Canucks Holding Off on Being Sellers at This Year’s NHL Trade Deadline

As per a report by Sportnset’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks aren’t quite ready to write-off the 2020-21 NHL season just yet. A team many considered to be sellers just a few days ago are now holding off on moving certain assets because they’ve battled their way back into the playoff conversation.

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Headlines — Canadian teams heading to deadline/Conor Garland/Marcus Sorensen: https://t.co/alXgZpICH5

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 21, 2021

During Saturday’s Headlines report, Friedman noted the Canucks have decided to hold off on becoming sellers now that they’ve worked their way back into the Scotia North Division playoff race. He suggests they want to see how things play out and while they were previously taking calls on some of their unrestricted free agents, aren’t ready to make a move yet. This includes a player like Tanner Pearson who many thought would be moved before he got hurt.

This will inevitably have a factor on the overall movement in the Canadian market as teams were more likely to deal with each other this season than other U.S.-based teams.

This doesn’t mean the Canucks’ won’t ultimately be sellers, and a few losses will put them back into the trade picture, but if they can string a few more wins together, they might actually become buyers — even if their cap situation doesn’t allow them to do much.

What About Pearson?

Satiar Shah of Sportsnet notes that, currently, the best-case scenario if the Canucks were to trade Tanner Pearson (assuming he’s healthy enough to be moved), they might get back a conditional draft pick for him. As such, there’s no need to rush a deal like that if the return isn’t there.

The situation in Vancouver is certainly fluid. A couple more wins in the next week changes things a lot. A couple consecutive losses makes them sellers again. So too, how other teams in the North Division do will make a big difference. If the top teams pull away, it could be harder for Vancouver, even if they keep winning.

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