How Canucks should approach the 2026 NHL trade deadline

Over the past three seasons, you would be hard pressed to find an organization that has been more fascinating to watch than the Vancouver Canucks.

They have gone from regular season Pacific Division champions in 2023-24, to missing the playoffs last season, and now find themselves sitting last in the overall standings with the best chance to win the lottery and pick first overall this summer.

The Canucks management group previously stated the team was going to retool the roster on the fly. Then the team lost 11 games in a row, the longest in the history of the franchise, and so they have pivoted to a full-on rebuild strategy. 

What Vancouver is entering into will take patience and time. It will test the resilience of their fan base, but if they stick to a “draft and develop” model for the next three seasons (at least) they have an opportunity to come out the other side of the strategy with a new core of players to move forward with for several years.

With Vancouver entering into rebuild mode here’s my organizational analysis of the Canucks, including what they might receive in trades, their current draft capital and an update on some of their top prospects:

Any NHL team that has the guts to tear down the roster and enter into a full-on rebuild needs to acquire as much draft capital as they possibly can. The more picks they accumulate, the more opportunities they have to “hit” on players.

It seems like a simple enough strategy but an organization has to buckle down, work harder than any other scouting staff in the league, and make sure they stock the cupboards with assets. Here’s how the Canucks draft capital currently looks for the next three cycles:

So the Canucks are rebuilding. They’ve already traded out Quinn Hughes and pending UFA Kiefer Sherwood, but the sense is they’re just getting started.

Here’s how the Canucks’ roster currently looks in relation to contracts, trade clauses, salary retention and future salary cap structure.

• Contracts for Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser expire after the 2031-32 season. 

• Pettersson’s contract includes a full no-movement clause. Boeser has one as well through the 2028-29 season.

• Jake DeBrusk’s contract expires after the 2030-31 season and he also has a no-movement clause for the next two seasons.

• Connor Garland’s contract expires after the 2031-32 season and he has no-move protection for the next four years.

• Filip Hronek’s contract expires at the conclusion of the 2031-32 season and has a no-movement clause through the 2027-28 season.

• Marcus Pettersson’s contract expires at the end of 2030-31 and his no-movement clause also runs through the 2027-28 season.

• Tyler Myers’ contract has another year left on it. He has a no-movement clause this season, followed by a 12-team no-trade list next season.

• Thatcher Demko’s contract situation is interesting. He’s in the final year of his previous contract and doesn’t have any trade protection on it. However, when his extension kicks in next season, he will have a no-movement clause.

• When Demko is healthy he’s a top-flight NHL starter, but he can’t seem to avoid the injury bug and misses significant time every season. 

• Kevin Lankinen’s contract has a no-movement clause for this season and next.

Defenceman Derek Forbort is currently on long-term injured reserve. He’s a pending UFA at the conclusion of this season and is making $2 million.

Salary Retention and Buyouts 

Owners aren’t fond of having a player’s contract on their books for extended periods of time after they’ve been bought out or traded. In the Canucks’ case they have some significant dollars being spent on players who are no longer with the organization.

• Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was bought out and is still counting for $4.766 million against Vancouver’s cap this season and next. Even after that he’ll still be on the books for over $2 million another three seasons.

• Vancouver retained $712,500 of forward Ilya Mikheyev’s salary when they traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks in June of 2024. 

Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford has stated they will listen to offers for essentially any roster player. Having said that, the following players are most likely to be moved sooner than later and potentially return some significant draft capital in exchange for their services:

Kane hasn’t had the kind of year he or the Canucks had hoped he would when he joined the team. He hasn’t contributed enough offence (nine goals, 23 points) to make up for his defensive metrics. Having said that, players like Kane generally provide value at the hardest time of year with their physical presence. He has a modified no-trade clause which allows him to approve a move to 16 teams, and his cap hit is $5.125 million. I’m positive he would welcome a chance to engage in playoff hockey this spring and that Vancouver would use one of its two remaining salary retention slots to bring that number down for an acquiring team.

I don’t envision teams lining up to overpay for Kane’s services, though. The entire scenario should end with an acquiring team settling on giving Vancouver a draft pick that is essentially one round too rich for their liking, but that would be the price for significant retention to lower the cap hit.

One potential suitor are the Colorado Avalanche, who currently have $2.514 million in cap space. I’m not sure they would be the team that covets Kane the most, but if they do target him it’d likely cost them one of the two 2027 second-rounders they have plus a 2026 fifth-rounder. That’s costly, but the Avalanche would want Vancouver to retain 50 per cent. Without adding anyone else between now and March 6, the Avs are on track to have $5.088 million in cap space at the trade deadline.

Truthfully, I’m having a difficult time attempting to find multiple teams that might be interested in adding Kane to their group, but another club that requires some added depth are the LA Kings. The Kings currently sit sixth in the Pacific Division and are outside of a playoff spot by the tiebreaker. The Kings have loads of cap space ($12.792 million), draft capital and desperately require another layer of scoring. Forty-year-old Corey Perry, for example, currently sits fourth in Kings scoring with 10g-14a. 

If the Kings take on the full value of Kane’s contract the Canucks will receive a lesser draft pick, perhaps a fourth or fifth-round pick, but if they end up retaining some of Kane’s remaining contract they could end up landing a much higher pick. If there is a market for Kane the Canucks could end up receiving one of the Kings’ two second-round picks if they retain 50 per cent of Kane’s salary.

Elias Pettersson, under contract through 2031-32 with an $11.6 million AAV

Pettersson hasn’t been the same player since he signed his massive contract extension in March of 2024. I don’t envision things improving for Pettersson while the Canucks go through a rebuild, and a potential suitor has to ask how much risk are they willing to absorb?

If a trade partner agrees to take on the entirety of Pettersson’s contract, it will be fascinating to see the picks and/or prospects they’ll move to the Canucks. Because if Pettersson did return to form with a new team, it will be worth the investment.

Could either San Jose or Anaheim have interest in Pettersson? Teams like these, coming out of a rebuild, trying to make the playoffs and with plenty of assets to seek roster upgrades, could be the right fit. Meantime, we know Carolina has also been linked to Pettersson recently as they try to get over the playoff hump.

The Sharks have $7.935 million in cap space and have recent trade history with Vancouver after acquiring Sherwood Monday. Logan Couture is still on IR, so moving him to LTIR would open the space needed to bring in Pettersson’s full contract. If draft capital is what Vancouver values most in a Pettersson trade, I’d envision them asking for San Jose’s own 2026 first-rounder, plus Colorado’s 2026 second-rounder and another mid-round pick in 2027.

Cap space is not an issue for the Ducks, who have over $25 million to spare right now. Perhaps the Ducks would move their 2026 first-rounder plus one of the three second-rounders they have in 2027, plus a mid-round pick in 2026.

Carolina needs a centre and is a playoff-ready team that has fallen short for several years. We know they are seeking a trade for centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi so perhaps he could be part of the return, but not the main piece. Carolina has its own first round pick in 2026, 2027 and 2028, but no second- or third-round picks until 2027.

Jake DeBrusk, under contract through 2030-31 with a $5.5 million AAV

When DeBrusk signed his long-term deal with the Canucks he definitely didn’t foresee the team heading towards a rebuild. His contract has a no-movement clause, so he does control what happens next.

DeBrusk scored a career high 28 goals last year and he’s contributed 12G-12A so far this season. The thing that stands out about his goal scoring is the fact 11 of his 12 tucks have come on the power play so the team that has interest in him is likely looking for a power play specialist. DeBrusk is far from a perfect player at even strength. He has only produced a total of nine points at even strength overall and he carries a minus-14 rating. Having said that, DeBrusk has the speed to be used in all situations so a team that has interest might think his metrics are a byproduct of the situation he has found himself in with the Canucks and believe they can get him to play within their structure with better results. 

At the end of the day the issue still lies with DeBrusk’s contract. If Vancouver moves him I don’t expect the team on the other end to overspend in terms of draft capital if they take on the full amount of DeBrusk’s contract. 

This is another player who might end up fetching a second-round pick and a mid-round pick to take on the full value of his contract. Wingers aren’t needed as much as centres or defencemen around this time of year, but DeBrusk has shown capable of being a strong secondary producer before.

The Canucks could get really aggressive and trade out more players than this. We know they are considering and listening on everything. But Kane, Pettersson and DeBrusk are who I targeted potential trades for in this piece.

It’s going to get worse before it gets better on the ice in Vancouver, but the Canucks have some nice pieces to build around in their system. Some of the players are developing in the AHL with Abbotsford, while others remain at the junior and college levels, or were acquired in trade and have found roles with the NHL team. 

• Zeev Buium is a future top-pairing defenceman who will log north of 25 minutes per night, provide better than secondary offence and quarterback the Canucks power play. 

• Marco Rossi is currently out with injury and he’s struggled to hit his stride offensively since joining the Canucks, but he has a history of providing better than secondary offence and he’s only 24 years old. 

• Liam Ohgren projects as a two-way, third-line forward who plays with some power and drive off the rush and in the trenches. When he isn’t producing offence he has the ability to wear down opponents with some physical push back and generally contribute reliable detail defensively. 

• The first-round pick they acquired in the trade with the Wild for Hughes looks like it will land somewhere between 25-32. Any additional first-round pick has potential to turn into a valuable asset and there are plenty of intriguing names in that range. Sam Cosentino listed some of these targets in his latest draft rankings here.

• Another key prospect in the fold includes rookie defenceman Tom Willander who is experiencing some growing pains in a challenging environment while averaging around 15 minutes per game in ice time. Willander is an excellent skater who has no issue keeping up with the pace at the NHL level, but his execution with the puck has ranged at times. The good news is he has produced 2G-10A and has more to give as he matures. 

• Forward Braeden Cootes was selected 15^th overall by Vancouver at last year’s draft and started the season in the NHL after a solid first training camp with the Canucks. Cootes wasn’t quite ready for full-time duty and was returned to his junior club at the time, then joined Team Canada at the recently completed world juniors and is now with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders after being traded from Seattle. Cootes plays an energetic, infectious style and projects as a future second-line/high-end third-line centre. He bleeds the kind of character required to assist NHL clubs when they are rebuilding their roster. 

I’ve only included Kane, Pettersson, and DeBrusk in my trade analysis. I expect the Canucks to be even more aggressive and trade other players from their roster either now, or in the off-season. But examining their draft board again after the deals I’ve proposed in this piece, the Canucks would end up with at least seven extra picks out of my process.

Tearing down a roster and rebuilding an organization takes patience and time. I’ve experienced it first-hand from my time scouting with the Florida Panthers from 2011-2020 and the process is full of twists and turns.

But, if that process is fully embraced by ownership, management, player development, coaches and scouts it can deliver positive results over time. It comes down to accumulating assets that end up being part of your roster or have enough value in trade to add to your team when the timing is right.