Canucks offseason centre trade target: Pavel Zacha

The Vancouver Canucks do tend to have pretty good history with players named ‘Pavel.’

In our ongoing search for a new centre for the Canucks to potentially target via trade during the summer of 2025, we land on Pavel Zacha of the Boston Bruins.

The Canucks and Bruins have exchanged a number of players in recent years, if rarely directly. Last summer, the two teams effectively ‘traded’ Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm for Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, and Derek Forbort via a series of four UFA signings.

Might the two teams get together for an actual trade this offseason?

If they do, expect the 28-year-old, 6’4”, 207 pound Zacha to be of primary interest.

The Bruins have struggled to make up for the considerable loss that was the retirement of Patrice Bergeron. Minus him, their centre depth has suffered greatly. So, why would they be interested in moving Zacha in the first place?

It all comes down to what the Bruins decide to do from here. But there are a couple of scenarios in which we could see Zacha hitting the market.

The first is if the Bruins decide to move toward a full rebuild. They did just sell off Brad Marchand, and finished well outside of the playoffs for the first time in recent memory. Should they decide to go down the rebuild path, Zacha is probably just slightly too old to keep around, especially with younger centres like Morgan Geekie, Matthew Poitras, Frazer Minten, and even Casey Mittelstadt already on deck.

But a rebuild seems a bit unlikely, given that the Bruins still have veterans like the aforementioned Zadorov and Lindholm, along with bigger names like David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Jeremy Swayman all under long-term contract. So, the Bruins will probably aim to retool before they rebuild.

Under that scenario, the Bruins would find themselves fairly desperate to land a true 1C. In the quest for that goal, they’ll pretty much need to trade one of those aforementioned middle-six centres, both for cap and roster space.

Zacha is the oldest of the bunch, and still retains some trade value, so he makes the most sense to go here, too. There’s also the ‘disappointment’ factor to consider.

The Bruins acquired Zacha, in part, to potentially take over some of the load from Bergeron upon the latter’s retirement. And while Zacha has become a better and more well-rounded centre in Boston than he was in New Jersey, he hasn’t taken that full offensive step forward that was hoped for, and now the Bruins have other, younger centres with more potential that they’d love to give that opportunity to.

But a different franchise, one without young centres on deck, and one that perhaps might be entirely comfortable with Zacha remaining just the decent 2C he currently is, might find Zacha more valuable than do the Bruins right now.

A team like the Vancouver Canucks.

The Player

Selected at sixth overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Zacha is still probably considered a bit of a draft letdown. The rest of the top ten that year? Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski, Timo Meier, and Mikko Rantanen.

Zacha is pretty plainly the worst of the bunch. But that doesn’t make him a bad NHL player, it just makes him part of an exceptional draft class.

The draft hype made plenty of sense at the time. Zacha was a late bloomer who rose rapidly through the ranks of his draft year based primarily on his rare blend of size, skating ability, and genuine puck skill.

It’s safe to say that the New Jersey Devils didn’t get their money’s worth from that 6OA pick. Zacha stepped right into the NHL in his Draft+2 season, posting eight goals and 24 points as a rookie, which were respectable enough numbers.

But Zacha plateaued very early on. As a sophomore, he notched 25 points. Then 25 points, again, in his third year.

The 2019/20 campaign looked to be a bit of a breakout for Zacha, as he managed eight goals and 32 points in just 65 games. But that was a plateau, too. Zacha got 35 points the next season (albeit in only 50 games), then 36 points in 70 games for 2021/22. At which point, the New Jersey Devils had Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier in the fold, and were ready to move on.

That summer, the Devils dealt Zacha to the Bruins for Erik Haula – a more productive forward, sure, but also one six years Zacha’s senior.

The Bruins, for their part, still held hope of Zacha breaking out.

And he kind of did. Zacha’s first season in Boston, 2022/23, was easily his best yet, with a major offensive step forward to 21 goals and 57 points in 82 games.

He kept that going strong with another 21 goals and 59 points in 78 games for 2023/24, before suffering a bit of a step back to 14 goals and 47 points in 82 games for 2024/25.

In other words, Zacha turned into a 50-60 point centre essentially the minute he was traded to Boston, and he’s stayed at that level for three seasons running. That’s basic 2C production.

But Zacha has also taken efforts to round out his two-way game to better fit into the structured Boston system.

Zacha was a bit of a defensive disaster in New Jersey. His 2020/21 season was his best offensive output for the Devils, but it also saw him on the ice for 22 goals for and 36 against at 5-on-5.

He turned that around instantly in Boston. His even-strength goal-differentials there? 65-39, 56-33, and 53-52. That last one might not sound as impressive, but that Zacha kept it positive through a trying 2024/25 season in Boston is still worth mentioning.

Especially because, as Zacha has rounded out his game, he’s been given more and more responsibility. He never achieved a positive control of high-danger chances in New Jersey. He’s always done so since coming to Boston, and as of 2024/25, he’d become their most reliable defensive centres.