Canucks Trade Watch: Roster rebuild is vital but who will score?

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How much rebuild pain can you endure?

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You won’t find that query in a Vancouver Canucks’ season-ticket selling campaign because the last-place franchise will strive for some semblance of roster competitiveness next NHL season.

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As much as an apathetic fan base pined for a rebuild to chart a hopeful and lasting NHL course, ownership has always been consumed by winning and avoiding empty seats. Can there be an acceptable middle ground of being good enough to compete, but not good enough to win on a consistent basis?

Would that satisfy everybody? Would fans still flock to Rogers Arena?

If so, it still requires scoring — and the Canucks rank 30th. How trade scenarios play out before the Friday deadline — and even offseason plans to bolster the roster — will chart the true direction of reconstruction. The pledge to accumulate draft picks and get younger could be augmented by a trade market to ensure they meet a rebuild agenda.

Teams believe the struggling Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser have bounce-back ability to thrive elsewhere.

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That’s a lot of belief in Pettersson, 27, who hasn’t scored in 13 games and is a shadow of his competitive and productive past with just 13 goals this season. DeBrusk, 29, has one goal in his last 14 outings and 11 of his 13 have come on the power play. He was also a healthy scratch for one game, which didn’t sit well. Boeser, 29, had a 21-game goal drought and has a dozen goals.

All three have no-movement clauses to waive and Pettersson and DeBrusk are more possible than Boeser.

Pettersson has drawn interest from the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings because he could fill a need and those clubs can absorb his monster US$11.6 million cap hit for six more seasons. Anze Kopitar is retiring and the Kings need a succession plan but don’t want to part with pivot Quinton Byfield.

The Kings have scored the third fewest goals, and replacing head coach Jim Hiller on Sunday with assistant D.J. Smith on an interim basis may bring a more offensive attack to close the wild-card position pursuit gap.

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As for the Wings, they need second-line centre support behind Dylan Larkin. The Canucks obviously need a pivot in return and the Wings have a pair of first-rounders in Nate Danielson, 21, and Marco Kasper, 21, who would fit the rebuild age target here. And the Wings have first-round picks to possibly part with.

Then again, the Canucks may not be able to move Pettersson until the offseason, or hope that DeBrusk and Boeser rebound to provide scoring because they don’t have a sniper in waiting. That would skew the rebuild plan to shed age and salaries and Pettersson could eventually become a buyout candidate.

Right winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki, 21, selected 15th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, had shoulder surgery Friday. He desperately needs more strength to compete better in the NHL to complement a heavy and accurate release. He has just five goals in 37 games with the Canucks, and 33 in 63 regular-season games with the AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.

Centre Riley Patterson, 19, a fourth-round selection in 2024, is 11th in OHL scoring with 75 points (35-40) in 52 games. Pivot Braeden Cootes, 19, the 15th overall pick in 2025, has 51 WHL points (21-30) in 40 games.

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Myers pondering playing future

In the interim, the trade buzz continues around Tyler Myers and unrestricted free agents Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger and David Kampf, plus whether the Canucks would move Conor Garland before his six-year, $36 million contract extension kicks in July 1.

Myers, 36, was kept out of the last two games for roster management purposes in lieu of a contract offer from the Red Wings that would bring a 2026 second-round pick. There’s also expected to be interest from the Dallas Stars. Myers would have to first waive his NMC and is still pondering his playing future.

Kane, 34, could be a fit in Dallas because of his past connection to Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan, who was an assistant in Edmonton. The winger would provide post-season grit the Stars seek in what could be a long road to finally getting back to the Stanley Cup final. But in a division with the Colorado Avalanche and surging Minnesota Wild, that’s going to be tough.

The Canucks are willing to retain salary on Kane’s expiring $5.125 million cap hit, and although he has but 26 points (10-16) in 58 games this season, he’s built for the playoffs.

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Kane had a dozen points (6-6) in 21 playoff games with the Oilers last season after sitting out the season to recover from surgery. His 55 career points (32-23) in 97 games proves he has an appetite for the fight. The Canucks would push to at least get a third-round pick in return.

Blueger, 31, has versatility and experience that are vital in the post-season. The Latvian centre is a 2024 Stanley Cup champion, 2026 Olympian, penalty killer, and on an expiring contract with a $1.8 million cap hit.

Blueger was sidelined for 43 games with a leg-muscle injury Oct. 19 and re-injured it in a rehab setback. He then scored four goals in six games upon returning late last month. He was also a key cog in the Canucks owning the NHL’s third-best penalty kill last season at 82.6 per cent efficiency.

Without Blueger for most of this campaign, it plummeted to last at 70.9 per cent. What’s all that worth? Maybe a third-round pick.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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