The Vancouver Canucks continue to be one of the most intriguing teams in the league as the NHL’s trade deadline approaches.
Here’s a roundup of some names to watch in Vancouver, according to Sportsnet insiders Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek.
Rick Tocchet: It’s no great secret that Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau’s short tenure in Vancouver is coming to an end, though it’s unclear whether the team will choose to make a coaching change mid-season or wait until the summer. According to Friedman, the team appears to already have his replacement lined up.
“We've been talking the last few days about Rick Tocchet and the possibility of him there,” he said Saturday. “When and if the coaching change comes, I do believe it's going to be Rick Tocchet.”
Tocchet, 58, last served as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes – a post he held until the 2020-21 season. He’s spent this past year as a commentator with U.S. broadcaster TNT. The former player has a history with Canucks president Jim Rutherford, who was GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Tocchet was brought in as an assistant coach.
Bo Horvat: The captain’s name has been all over the headlines all season long, even prompting him last month to issue a public statement making clear his focus on playing this season with the Canucks.
As reported by Marek on Saturday, the Canucks have spoken to some teams about him and his availability, and “at least one of those conversations revolved around three players, including that team's No. 1 prospect.”
Marek cautioned that, at this point, none of these conversations can be described as “serious.”
"It sounds very much more like the Vancouver Canucks are just trying to read the marketplace and get a sense of what they could do at this point," he said.
Horvat, 27, is a pending UFA currently having the best statistical season of his career – a lone bright spot in what’s been a dismal season in Vancouver. As outlined by Marek, there are two ways a trade could be conducted:
“One is a deal with Bo Horvat as a strict rental,” he said. “The other, they would allow the trading team to talk to Pat Morris, Bo Horvat's agent, and put together a bigger deal and a contract extension. As of this point right now, the Vancouver Canucks have not allowed any team to talk to Pat Morris.”
Horvat has 29 goals and 46 points in 41 games this season and on top of that has proven himself to be an excellent leader on a team that’s struggled at times over his tenure.
“The belief is, as well, that Vancouver will go back to Horvat's camp at least one more time for one more perhaps last volley to try to get a contract extension done,” concluded Marek. “We'll see what happens."
Luke Schenn: According to Friedman, there could be a reunion in the works for the 33-year-old defenceman. Schenn signed a two-year contract with the Canucks in July 2021 following back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning and is scheduled to hit free agency again this summer.
“I believe they are interested again,” Friedman said of the Lightning, currently third in the Atlantic and looking poised to make another run after falling just shy of a three-peat last June. “I wouldn't be surprised if they make a pitch for his services and I think they're a legit contender to get him.”
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