How the Vancouver Canucks Deadline Went

There were options. There were expectations. And, finally, there was action… kinda. And the Vancouver Canucks deadline day went… pretty well, actually.

A Matter of Control

The Canucks went into the deadline weekend with three* regulars set to become unrestricted free agents: Jaroslav Halák, Tyler Motte, and Alex Chiasson. They’re coming out with three regulars set to become UFA’s. Still, the one trade – Motte – was a sound one. Let’s take a look at the deals the Canucks did and what they mean for the team.

Of Magic Beans and Rebuilds

Picks are just that – a chance in the future for a player, nothing more. And for every one of them outside a handful, that chance won’t come for a few years. That doesn’t make them valueless, of course. Without draft picks, there’s no team and that would just be awkward. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen. Anymore.

Teams who are farther away from competing are happy to get picks. Teams who are in competition – or see themselves as such – are happy to sell them. But given the unidirectional nature of time, if you sell your picks and don’t win, it can be tough to recover. (See also: Vancouver Canucks, 2011-present.) Draft picks are not guarantees of anything other than a chance at a player who might eventually make a difference.

All that to say that getting a draft pick for Tyler Motte was pretty much as good as could be hoped. Sure, he’s more valuable to the fans than a fourth-round selection, but he wasn’t sold to the fans. As far as the league is concerned, that was his value. He has the chance to increase his paycheque on his next deal, and Vancouver wasn’t likely to pay. They’ve been burned too often when paying for the bottom of the lineup. As a response to failed negotiations with Motte, the Canucks brought back Brad Richardson.

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Dirk Gently’s Holistic Draft Perspective

Taken as a whole, there were essentially two trades going on the Vancouver Canucks deadline day – or weekend.

The first was changing the fourth line. It went from Tyler Motte to Brad Richardson. Richardson is older, slower, and not as offensively skilled as Motte. But “offensively skilled” is a relative term – they didn’t move out Brock Boeser, here. Richardson is a reasonably effective penalty killer, a role he first got in his first stay with the Canucks in 2013-14. And frankly the Canucks can use all the help short-handed. He saves the team some cash and cap space, too. That doesn’t sound important, but if Brandon Sutter really is close to coming back, then it could matter.

So the “full deal” in composite was Tyler Motte out, Brad Richardson and a 2023 fourth-round draft pick in. That’s not too bad, though it is more about tomorrow than today. And it certainly didn’t live up to what happened the day before!

Sunday, Sunday

Two bigger deals happened, and can also be considered for their total effect. They affect the defence today, moving one player away and bringing his replacement in. The deal is Travis-for-Travis.

Travis Hamonic has had a weird, bumpy, injury-riddled tenure in Vancouver. In theory, he was in town to stabilize the second pairing with a chance to pair up beside Quinn Hughes. In practice, he scored six goals and 17 points in 62 games and was a difference-maker in none of them. That’s a tough way to justify a $3 million salary, so when the Ottawa Senators gave the Canucks a 2022 third-round pick for him, they leapt.

The Canucks also just happened to have a spare third-round pick themselves, so they sent it to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Travis Dermott. Now, Dermott’s never quite been able to find his footing at the NHL level, but he has played 251 games over five seasons for Toronto. He is faster than Hamonic, but he’s not a racer. He is quite quick and has good maneuverability, which is desperately needed on the Canucks blueline. He’s also six years younger than Hamonic, has half the cap hit, and is also signed on for another season.

The “full deal” here is Hamonic and the Winnipeg Jets’ 2022 third-round pick out, Travis Dermott, the Canucks’ own 2022 third-round pick, and $1.5 million in salary-cap space next season brought back. Oh, and did we mention Dermott can play either side? That seems important.

Survey Says!

All told, the Vancouver Canucks deadline went very well. Yes, there are still the big questions about big money players to deal with, but the team can afford to wait. The mood is, for the most part, weirdly optimistic around the team’s socials. “Not perfect but good enough” is all that could be hoped for from first-year general manager Patrik Allvin. That should last as long as the Canucks’ season does.

If they actually make the playoffs, that’s a whole different story.

*Apologies to Brad Hunt, who’s done yeoman’s work this year, but 33 of 62 games wasn’t part of the plan.