3 players Canucks must trade in 2025 NHL offseason

Thatcher Demko is another mainstay of the Canucks who could be on the move. Demko was the 36th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Canucks. The American-born goaltender is coming off a down season. He played in just 23 games, going 10-8-3 with a 2.90 goals against average and a .889 save percentage. That is the worst save percentage in a season since playing just one game in the 2017-18 campaign. Further, it was the second time in four years he did not have the majority of starts for the Canucks.

Demko is also due $5 million this year and is in the last year of his contract. He will be a free agent next summer, and considering the Canucks just locked up Kevin Lankinen to a multi-year extension, it seems the future is with him. Lankinen was also the primary goaltender this past season. He played in 51 games, going 25-15-10 with a 2.62 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

Meanwhile, the Canucks also have Artur Silovs on the roster. He played in ten games this past season and was not great. He was just 2-6-1 with a .861 save percentage and a 3.65 goals-against average. Regardless, his nine games at the NHL level prior to this season have shown he is capable of playing at the NHL level. At a cost of just $850 thousand this year, it would be a huge savings for the Canucks to make him the backup. He also just led the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League to their first championship, winning MVP honors in the process. He’s ready for another NHL shot.

Finally, the goalie market this offseason is weak. The top free agent goaltenders are Jake Allen and Anton Forsberg. A goalie of the level of Demko would be a major upgrade for multiple teams, so with the Canucks having multiple options in the crease, moving on from the goaltender makes sense.

Will Vancouver go for the complete reset?

The Canucks could easily trade away Pettersson and Demko and still be a similar team. It seems likely they will lose Boeser and Suter this offseason, and there is the possibility the Canucks go for a complete rebuild. To do that, they need to trade Quinn Hughes. Hughes is the brother of New Jersey Devils players Jack and Luke. The move of Hughes to New Jersey could net a big return, akin to when Jordan Staal was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. Overall, three of the four Staal brothers played together with Carolina.

Brothers playing together in the NHL is not abnormal. Pavel and Valeri Bure played together with the Florida Panthers. Also, Mario and Alain Lemieux spent a season together with the Penguins. Still, to have three brothers who are all top-level players in the NHL could be attractive for the Devils. This would require the Canucks to buy into the notion of a complete reset though.

Hughes has two years left on his contract with the Canucks,  and will cost $7.85 million per year. He was the leading point scorer for Vancouver, even playing from the blue line. He has played 82 games just once in his NHL career, though. Regardless, he has scored 50 or more points in five of the last six seasons, with the one miss being the shortened 2020-21 campaign, where he scored 41 points. Trading away Hughes would require a massive haul.

It has been reported that only three players are untouchable when it comes to the Devils acquiring Quinn. Two of them are the other Hughes brothers, while the third is Nico Hischier. The Devils could attempt to work a package including draft picks, prospects, and stars such as Dougie Hamilton. A massive package would need to come to Vancouver to make this happen overall.

The biggest question for Vancouver is which way they want to go in their future. They have dealt with locker room issues and disgruntled stars while being a disappointing team in recent years. If they want to go for the total rebuild, which would involve losing players such as Pettersson, Demko, and Hughes, now might not be a bad time. There’s no indication the Canucks’ front office wants to do this, though.