simply draft its way out of the hole that it has fallen into. Vancouver will also consider buying some players — be they reclamation projects, or veterans that are viewed as distressed assets — in an effort to get younger, get deeper down the middle of their forward group and add to the competitive fire.

As we continue with our Canucks trade target series, let’s take a look at a handful of players outside of the NHL that Vancouver could consider attempting to acquire, either as a return in the sale of an established player or for the purpose of speculating on an intriguing young player ready to seize the additional opportunity at the NHL level that joining a rebuilding team like Vancouver can offer.

Dominic James and Conor Geekie, C, Tampa Bay Lightning

It’s remarkable how often the Lightning find diamonds in the rough. Dominic James, a sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2022, rejected signing with Chicago at the conclusion of his NCAA career and inked a two-year entry-level contract with Tampa Bay as a free agent this past fall.

The 23-year-old forward, who can play both centre and wing, scored three goals and two assists in four AHL games, which earned him an NHL call-up. Since then, he’s immediately clicked as a valuable depth contributor. James has caught our eye almost every time we’ve watched him play — he’s fast (98th percentile for max skating speed and 84th percentile for speed bursts greater than 20 miles per hour), has shown flashes of dynamic skill, and has a strong work ethic, which helps him compensate for his average size (he’s listed at 6-feet, 190 pounds).

James has notched 13 points in 40 games; that may not sound like much on the surface, but it’s actually pretty efficient production relative to his ice time. He’s scored 1.77 points per 60 at five-on-five, which is around a second-line rate and would rank second-best among Canucks skaters who’ve played at least 10 games this season. He’s also a capable play-driver, earning 54 percent of expected goals during his five-on-five shifts. James strikes us as the type of player who has lots of untapped upside and could break out as a bona fide middle-six forward with a greater opportunity.

If James is off-limits because he’s already providing NHL value as a cheap, young asset, then the Canucks could turn their attention to Conor Geekie. Geekie, the No. 11 pick in 2022, was acquired from Utah as part of the Mikhail Sergachev trade.

The big-bodied 6-foot-4 centre with sweet hands split time between the NHL (14 points in 52 games) and AHL (20 points in 24 games) last year. His play was up-and-down at times, but he flashed some intriguing raw skills and mostly held up from a two-way perspective, making it a decent first pro season. This year, Geekie has spent most of the season in the minors, which is optimal for his development because it allows him to play a substantially bigger role and get more reps at centre (he mostly played wing when up with Tampa). The 21-year-old is progressing well, with 41 points in 40 games for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

Geekie’s skating is a weakness, but his size, hands, and shot give him a legitimate chance of developing into an impactful middle-six forward.

Jiri Kulich, C, Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres have a massive wave of talented young forwards arriving at the same time, including five high-pedigree NHL forwards under 23: Zach Benson, Noah Östlund, Konsta Helenius, Isak Rosen, and Jiri Kulich, all of them drafted in the first round. It may be difficult for the Sabres to give all of them meaningful opportunities to develop over the medium term, which means that one of those less-established names could be weaponized as a trade chip to make a win-now splash.

Kulich scored 45 points in 57 AHL games as a 19-year-old in 2023-24, which is terrific age-adjusted production. He followed that up with a solid rookie NHL campaign last year, scoring 15 goals and adding 9 assists in 62 games. Kulich’s underlying process was quite encouraging, as he generated the most individual five-on-five shots and scoring chances per 60 of all Sabres forwards besides Tage Thompson. He’s also a hard-working, committed two-way player away from the puck, with the Sabres outshooting and outscoring opponents during his five-on-five shifts last season. It did help, of course, that he got the plum opportunity of centring the top line with Thompson on his wing.

Kulich isn’t the kind of dynamic forward who will drive a line on his own, and he’s somewhat limited as a playmaker, but his high-end shot, intelligence, complementing skilled players, and battle-winning ability are all valuable traits. The 21-year-old has been limited to 12 games this season because of blood clots, and he’s still out indefinitely because of them. Couple that with the rise of Östlund and Helenius, in particular, and perhaps that would make Kulich expendable if the right trade opportunity popped up.

Ivan Miroshnichenko, LW, Washington Capitals

A 2022 first-round pick who likely would’ve been selected higher than 20th if not for a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis that he received in his draft year, Ivan Miroshnichenko is a relentlessly competitive, physical winger in the Capitals system. While he doesn’t have power forward height necessarily, Miroshnichenko is thick and physically assertive in all phases of the game. He can be a pest-type player when that’s called for, deliver bone-crushing hits and is just an all-around pain in the neck on the ice.

Miroshnichenko has yet to establish himself at the NHL level, but on multiple deep playoff runs in the Calder Cup playoffs and throughout his time in the AHL, he’s been both a menace for opponents and a productive offensive forward, especially when adjusted for his age. Given the edge, tenacity and skill level of Miroshnichenko’s game, he would seem to be precisely the sort of presence that the Canucks system is desperately crying out for.

From a Capitals perspective, Miroshnichenko has progressed in his age 21 and 22 seasons; however, the Capitals are so efficient at talent evaluation that he’s still lost ground to a variety of younger players who have passed him on the organizational depth chart. That description applies to NHL mainstays, who were formerly Miroshnichenko’s teammates in Hershey, like Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre and Ryan Leonard, but it also applies to his current teammates like Andrew Cristall and Ilya Protas, who are among the most effective young AHL forwards at the moment.

Given Washington’s overall depth at Miroshnichenko’s position and some of the uncertainty that hangs over this roster this summer — including the expiry of both Alexander Ovechkin and John Carlson this summer — if the Capitals were to decide to buy to bolster their roster for the playoff push, then Miroshnichenko would be a fascinating target for a team like Vancouver. This is a player, after all, who could play a middle-six role (or even a top-six role) on day one, and would add an element to the Vancouver lineup that the Canucks are sorely lacking.

Jared Wright, RW, Los Angeles Kings

Jared Wright can absolutely fly.

The former University of Denver standout signed with the Los Angeles Kings out of college last spring, and his game has immediately translated to the professional ranks. Though he hasn’t been a star-level AHL producer, Wright is an elite mover who has produced very well for his age (especially given that this is his first professional season) and has demonstrated the sort of competitive fire that should intrigue the Canucks or any number of rebuilding teams.

Wright probably doesn’t project to have top-six upside, but he’s got an NHL-ready frame and looks like a player that could have some third-line breakout potential in that Drew O’Connor or Collin Graff mold down the stretch and into next season. If the Kings were to buy a big-name piece from Vancouver, landing Wright as a tertiary piece of the deal would be a savvy approach for Vancouver. Even if the Canucks were to land Wright as part of a package for one of their rental players, or in lieu of receiving a draft pick back for a veteran like Kane (with Vancouver retaining 50 percent), that might be better than some of the possible alternatives.

Wright can flat out play, and on a team that’s desperate for the sort of speed, motor and competitive bite that Wright could provide, he’s an intriguing prospect fit for the Canucks.

Carter Bear, LW, Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has patiently drafted and developed for years, but at some point within the next 12 months, he’s going to need to push some of his chips into the middle of the table.

Detroit has a prime opportunity to snap its nine-year playoff drought, and considering that captain Dylan Larkin is 29, it’s not as if it has forever to take the next step. This is only the start of Detroit’s competitive window opening, so paying high prices for rentals doesn’t make sense, but acquiring a player with term — either a top-four right-shot defender or a forward who can boost the team’s five-on-five scoring — seems likely at this juncture.

The Red Wings have an above-average crop of young players that could be leveraged to make a big splash. That includes Carter Bear, who was drafted No. 13 last June, and landed on colleague Corey Pronman’s list of the best young assets that could be available ahead of the deadline. Bear is a high skill, high motor winger who blends good pace, hands, and shooting with pro-style competitiveness. He racked up 40 goals in 57 WHL games in 2024-25, and though his numbers have stagnated this season (24 goals in 37 games), he remains a prospect with legitimate top-six upside.

As a winger, it’s more likely that the Red Wings would dangle Bear in a trade compared to a top young centre like Nate Danielson or a defender like Axel Sandin-Pellikka. Yzerman would presumably only move Bear in a trade for a true impact player with term, so it remains to be seen whether the Canucks have the right piece to entice them.

Max Curran, C, Colorado Avalanche

Colorado drained a big chunk of its future capital at last year’s trade deadline when it swung for Brock Nelson. The Avalanche are already missing their first three selections in this year’s draft (though it has nine selections in Rounds 4 to 7), and the organization’s prospect cupboard is relatively bare. This is Colorado’s best chance to win a Stanley Cup since its last championship in 2022, though, so you’d expect GM Chris MacFarland to add ahead of the deadline.

There isn’t a lot that the Avs honestly need, but acquiring another forward to bolster an already-deep group would be a nice luxury, which the Canucks could potentially help them with. If these two teams go down that road, Max Curran should be a target for Vancouver.

Curran’s stock has risen impressively since being selected in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. The 6-foot-3 playmaking centre broke out with 74 points in 65 WHL games in 2024-25. He’s scoring 1.32 points per game for the Edmonton Oil Kings this season and was very good for Czechia at the most recent World Juniors, chipping in five points in seven games, including an excellent multi-point effort in the semi-final game that eliminated Canada.

Curran can connect skilled plays through traffic thanks to his slick passing, allowing him to work around defensive sticks and bodies. He’s a clunky skater with poor acceleration, but his size, vision, reach, and skill make him an intriguing long-term project.