Vancouver Canucks linked to five-time 20-goal scorer ahead of NHL’s trade deadline
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The Vancouver Canucks have been linked to a five-time 20-goal scorer ahead of the National Hockey League’s trade deadline, which is set for Friday, March 6th.
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, the Vancouver Canucks are going to have some big decisions to make with their roster, whether they just move their pending unrestricted free agents or if they go beyond that and move on from big name players with term on their contracts, such as Conor Garland and/or Jake DeBrusk.
Amid the Vancouver Canucks’ plans to rebuild, they’re also in a position where they could take on a bad contract from a team that’s looking to shed some salary, while receiving an asset to do so, likely a draft pick and this is an avenue that Patrik Allvin should seriously consider over the next couple weeks as it could help club down the road.
“We are transitioning into a rebuild here, acquiring younger players through the draft. Obviously, the draft is really important for us. Since Jim and I got [here] three years ago, we’ve definitely always emphasized on getting younger.” Allvin said last month.
Vancouver Canucks linked to five-time 20-goal scorer ahead of trade deadline
In a recent article for The Athletic, Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal examined some potential trade targets for the Vancouver Canucks to consider over the next 16 days and among the names mentioned is Tampa Bay Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand, who is coming off a so-so performance at the Winter Olympics with Denmark.
Drance and Dayal believe that Bjorkstrand could be a cap causality for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they’re trying to free up space so they can add before the deadline and as mentioned, the Canucks could get take on his contract if a draft pick is attached to the deal.
“If the Lightning find an opportunity to add a true difference maker, they could run into a situation where they need to dump Bjorkstrand’s contract, which expires at the end of this season. It’s hard to predict how easy it would be for Tampa to hit the eject button on Bjorkstrand’s contract, but if the market for him ended up being soft, the Canucks could offer to absorb the deal in exchange for a sweetener.” Drance and Dayal said.
Bjorkstrand, a native of Herning, Denmark, is in the final year of his contract, which pays him $5.4 million annually and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so it wouldn’t be a long-term financial commitment from Patrik Allvin & Co.
In 55 games this season, the 30-year-old has registered 27 points (ten goals, 17 assists), ten penalty minutes and is a minus-six while averaging 14:03 of ice time.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
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Vancouver Canucks linked to five-time 20-goal scorer ahead of NHL’s trade deadline
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