Insider Suggests Top Wingers Are Most Likely Canucks to Be Traded

The Vancouver Canucks are one of the few—if not the only—teams around the NHL openly rebuilding and willing to discuss trades involving just about every player on their roster. Trading Quinn Hughes to Minnesota confirmed that direction, and a plunge to the bottom of the league standings has only reinforced it.

As a result, speculation surrounding their top veteran players has been loud in the lead-up to the March 6 trade deadline. However, according to one insider, the two names to keep an eye on as the most likely to be dealt in the coming weeks might not be who everyone expects.

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In a recent article for The Athletic, Thomas Drance specifically mentioned Brock Boeser and Conor Garland as the top two Canucks candidates to be traded before the deadline.

Drance wrote:

“For now, we know that the Canucks are “listening.” And I can add that among this veteran group of eight players, I sense that Garland — whose no-move clause doesn’t kick in until July 1 — and Boeser should be considered the most likely of Vancouver’s veteran players who could realistically be moved before the deadline,”

The 28-year-old Boeser is in the first year of the seven-year, $50.75 million extension he signed with the Canucks this past summer, while Garland’s six-year, $36 million extension—also signed this offseason—doesn’t kick in until the start of the 2026–27 campaign.

Both players have recorded 25 points this season: Boeser with 12 goals and 13 assists in 50 games, and Garland with seven goals and 18 assists in 46 games.

There Should Be Plenty of Interest in Brock Boeser and Conor Garland

While both players just extended in Vancouver, the direction of the team has taken a complete 180 in the seven months since, so Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin are already willing to move on from two of their top wingers—and understandably so.

That’s not because Boeser and Garland aren’t good players, but rather because their contracts, in a rising salary-cap landscape, are actually quite reasonable and should draw significant interest from contending teams around the league looking to add an impact piece to their forward group for both the present and the future.

While neither is having their best season statistically, Boeser has proven to be a consistent 25-plus goal scorer in this league with upside for more, and Garland is the type of player you hate to play against but would love to have on your team—typically a lock for 45–50 points every year.

Montreal is said to be looking for a top-six winger, Carolina is always searching for ways to add scoring, Washington, Seattle, and Detroit all missed out on Artemi Panarin, and even Edmonton is looking to bolster its top nine. Those are just some of the suitors that make sense, and there’s no doubt the list extends beyond that.

Given the certainty and term on both contracts, Vancouver should not only receive plenty of interest but also be able to recoup a strong return for each player, which further explains why they may be the most likely to be moved by the deadline.

Next: 3 Morgan Rielly Trade Destinations Beyond San Jose