The Vancouver Canucks had an opportunity in this year’s trade deadline.
No, it was not to add for a deep postseason run. Let’s face it, the 2024-25 Canucks season has been a soap opera, just like the Young and the Restless or Days of Our Lives. The playoffs are still possible but this team isn’t going to do significant damage.
Vancouver had an opportunity to trade some assets, not just for now but for the future. They already did that by shipping JT Miller off to the New York Rangers. In return came Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a first-round pick. The pick was used to get Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins and both players were extended shortly after.
So they had the chance to do the same with Brock Boeser and Pius Suter who are pending UFAs. So what did the Canucks do? Nothing other than drinking coffee.
If you look at social media, Canucks fans aren’t happy. The Canucks fumbled this year’s trade deadline like Kevin from The Office fumbled his homemade chili.
It was a seller’s market and nothing was sold
Shortly after the deadline passed, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin spoke to the media and explained why the team did nothing.
“The biggest reason I felt we didn’t do any moves here today is that there was not a whole lot of market return for our players unfortunately,” said Allvin per Daily Hive’s Noah Strang.
Keep in mind, that players were going for high picks. Former Canuck Anthony Beauvillier was traded from Pittsburgh to the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick. Beauvillier has 13 goals and seven assists this season. Boeser has 18 goals and 19 assists this season and scored 40 goals a year ago.
The Boston Bruins also took advantage of the sellers market by trading away Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and (gasp!) Brad Marchand. They had already traded Trent Frederic too.
There is no reason to believe Boeser had little value, despite him taking a step back from last season. The Canucks are also still trying to get Boeser extended and it would be a disaster if he walks in the summer.
“If I told you what I was offered for Brock Boeser I think I would have to run out of here because you would not believe me,” said Allvin per Strang. That is quite the quote.
Then there is Pius Suter, who is a reliable bottom-six forward a contender would like to have. It’s baffling that Beauviller got traded for a second-round pick while Suter remains a Canuck.
The Canucks had a chance to weaponize the cap space. If they traded Boeser and/or Suter, they could’ve used those futures to help them now and in the future, like how they traded that first for Pettersson and O’Conner.
It is understandable if the offers weren’t good enough but this was a huge opportunity wasted in a sellers market. But the fact they ended up doing nothing is very, very disappointing and inexcusable.
So what now?
The Canucks remain “mid” as the kids say. They aren’t a contender yet not bad enough to be a lottery team. Right in the mushy middle. Vancouver did this to themselves, them and no one else.
Making the playoffs should be the minimum and not the end goal, winning the Stanley Cup is. But the Canucks are still not even close to contending.
The 2025 trade deadline was a failure by Allvin and the rest of the management group. This resembles the 2016 trade deadline when Jim Benning couldn’t move Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata for future assets and let them walk away for nothing. It feels like groundhog day with the Canucks, especially considering the reports over the years that Francesco Aquilini has been meddling.
Vancouver had an opportunity to right the ship, even if it was a small one, but they ended up doing nothing. And that is inexcusable.
