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Tyler Myers, Vancouver Canucks (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

3 contracts the Canucks need to move

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Lukas Bernasiewicz | Last updated Jan 18, 2026 6:53 PM ET

The Vancouver Canucks are having one of their worst seasons in recent memory and appear to be on the road to a rebuild, or at the very least, a retool. To do so, the team must eliminate some contracts to free up more cap space and bring in additional players. If the Canucks keep these players, they are going to be an anchor on the franchise and make the team unable to move forward into their next phase.

Evander Kane

Acquired last offseason from the Edmonton Oilers, Evander Kane coming to the Canucks looked to be a great story. He was born and raised in Vancouver and also spent his Western Hockey League (WHL) days playing for the Vancouver Giants. But sadly, it has not worked out between Kane and the Canucks. It took him a long time to score his first goal with the team, and he currently has 21 points in 47 games this season. Vancouver has already reportedly looked to trade Kane back to the Oilers since his current cap hit of $5.125 million has become too much for the Canucks. Edmonton declined their offer.

The Canucks are clearly ready to move on from Kane, and part of me thinks the feelings are mutual, since this season hasn’t worked out yet for both sides. At this point in his career, Kane will want to be on a contender and try to win a Stanley Cup, since he hasn’t won a championship since he entered the league back in 2009 with the Atlanta Thrashers. Vancouver should attempt to work out a deal with a contending team, and Kane would be a hot commodity since he is an absolute menace in the playoffs. He does have a 16-team trade list, but I don’t see that as a major issue since all playoff teams would like to have his abilities on their team for what they hope is a deep run.

Tyler Myers

Tyler Myers has served his purpose in Vancouver for several years. He has become a dependable defenceman who is useful on the penalty kill and during 6-on-5 situations. He has now hit the twilight of his career and is becoming a slower player who has a lot of hard miles on him. Vancouver also has several young defencemen who are looking to potentially take his spot in the lineup, like Victor Mancini, Tom Willander, Sawyer Mynio, and potentially Keaton Verhoeff if Vancouver ends up drafting him. The time has come to move a player like Myers and bring in the youth movement to take his place.

His situation is a little different than Kane’s because Myers currently has a full no-movement clause, but on July 1 of this year, he will have a 12-team no-trade clause. Meaning, they can trade him to the majority of the league without him having to approve the deal. Just like Kane, any team would need what Myers brings to a deep playoff run. He kills penalties, blocks shots, staples players to the boards, and helps in the dying seconds of games when his team is up by a goal. Myers does exactly what a playoff team needs, and he could help contribute greatly to a roster that is in Stanley Cup contention.

Filip Chytil

This contract could be the hardest one to move. Filip Chytil was acquired last season in the J.T. Miller trade as someone who could potentially replace Miller’s production. The problem is, he is incapable of staying healthy. Even going back to his days with the Rangers, he had major injury issues, and that was part of the reason New York traded him.

Vancouver thought he could stay healthy on their team, but that clearly hasn’t happened since he has played a total of 21 games for the Canucks since he was traded there. He has only played six this entire season. He has not been able to contribute the way both he and the Canucks hoped he could, and his current contract of nearly $4.5 million is weighing on Vancouver’s cap structure.

The only solution right now is to trade him, but how? First off, he has to get healthy before they make any move involving him. Once he gets healthy, the team can re-evaluate their plans regarding him from there. Chytil has no trade protection and is currently under contract for both this season and next season. That gives Vancouver a lot of time to decide on his future.

When healthy, Chytil is a very productive player that any team would want, and he is capable of putting up a lot of points. If he gets to a good point in his career where he is healthy and playing well, Vancouver should shop him and take as many phone calls as they can to re-coop assets for a player they are not using and get the cap relief that will come from trading him. That is how a team needs to move forward into a new era.

These players are by no means bad, but they clearly don’t have a real future in Vancouver based on their age or contract status. The best thing they can do is move players like this and get whatever assets they can. Because the best asset to get in the modern NHL is cap space, and the Canucks will definitely need that moving forward.