Canucks Willing to Trade Nate Schmidt This Offseason

As the Vancouver Canucks work out some of their internal cap issues, one of the players that could be on the move, assuming salary cap is the biggest concern for general manager Jim Benning, is defenseman Nate Schmidt. It’s worth nothing, because reports of the Canucks being willing to send the defenseman elsewhere come less than a full calendar year after acquiring him.

Schmidt was brought over from the Vegas Golden Knights as the Knights were dumping salary to make room for Alex Pietrangelo. Schmidt played alright, but it was expected he would have a strong season for the Canucks and he didn’t really didn’t stand out as a central piece of their core worth hanging onto. As for the Canucks themselves, it was a terrible season as they finished last in the North Division.

Related: Penguins Could Be Open to Jake Guentzel Trade This Offseason

The Canucks only gave up a 2022 third-round pick to land Schmidt, so there’s potential they could break even or sell high on the player, but at 29, Schmidt had 15 points in 54 games This coming off of a 31-point season over the course of 59 games with Vegas in 2019-20. As the Canucks try to make room for the more expensive contracts of Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, four more years of Schmidt at $5.95 is not an ideal way for the Canucks to spend that money.

The Province’s Patrick Johnston notes the Canucks are already planning a major shakeup of their blueline this offseason and there is a lot of trade talk surrounding Schmidt. If he stays, the team is expecting a lot more out of him than what he offered this season. But, because they want to make changes and because players like Travis Hamonic were a welcome surprise to the team, Schmidt may be the expensive piece that doesn’t fit.

Despite the fact the Canucks are open to moving Schmidt, his pricy and somewhat front-loaded contracts means, it’s more likely he stays than leaves.

Next: Seth Jones Tells Blue Jackets He’s Going to Test Free Agency