Should the Canucks trade for the ‘open to being traded’ Jonathan Marchessault?

Add Jonathan Marchessault’s name to the list of players the Vancouver Canucks could go out and acquire this offseason.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli reported that Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault is open to the idea of being traded this offseason. We covered this in Friday’s edition of NHL Notebook.

So if that’s the case, the short answer is that yes, the Canucks could go out and trade for Marchessault (if they’re not one of the teams on his 15-team no-trade list, of course).

But should they? Let’s dive in.

The Player

Two seasons ago, Jonathan Marchessault scored 42 goals with the Vegas Golden Knights. Throughout his career, he’s been good for about 25-30 goals every season.

Last season, however, Marchessault was a member of the disastrous Nashville Predators, who stumbled right out of the gate and never found their footing en route to a measly 68 points, good for seventh in the Central Division. The end result for Marchessault was a measly 21 goals and 56 total points — the lowest point total he’s posted in a season with at least 75 games played since 2016-17.

And so with year one of his five year contract in the rearview mirror, Marchessault is reportedly open to a change of scenery.

The Cost

The cost of acquiring Marchessault really hinges on if Nashville is willing to retain any salary on his contract. With four years left at $5.5 million annually on his deal, Marchessault turns 35 next season, and with his contract running until he’s 38, it’s safe to assume that there will be a drop off in production at some point. That’s certainly something any acquiring team would take into consideration.

If the Predators don’t want to retain, however, this could represent a real buy-low opportunity for the Canucks with Marchessault wanting out (at least to some degree) and coming off a down year.

Without any retention, it would be shocking if Nashville gets offered even a first round pick for Marchessault. We’d likely be looking in the second or third round pick range, with a B-level prospect likely heading back to Nashville as well.

For the Canucks, who have a lot of work to do this offseason, the low cost — both in cap hit and acquisition — could be one of the most intriguing things for the Canucks.

The Fit 

Marchessault is a surefire top six winger, and likely becomes the Canucks’ first or second best winger the minute they acquire him. Obviously they’d like to do more than just go out and get Marchessault this offseason, but as a Brock Boeser replacement? The Canucks could do much worse than a player who scored 42 goals just two seasons ago.

Marchessault isn’t a defensive ace by any means, but he’s also not a defensive liability, either. Remind you of anyone?

For a Canucks team that struggled to produce offence, adding a volume shooter like Marchessault — who was in the 93rd percentile of the league for shots on goal this past season — might be just what they need.

Like Boeser, Marchessault does most of his work from right in front of the net and the low slot, as you can see from his goal chart from this past season: