Canucks Interested in 2 Available Defencemen at Trade Deadline

The culture is shifting in Vancouver as the team is set to look fairly different by next season. This change will come in not only forwards, but the defence as well. There is a good chance Tyler Myers is bought out of the final year of his contract in the offseason, creating cap space and a need for a top-four defenceman to be brought in. The Canucks have been on the hunt for just that as the trade deadline inches closer.

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Rick Dhaliwal reported that the Canucks have checked in on two defencemen who will likely be on the move in the coming months – Ivan Provorov and Matt Dumba. Provorov and the Philadelphia Flyers have a rift between them and the team is heading towards a rebuild by selling what players they can. The Minnesota Wild on the other hand don’t have the cap space to keep Dumba around after this season and would have to move his salary this season in order to upgrade at forward. The Canucks have a good opportunity to acquire one of these defencemen as they retool.

Matt Dumba Sign-and-Trade Potential

There’s two potential ways a Dumba trade to the Canucks could go. The first and more likely is since the Wild are interested in adding a top line centre like Horvat this season, they would need to move out some cap in order to do so. The Wild have seven competent defencemen on the roster and need a number one centre. Sam Steel has been playing above his weight class since moving up to the top line and the Wild appear on course for a playoff run. They will be doomed once again if they can’t make a significant move. Nobody talks about how this team has lost six first round series in a row and must get over the hump.

By moving out Dumba’s $6 million cap hit and bringing in Horvat’s $5.5 million cap hit, the Wild would be set. The Canucks could use this to gain what assets they can or use it to set up their defence for next season and beyond. Option two is a sign-and-trade with Dumba. He won’t be returning to the Wild and the Canucks are looking for NHL players in trade returns so they can retool on the fly. By acquiring Dumba with a contract, they wouldn’t have to outbid other teams in free agency. Dumba would likely replace Myers in the Canucks’ top four and he could use a change in scenery from Minnesota.

Provorov Also in Need of a Fresh Start

Provorov’s numbers are way down in his career when the Flyers haven’t made the playoffs. These past two seasons have emphasized that and he now isn’t seen as the franchise defenceman the Flyers thought he could be earlier in his career. There has been a rift between him and the organization for a while and the team is going to get worse before they get better. Now is the time to trade Provorov before his value drops any lower.

From the Canucks’ perspective, they can get this potentially great defenceman far below what he’s worth. It would be a two-year commitment for the Canucks as Provorov is signed through 2024-25. That is a good timetable for them to see which way the team is headed and see how much they like the Flyers’ defender. He should come cheaper and pay off much better than the recent trade to acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson. As a number two or three defenceman in Vancouver, Provorov won’t have as much of the spotlight or pressure on him which could do him well. The Flyers won’t want any current players off the roster unless it’s a cap dump, so the cost to acquire Provorov would be in the realm of picks/prospects.