Canucks: After Garland, who could be traded on deadline day?

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If you had to pick a player as most likely to move, Teddy Blueger is top of the list now that Tyler Myers has been traded.

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Published Mar 05, 2026 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 4 minute read

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Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson (25), Teddy Blueger (53), Carolina Hurricanes' Sean Walker (26) and Andrei Svechnikov (37) fight during the second period at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland is a $6 million cap hit for next season. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content

Teddy Blueger has been here before, as he’s told more than one member of the media over the past couple of weeks.

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The Latvian Olympian is widely seen as one of the most appealing trade chips the Vancouver Canucks’ management team holds going into Friday’s noon NHL trade deadline.

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He was traded at the deadline in 2023, from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I’m ready. I’m comfortable. I’d rather stay, but this is the business,” he said earlier this week.

Then he chuckled.

“Then again, so often you see all these reports out there and most of them never happen. I just don’t worry too much,” he said. Whatever happens, he and his wife Monique are ready.

“It’s obviously a little different now that we have kids, but we’re ready,” he said.

Teddy Blueger defends against Casey Cizikas of the Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena on March 26, 2025 in Elmont, N.Y. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty Images

Blueger has been playing well and it stands to reason that a playoff-bound team might spring for him. Or maybe a team that needs a centre and has familiarity with him, such as Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers. Either way, if you had to pick a player as most likely to move, Blueger is top of the list now that Tyler Myers has been traded.

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The Canucks traded Myers on Wednesday to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a pair of draft picks.

On Thursday after lunch, they shipped defence prospect Jett Woo to the San Jose Sharks for another AHL defenceman in Jack Thompson. Woo was never going to play NHL games, it seems, but a team source said there is a decent chance Thompson will this season. The Canucks currently have six defencemen on the NHL roster and are in a bit of an injury crisis at the AHL level, so a player with NHL experience — which Thompson has — was a minor need that GM Patrik Allvin acknowledged going into the deadline.

The Canucks, though, are expected to be sellers on Friday. Or at least they hope to be. Allvin said Wednesday he wasn’t sure how busy this deadline would be, and then a series of quick trades began to roll out. That movement carried on through Thursday and will surely keep going into Friday morning.

As of Thursday afternoon, here’s a look at who the Canucks may yet trade:

Conor Garland ($6 million cap hit starting next season)

Despite all the rumours of interest from the New York Islanders, in the end it was the Columbus Blue Jackets who traded for the crafty Garland.

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Columbus first showed interest on Wednesday, CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported. On Thursday, not long after the Blue Jackets beat the Florida Panthers 4-2, a win that put CBJ just a point back of a playoff spot, they jumped for the American winger.

Garland signed a six-year, $36 million deal with the Canucks last summer and had long said he and his wife were excited to remain in Vancouver, but obviously the ongoing weight of losing and the true future of a rebuild overrode that past desire and led him to be willing to consider a future elsewhere.

Interest in Garland proved to be strong, as at least a half-dozen teams made enquiries of one kind or another this week. The Canucks were interested in getting a first round pick, but in the end got a 2028 second-rounder and a 2026 third-rounder for Garland. They now have two second round picks in each of the next three drafts. They also have two first round picks this year.

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar, right, watches as Brock Boeser (6) plays the puck during the first period Photo by Derik Hamilton /APBrock Boeser ($7.25 million cap hit)

It’s been a tough season for the veteran winger, who re-signed in the summer hoping to help his team get back to the playoffs. He’s long been a loyalist to the city itself, but you have to wonder if the Canucks’ rebuild is something he really wants to be part of. The Canucks see him as a high-character player, so while it sounds like they are ready to listen, they’re unlikely to look to move him.

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Evander Kane celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period Photo by Derek Cain /Getty ImagesEvander Kane ($5.125 million cap hit)

The veteran winger’s agent was looking for a trade for Kane, who is in the final year of his contract. The Canucks would surely be willing to retain on his salary, which would make his cap hit just over $2.5 million. (The Canucks can only retain on one more salary right now.) But it seems there has been little in the way of interest in the player.

David Kampf ($1.1 million cap hit)

The veteran centre had a solid Olympics and has been a dependable defensive presence for the Canucks since signing on last fall. He’s not likely at the top of any team’s must-have list, but might a team spring for him at the last minute as an insurance policy? Or maybe, like Blueger, a centre-starved team such as the Flyers?

Elias Pettersson ($11.6 million cap hit)

The Canucks’ top centre had a strong game Wednesday, a reminder that he can still turn it on. But you get the feeling the player needs a fresh start somewhere else. It’s hard to see him being traded at full freight before the deadline. Teams have certainly mulled the idea of trading for him, sources have told Postmedia, but that feels like a project for the draft, or in the summer.

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Marcus Pettersson ($5.5 million cap hit)

The veteran defenceman has had a tough season. But he’s been so dependable in the past and his cap hit is very manageable, especially as the cap starts to really go up in coming seasons. It’s unlikely the Canucks will flip him, especially after Myers was traded, but might a playoff-bound team looking to truly shore up their defence corps still take a flyer on him anyway? He feels like a player to make a bet on.

pjohnston@postmedia.com