Canucks See Two Players Make Top-Ten Most Likely Trade List

TSN’s Frank Seravalli put together a list of 10 potential players that could see their jerseys change this off-season. He focused on players he believed were most likely to see their names show up on the trade board, as not just players were talked about, but actually moved.

Citing contract stipulations, roster adjustments or salary cap implications as the reasons these players are on the list one team saw two players make the list. They were the only team to have multiple players in the top ten.

That team was the Vancouver Canucks.

Troy Stetcher Is a Luxury the Canucks Can’t Afford

The first player mentioned was defenseman Troy Stecher. Like Andreas Athanasiou (who also made Seravalli’s list), Stecher is due a $2.325 million qualifying offer from the Canucks as a restricted free agent. That alone makes him a likely trade candidate because the Canucks will have to question whether or not he’s worth the investment.

And, it’s not entirely about whether Stetcher is worth over $2 million per season. It’s about what that $2 million can do for the roster if spent elsewhere.

The Canucks would actually like to keep Stecher but Seravalli notes a longer-term commitment might not be in the cards. So too, Vancouver’s got a strong pipeline of young defencemen knocking on the door and ready to compete for a job at next season’s training camp. They’ll be less expensive and there’s speculation ownership has talked to GM Jim Benning about not overspending on players that don’t make a big difference.

Brandon Sutter Handcuffing the Canucks

The Canucks’ might not need to spend money on Stecher, but he’s not an albatross contract that Canucks “need” to move. The same can’t be said for forward Brandon Sutter.

Sutter is making $4.375 million for one more season and among the higher paid forwards who arguably offers the least in terms of a return. The internal belief by the organization is that the money being allocated to Sutter will be better spent to try and re-sign Tyler Toffoli.

If the Canucks could move Loui Eriksson, then a Sutter trade might not be needed, but moving Eriksson won’t be an easy task. Sutter might be the easier of the two players to trade. They might have to retain a bit of salary to do so, but it could also be worth it in the long-run.

Is Seravalli right? Are both of these Canucks players potentially going to be moved?

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