Record<\/p>\n
18-31-6, 8th in the Pacific (~0% playoff probability<\/a>)<\/p>\n Deadline Status<\/p>\n Seller<\/p>\n Deadline Cap Space<\/p>\n $3.78MM on deadline day, 1\/3 retention slots used, 48\/50 contract used, per PuckPedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Upcoming Draft Picks<\/p>\n 2026: VAN 1st, MIN 1st, VAN 2nd, SJS 2nd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th Trade Chips<\/p>\n The Canucks\u2019 braintrust of Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford<\/a> has already thinned this list considerably by pulling the trigger on the aforementioned Hughes deal. They also shipped out pending UFA winger\u00a0Kiefer Sherwood<\/a>\u00a0to the Sharks last month for a pair of second-round picks and a minor-league defender to make the contract math work for San Jose, so that\u2019s another relatively high-value name gone.<\/p>\n That leaves Vancouver with four pending UFAs remaining on the NHL roster. While those names are the most traditional trade deadline fodder, none of them will net the Canucks a significant return. One of them \u2013 lefty defender Derek Forbort<\/a> \u2013 has been on long-term injured reserve since October, so he\u2019s likely not even an option to move.<\/p>\n K\u00e4mpf likely won\u2019t land more than a mid-to-late-round pick at best. Since having his contract with the Maple Leafs terminated after clearing waivers at the beginning of the season, he\u2019s averaged over 15 minutes per night for Vancouver, but only out of necessity. The 31-year-old\u2019s offense was already limited, but despite seeing increased deployment, he\u2019s clicking at a career-worst 0.19 points per game rate with only six in 32 contests. His defensive game has been a legitimate benefit, though \u2013 his 50.5% shot attempt share at 5-on-5 is among the best on the team, and he\u2019s done so in difficult matchups.<\/p>\n The name that\u2019s been thrown around the most, though, is that of Evander Kane<\/a>. At $5.125MM against the cap, his nine goals and 25 points in 54 games since being acquired from the Oilers last summer are certainly underwhelming. His track record of strong playoff performances when healthy, though, has seen him draw interest from contenders<\/a> like the Avalanche and Stars. His high cap hit and the Canucks\u2019 limited cap flexibility mean they\u2019re unlikely to recoup more than the fourth-round pick they gave up for him, though.<\/p>\n Of course, there are the big names.\u00a0Elias Pettersson<\/a>\u2018s still available for the right price<\/a>, although his $11.6MM cap hit has always meant an offseason move is likelier. He and\u00a0Jake DeBrusk<\/a>, signed through 2031 at $5.5MM per season, both control their own destiny with no-movement clauses. Vancouver signed\u00a0Conor Garland<\/a>\u00a0to a six-year, $36MM extension that doesn\u2019t kick in until next season, leaving him with no trade protection until July 1. But with him only churning out seven goals in 44 games this season, there\u2019s likely not widespread interest in picking him up with such a commitment.<\/p>\n Team Needs<\/p>\n Cap Space:\u00a0Normally, rebuilders can add assets by leveraging their cap space to take on bad deals from money-needy teams in exchange for futures. Vancouver is in no such position to do that, as they\u2019ve been tight to the limit all year and have only accumulated a few million dollars in space as a result. Kane, Blueger, K\u00e4mpf, and Forbort coming off the books will give the Canucks about $10MM of reprieve in addition to the projected $8.5MM cap jump. They also don\u2019t have any RFAs in need of big pay bumps. It\u2019s still relatively uncommon for a team in Vancouver\u2019s position to have as many anchor deals as they do (Pettersson,\u00a0Brock Boeser<\/a>,\u00a0Filip Hronek<\/a>,\u00a0Thatcher Demko<\/a>) above a $7MM price point. No one is expecting one of those names to get moved in the next four weeks, but if they decide to take on a more aggressive teardown, opening more infinite flexibility will be the way to go.<\/p>\n More Center Help:\u00a0Save for Pettersson enjoying a rebound, Vancouver doesn\u2019t have a true first-line center, nor do they have one on the way.\u00a0Marco Rossi<\/a>\u00a0is a nice piece, but he has only two points in eight games since being acquired from Minnesota. Braeden Cootes<\/a>\u00a0looks like a nice value for the 15th overall pick in last year\u2019s draft, early on, but projects as more of a second-line, two-way piece. They won\u2019t get a bona fide No. 1 middleman with a top pick in the 2026 draft class, either, with both top forwards being wingers.<\/p>\n Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Olympic break approaching, the trade deadline is about a month away. Where does each team stand,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[54005,5,4,697,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-442595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-deadline-primer-2026","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-pro-hockey-rumors-originals","12":"tag-vancouver-canucks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116004682173339264","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
2027: VAN 1st, SJS 2nd, VAN 3rd, VAN 4th, PIT 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/USATSI_24872951-228x300.jpg\")
<\/a>They have a pair of centers available,\u00a0Teddy Blueger<\/a> and\u00a0David K\u00e4mpf<\/a>, who might serve as added depth for a contender\u2019s fourth line. The 31-year-old Blueger only recently returned to the lineup after missing over half the year with a lower-body injury, although he\u2019s been hot in limited action with four goals in eight games. He\u2019s found himself in a similar situation before, when the Golden Knights picked him up from the Penguins as a rental at the 2023 deadline, and he served mostly as an extra forward in their run to the Stanley Cup. His historical strength on draws, track record of 20-plus point seasons, and penalty killing ability all give him legitimate resale value at an affordable $1.8MM price tag. He\u2019s the higher-value piece of the two, although he has a 12-team no-trade list that could complicate a move.<\/p>\n