Alright, on the one hand, we’ve definitely taken things too far this time. We love our advanced previews and pre-emptive predictions as much as the next award-winning website, but posting an article about an event that is still, as of this writing, 214 days away is definitely excessive.

And yet…

Whenever the Vancouver Canucks’ primary ongoing roster deficiency – that being a lack of puck-moving skill on the blueline behind Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek – the most common refrain heard is that GM Patrik Allvin and Co. will probably “trade for someone in-season.”

After all, that’s how they addressed their roster deficiencies last year, first in acquiring Nikita Zadorov at the end of November and then by adding Elias Lindholm well ahead of the 2024 Trade Deadline.

It’s not unreasonable, then, to assume that, as wants and needs shift around the league and more players gradually become available – and as more cap space potentially opens up in Vancouver – that Allvin may simply be waiting for the right time to pull the trigger on a move that shores up what the Canucks need most.

But that wait could be a long one. Technically, it could be as long as until the 2025 Trade Deadline, currently set for March 6, 2025.

And, so, we figured that if we all kind of know a move is coming eventually, and that it’s just a matter of waiting, there really wasn’t any good reason not to start the speculation now.

Think of it as a very long look if you want, or, alternatively, as a piece that just serves to say “Don’t worry, the Canucks will have trade options available for a puck-moving D (PMD) whenever they go looking.”
As far as identifying the trade targets, we’ll keep it fairly simple this far out. We’re looking for PMDs on either side of the blueline who, like Zadorov and Lindholm last year, are on expiring contracts and are currently playing for teams that don’t look likely to make the postseason. Typically, these players are referred to as “rentals,” and that’s exactly what Zadorov and Lindholm proved to be – though an extension is always possible, too.

Either way, it’s the “rental” nature of these players that allows us to predict they’ll be available this far ahead of the game, so that’s the crew we are sticking with: upcoming UFAs on probably-not-playoff-bound teams.

Let’s see who qualifies.

Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights

LHD, 29, 6’2”, 197lb

Don’t take this first entry as an indicator of the quality of the rest of this list. Theodore is by far the best PMD available, and he’s in the tier of player good enough to almost make the “rental” aspect irrelevant. Chances are good that if a team trades for Theodore this year, they’ll do so with intentions of re-signing him.

Of course, to even get there, the Knights have to decide to move on from Theodore in the first place, which could happen as a result of their falling out of the playoffs, his negotiation asks being too high, or cap constraints – or some combination thereof. All seem distinctly possible, if not outright likely.

In any case, if Theodore hits the market, he instantly becomes the best blueliner available, period, and definitely the best PMD on top of that. He usually hovers around a point-per-game, with the vast majority of his points coming from set-ups and breakouts. He’s one of the best puck-moving defenders in the entire league – and he’s a hometown talent, to boot.

But for the Canucks, Theodore would be either a very expensive rental – more expensive than Lindholm was last year, at least – or someone they’d have to completely restructure their cap to accommodate re-signing. He might be worth it, too, but it’s a colossal undertaking.

For the purposes of this list, he’s both a high-bar and a bit of a pipe-dream.

Marcus Pettersson, Pittsburgh Penguins

LHD, 28, 6’3”, 177lb

Now we can settle into more realistic targets. The Penguins are firmly on the downslide, and in danger of missing the playoffs once again. If that happens, they’ll be selling off pieces, and Pettersson will be one of the first to go.

To call Pettersson a puck-moving D is a bit of a misnomer. He’s developed into a defender with a very well-rounded game, and has become a bit of a ‘do-it-all’ player for Pittsburgh of late. But one of those things he can do well is move the puck, meaning the other aspects of his game are just nice bonuses from the Canucks’ perspective.

Pettersson’s two-way qualities, and his very reasonable cap hit, will make him a hot commodity at the 2025 Trade Deadline, if he makes it that far. The Canucks’ propensity for getting their shopping done early could lead to a bargain, but the bidding still starts at about a second rounder and escalates from there.

Ivan Provorov, Columbus Blue Jackets

LHD, 27, 6’1”, 201lb

Provorov is a difficult player to nail down. When he arrived in the league, most had him pegged as an eventual 1D, but his career hasn’t exactly panned out that way. Then again, he hasn’t always been placed in a position to succeed.

Either way, Provorov is someone who can lead the offence from the blueline and defend well enough when it comes back his way, and that’s more than enough to cover the Canucks’ needs. One can actually imagine Provorov thriving in a role where he slots in neatly behind Hughes.

He’s already been retained on before on his way to Columbus, which brings his cap hit down to a much more reasonable level, and the going-nowhere Blue Jackets could probably be talked into more retention. But that entails a cost, and the formerly-highly-touted Provorov will probably start with a high asking price from the get-go.

Call him an intriguing option to monitor, at the very least.

Olli Maatta, Detroit Red Wings

LHD, 29, 6’2”, 207lb

On the one hand, Maatta isn’t exactly a PMD. Not anymore, anyway. As his career has progressed, he’s settled into much more of a defensive focus, and his assist totals before progressed much beyond the 20 he put up as a rookie – and are usually a fair bit lower than that.

So, why does he hit our list? Because he’s got pre-established chemistry with one Filip Hronek, and that could be exactly what the Canucks are looking for.

There’s still ample talk of splitting up Hughes and Hronek. One way to make that whole process smoother would be to acquire someone Hronek is already comfortable playing with. In this case, it’d be more Hronek who is the “new” puck-moving D, as he partners with someone who allows him to lean into his own offensive game a little bit more than he does with Hughes.

Best of all, Maatta’s cap hit is cheap and so too will be his cost of acquisition, at least in relative terms. With a ton of defensive prospects coming in, Maatta could be the type of rental that Detroit trades even if they’re in a playoff position at the deadline, making him among the more definitively available players on this list. 

Will Borgen, Seattle Kraken

RHD, 27, 6’3”, 204lb

If we’re out looking for old friends, why not Carson Soucy’s former partner in Seattle? Soucy and Borgen played borderline top-four minutes together in 2022/23 and looked good doing it. Maybe a reunion a few hours north is a good idea?

Neither Soucy nor Borgen are true PMDs, but they did seem to bring out the best in one another. The Kraken don’t look particularly likely to make the playoffs this year, and one can surely imagine them doing some selling. Acquiring cheap depth that already fits with an established member of the blueline is a good bet, and if that player can move the puck at least a little, that’s potentially a nice fit, too.

Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets

RHD, 29, 6’0”, 186lb

For Pionk to be traded, the Jets would probably have to fall out of contention, and right now that seems a little unlikely. For that reason, he slides a little lower down our list.

But it is possible, and if he does hit the market, he becomes one of the best puck-movers available pretty quickly. This is a player who notched 39 assists in 2019/20, and though his numbers have dropped a bit since then, he’s still more than capable of skating big minutes on a playoff-bound team. He also dropped 10 goals just a year ago.

That cap hit might be tricky to maneuver around, but that’s a bridge that can be crossed when the Canucks come to it. Pionk would be a great addition, so long as the cost of acquisition could be kept reasonable – say, somewhere south of a first round pick.

Jeff Petry, Detroit Red Wings

RHD, 36, 6’3”, 208lb

It’s hard to keep Petry off the list when writing out PMDs that will be available as rentals in 2025. It’s a role Petry has filled before, and even at the age of 36, moving the puck is still something he can do. He’s a bit of a late-bloomer who saw his puck skills progress with age, and he notched 26 assists in just 61 games in 2022/23. He could definitely get the job done.

That said, Petry has made it pretty clear in the past that he is not interested in playing in Canada. Whether that includes a short stint post-deadline is unknown, but Petry does have a 15-team no-trade clause, so he’s mostly in control of his destination. Thus, he’s a real long-shot.

Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals

LHD, 26, 6’2”, 220lb

Initially, we thought of Chychrun as a luxury item here, akin to Theodore up at the very top. But, then, so much of the shine has come off this player that it’s really hard to call him that anymore.

Chychrun still possesses an abundance of skill, particularly on offence. His 0.54 PPG over the past three seasons ranks somewhere in the 30s for NHL defenders, and that’s with Chychrun having to battle through injuries and trade-sits. The player can put up some numbers, and he can also hold down some serious minutes.

It’s true that Chychrun hasn’t found a fit in either of his NHL stops thus far. But it must be said that those two stops have been Arizona and Ottawa, which is not where one goes looking for stability and support.

If Washington falls out of playoff contention, the fact that Chychrun has already been retained down to just a $4.6 million cap hit makes him look all the more enticing. It might be this financial angle, more so than his recent quality of play, that truly qualifies Chychrun as a luxury…but it may just be a luxury the Canucks can afford.