Western Conference power house send two scouts to watch Vancouver Canucks as Patrik Allvin weighs his options
A Western Conference team recently sent two scouts to watch the Vancouver Canucks take on the San Jose Sharks as GM Patrik Allvin continues to weigh his options on the trade market.
The Vancouver Canucks are going to be one of the team's to watch leading up to the National Hockey League's trade deadline in early March after Patrik Allvin and the management group decided to make all of their pending unrestricted free agents available, including the team's leading goal scorer Kiefer Sherwood.
"According to several sources, the Vancouver Canucks have let it be known that - in an effort to get younger - they are willing to listen to offers on 'veteran players.'" Elliotte Friedman said in early November.
Trade talks are expected to heat up around the league in the weeks to come ahead of the Olympic break in February and with less than ten days between when NHL players return from Milan, Italy and the deadline on March 6th, we could see plenty of deals get done early.
Western Conference team reportedly sent two scouts to watch Vancouver Canucks
Along with Kiefer Sherwood, the Vancouver Canucks have some other interesting pieces they could part with in the coming months as they look to get younger, with pending UFAs Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort all expected to draw interest, although the latter two will depend on their health status as they're still sidelined due to injury.
According to Jeff Paterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver, Colorado sent a pair of scouts to Saturday night's game between the Canucks and San Jose Sharks and while their are always scouts in attendance at games, it's certainly noteworthy that Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland had two at Rogers Arena over the weekend.
However while the Vancouver Canucks do have pieces that would interest the Colorado Avalanche, they might be in tough trying to land one of them as Jeff Paterson pointed out the Avs don't have any picks in the first three rounds in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
"There are scouts at every game, that's not news. But when you see a team have two members of its scouting staff along scouts row, it's interesting at the very least. Colorado was that team. Now, I have seen people pointing out that hey, the Avs make a ton of sense. They're the best team in the National Hockey League. Kiefer Sherwood, they're familiar with him, he used to be part of the organization. I don't have proof that they were looking at Kiefer Sherwood, but they've got Mackenzie Blackwood and they've got Scott Wedgewood and now you get Kiefer Sherwood, it would fit in, you monopolize all the woods in the National Hockey League." Paterson said.
He added, "As somebody pointed out though and this is important, the Colorado Avalanche have no picks in the first three rounds this draft, they have traded away, went out and got Brock Nelson, paid a hefty price for him. They have dealt all of their picks in the first three rounds in this year's draft. Now, they do have a 2027 first rounder and two second rounders next year, but if you're the Vancouver Canucks and you're holding this auction for Kiefer Sherwood, I think you're trying to maximize as many picks as you can in this draft this year. So I don't know if that discounts Colorado entirely, but it's important information to keep in mind if the Avs did in fact have two sets of eyes on Kiefer Sherwood at this hockey game."
He added, "As somebody pointed out though and this is important, the Colorado Avalanche have no picks in the first three rounds this draft, they have traded away, went out and got Brock Nelson, paid a hefty price for him. They have dealt all of their picks in the first three rounds in this year's draft. Now, they do have a 2027 first rounder and two second rounders next year, but if you're the Vancouver Canucks and you're holding this auction for Kiefer Sherwood, I think you're trying to maximize as many picks as you can in this draft this year. So I don't know if that discounts Colorado entirely, but it's important information to keep in mind if the Avs did in fact have two sets of eyes on Kiefer Sherwood at this hockey game."
The Colorado Avalanche have been rumored to have interest in Kiefer Sherwood dating back to the end of November when he was made available on the trade market, so it's going to be interesting to see if they make an offer to bring the Columbus, Ohio native back to their organization four years after he left as an unrestricted free agent.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 29|1349 ANSWERS Western Conference power house send two scouts to watch Vancouver Canucks as Patrik Allvin weighs his options Do you think the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks will complete a trade together this season? | ||
| Yes | 501 | 37.1 % |
| No | 848 | 62.9 % |
| List of polls | ||