As his play has grown steadier despite moving around the lineup — he’s played both wing on Abbotsford’s first-line and third-line centre in the past few games — Reichel’s long-term future in Vancouver’s organization will be a question coming into the trade deadline. The forward will be an RFA at the end of this season and is eligible for arbitration depending on how negotiations go. This element complicates what could be an easier fix when it comes to trading him. On one hand, if the Canucks do wish to keep him, they’ll need to give Reichel a qualifying offer that, at the least, matches his current cap-hit of $1.2M AAV. If they choose to move on from him, Reichel will become a UFA and Vancouver will lose out on any asset they could have gotten from trading him (as well as the fourth-round pick in 2027 that they gave up to acquire him).
