Report: Canucks have ‘had their eyes on’ big Sabres forward Jordan Greenway

The Vancouver Canucks have “had their eyes on” Buffalo Sabres winger Jordan Greenway since his tenure with the Minnesota Wild, according to a new report published in The Athletic by Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal.

Greenway, 26, was acquired by the Sabres from the Wild ahead of the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick (Riley Heidt) and a 2024 fifth-round pick. The 6’6″ forward has continued to play in a bottom-six role with the Sabres, collecting 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 28 games this season.

The Sabres clearly valued Greenway highly enough to give up two draft picks for him less than a year ago, but as Drance and Dhaliwal tell it, the Canucks might have their sights set on the Canton, N.Y. product. Here’s an excerpt from their article:

Greenway is a player Vancouver has had their eyes on for a while, dating back to his days with the Minnesota Wild. At 6-foot-6 and over 200 pounds, Greenway would help add some size to a Vancouver forward group that needs more heft for a long playoff run.

The two Canucks reporters also mentioned Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel as a potential target, albeit in less concrete and more circumstantial terms. The Penguins star has a history with Jim Rutherford, Patrik Allvin, and Rick Tocchet, but it’s unclear at this point whether he’ll be on the move ahead of the March 8 deadline.

Greenway, meanwhile, is likely an expendable piece for a Sabres team that is once again nowhere near the playoff picture. He’s under contract at a $3 million cap hit through the end of the 2024–25 season, at which point he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Greenway’s contract also includes a limited no-trade clause that kicks in this coming summer.

The Canucks have already been one of the NHL’s most active teams in the trade market this year, with their Tanner Pearson and Nikita Zadorov deals ranking among their most impactful transactions. And after their 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Canucks currently rank fourth in the league with a 25-11-3 record in 39 games.