The scouting box was jammed full at the Vancouver Canucks game on Tuesday night by out-of-town spectators.

There were so many of them that regular reporters were pushed out of their seats.

In total, 17 scouts and executives across 15 teams were at Rogers Arena to watch the Canucks play a dismal game against the San Jose Sharks.

The name that was circulating most in trade rumours before the Canucks and Sharks played each other was Evander Kane.

CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on Monday that Kane’s agent, Dan Milstein, has been permitted by the Canucks to help seek out a trade.

The 34-year-old winger then talked about the report after the morning skate on Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of names that are out there, and, all of the sudden, just because a member of the Vancouver media decides to tweet it out, we get a big scrum.”

“So, yeah, it’s part of the process,” he said. “It’s part of the way business is done in the NHL level.”

Speaking of getting business done, when will the Canucks pull the trigger on this trade?

Based on some of the rumoured contenders for Kane, this seems like something that will get done closer to the deadline. How many contenders are prioritizing Kane, even at a reduced cap hit, as their first option?

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed on Oilers Now that he’s hearing the same thing.

“A couple of people were saying to me today that they heard that Kane probably won’t go until after the deadline.”

Friedman also alluded to the fact that teams would be hesitant to pay Kane, or other players, for that matter, for three weeks while the NHL hits pause during the Olympics.

In terms of what the Canucks are hoping to get in return for Kane, Friedman did have a scoop on that, too.

“I heard [the Canucks] were hoping for a third-round pick with some retention,” Friedman said.

“I have been told it’s very likely he’s going to get dealt. And we’ve just got to figure out who’s ultimately going to decide [to trade for Kane].”

The Kane experiment in Vancouver hasn’t gone great for anyone involved. If the Canucks can somehow get a third-round pick for him, after trading a fourth-rounder to get him, that would be classified as a rare win during a season full of losses.

And hey, once a Kane trade is consummated, the receiving team will be getting the Canucks’ third-leading scorer at five-on-five! Kane’s 16 five-on-five points are third on the Canucks, behind only Filip Hronek (17) and Linus Karlsson (20).