Elliotte Friedman confirms critical trade news involving the Vancouver Canucks
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Elliotte Friedman said Sunday the Vancouver Canucks are motivated to move players, and prices aren't ridiculously high.
Most fans heard that as a confession of desperation.
It reads more like a pricing strategy timed for maximum leverage before the free agency door opens.
"I think Vancouver is motivated to move some of their guys. I don't even think the prices are ridiculously high."
- Elliotte Friedman
- Elliotte Friedman
Vancouver finished 25-49-8, dead last in the NHL with 58 points and a league-worst 314 goals against.
Elias Pettersson posted 51 points in 74 games at an $11.6 million cap hit, his worst plus-minus at -30.
Brock Boeser scored 48 points in 75 games on a far friendlier $7.25 million number.
Friedman's specific wording, that prices "aren't ridiculously high," is the part getting skipped over.
Softening the price before the market sets it
Teams that genuinely need to dump money usually attach picks or retain salary, not lower the ask.
Saying the price is reasonable before any offer arrives is a way of inviting more teams into the conversation rather than fewer.
That widens Vancouver's leverage instead of shrinking it, especially with Pettersson's long term scaring off cautious buyers.
Why Boeser, not Pettersson, moves first
Boeser's shorter term and lower cap number make him the more realistic trade chip this summer, not the headline name.
New head coach Manny Malhotra inherits a roster that finished 4-6-0 down the stretch, and his input on which veterans fit the identity matters as much as Friedman's market read.
Vancouver isn't broadcasting a fire sale.
It's setting a price designed to get more teams calling before training camp, which is a very different story.
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