New Second Line Center Target Emerges for the Vancouver Canucks
Photo credit: NHL.com
As the Vancouver Canucks search for help down the middle, another potential target has emerged for Patrik Allvin to consider in the coming weeks, with action expected to pick up as early as next week's NHL Draft Combine.
Earlier this month, Jim Rutherford made a big promise to Canucks fans when he said they will be aggressive this summer to fix the roster and return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026 after missing out this season.
One area that Rutherford and General Manager Patrik Allvin will need to focus on this summer is at the center ice position as as the team needs a second line centerman following the departure of J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers back in January.
Pavel Zacha named as potential trade target for Vancouver Canucks
As of right now, the Vancouver Canucks are lined up to have Filip Chytil as their second line center next season and while the Czech forward is more than capable of playing top-six minutes, given his his injury history, they might not be able to rely on him at the 2C position for an entire season.
The National Hockey League's unrestricted free agent market, which opens at 9 am PT on Tuesday, July 1st, is quite thin when it comes to centermen, which will lead Allvin and Rutherford to explore their options via trade.
In recent weeks, a number of names have emerged as potential targets for the Canucks including Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, Jared McCann of the Seattle Kraken and even restricted free agent Marco Rossi of the Minnesota Wild, who was placed on the trade block by the team recently.
In an article on Canucks Army, Stephan Roget took a look at another potential option that the Vancouver Canucks could consider this summer - Pavel Zacha, who plays for the Boston Bruins.
Roget believes that there a couple of different scenarios in which Pavel Zacha could become available for the Vancouver Canucks, or any other team for that matter, one of which would see the Boston Bruins enter a rebuild, which he isn't too sure will happen.
He went on to share that the cost to acquire Pavel Zacha could be a second-round pick, along with a 'B' level prospect, with Roget mentioning Sawyer Mynio and Kirill Kudryavtsev as players that could interest the Bruins.
"But that's not to say that they can't find a righter price for Zacha. The Bruins have been accumulating draft picks and players in the 20-25 age range. Maybe it's as simple as a second round pick, a B-level prospect or two (think Sawyer Mynio or Kirill Kudryavtsev), and the extra cap space to pursue a true 1C that comes with dumping Zacha's contract." Roget said.
Zacha, 28, appeared in all 82 games this past season for the Boston Bruins, registering 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists), 21 penalty minutes and was a plus-eight.
The Brno, Czechia native has two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.75 million, which is on the more expensive side, but the Canucks can manage that easily and might not be able to find a true top-six centerman at a lower AAV.
Source: Stephan Roget/Canucks Army
Canucks offseason centre trade target: Pavel Zacha
Canucks offseason centre trade target: Pavel Zacha
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