Vanek could be on the roam again
Canucks’ winger has been a deadline darling in the past
Given the choice, Thomas Vanek would be just fine staying home — and this NHL season, home for the soon-to-be 34-year-old winger is with the Vancouver Canucks.
“Hopefully, I can stay,” Vanek said. “Any time you start with a team, you want to finish the year with the same team.”
Vanek changes cities a lot. He’s been on seven different teams since 2013. It hasn’t been by design.
Some situations left him with fonder memories than others. He has been traded twice to teams with playoff aspirations at the deadline. Once it worked out remarkably well, and once was a face plant.
“It’s always hard to join a team during the season,” Vanek said. “One time, I joined Montreal (in 2014) and it worked out perfectly for me. It was a good team with a great goaltender. We made a good run. To be a part of something like that is really fun.”
The flip side was a year ago in Florida. The Panthers went on a 4-13-1 run after acquiring him.
“It was a little bit dysfunctional there with whatever was going on with that organization at the time,” Vanek said.
Before he was sent to the Panthers, Vanek was having a great season in Detroit. He is again this season with the Canucks.
Before Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, Vanek had 19 assists this season — as many as producers like Tyler Seguin and Joe Thornton — and was second on the Canucks in both goals and assists. He is on pace for a 57-point season.
Since signing with Vancouver in September for US$2 million, he’s done everything anyone could have hoped for, including mentoring Brock Boeser, whose playmaking has made significant strides.
Unfortunately for Vanek, the Canucks went into Sunday’s game 10 points out of a playoff spot.
If there’s no long, unexpected winning streak on the horizon, it backs the Canucks into a corner. They’ll have to trade him.
Vanek is a pending unrestricted free agent. The rebuilding Canucks are in no position to lose players to free agency when they can try to get something in return before the deadline.
Some have pushed the idea that the Canucks should keep Vanek. He’s been a fit, and fits in the NHL can be hard to find. But rebuilds need draft picks to accelerate the reconstruction of the roster.
Thus, Vanek will be on a showcase tour for then next few weeks. Friday’s two-assist performance in Columbus was a good start: The Blue Jackets could use a big boost offensively, and have one of the worst power plays in the league.
Last year, Vanek was traded for a third-round pick and a minor league defenceman. In 2014, he was moved from the New York Islanders to the Canadiens for a second-round pick and a middling prospect.
This season, he’s worth a thirdround pick, but maybe if the chips fall right, the Canucks can get that pick into the top 62.