鈥淯nless it makes sense for our future, I鈥檓 not trading Chris [Tanev]. He means so much to our team.鈥�
Those were as he made it clear that he is not shopping Tanev on the trade market, but is willing to listen when other teams bring him up. And yet, with the Canucks rebuilding, it鈥檚 inevitable that the prospect of trading the 27-year-old will come up, particularly with his no-trade-clause kicking in on July 1st.
The Daily Hive鈥檚 Harman Dayal put together a well-reasoned for the Tanevian One, suggesting that the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs are the most likely candidates thanks to the right combination of need and available assets.
That said, while it鈥檚 a good list, it鈥檚 a tad incomplete.
There are many more teams around the NHL that could use an outstanding defensive defenceman like Tanev. He would instantly provide a boost to a penalty killing unit, is capable of playing 20+ minutes per night against tough competition on either the first or second pairing, and is signed to a very reasonable contract. Really, what team couldn鈥檛 use Tanev?
With that in mind, here are 26 other potential trade destinations for Chris Tanev.
1 | Las Vegas Knights
The NHL鈥檚 newest expansion franchise, who I refuse to call the Vegas Golden Knights, doesn鈥檛 have a single defenceman signed to a contract yet. Acquiring a veteran, minute-munching defenceman like Tanev to be the cornerstone of their defence corps makes all the sense in the world.
2 | Colorado Avalanche
The Canucks may be bad, but . Their penalty kill is terrible and they give up an insane number of goals: they need to shore up their defence or the best years of Nathan MacKinnon鈥檚 career will be wasted.
3 | Winnipeg Jets
The Jets have a lot of the pieces necessary to become a playoff contender, but their penalty kill was atrocious and they gave up the fourth most goals in the league. Why not an upgrade on defence? Who needs goaltending when Tanev can block all the shots before they reach the net?
4 | Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have one of the worst defence corps in the league. Tanev would instantly make them slightly less bad. But still pretty bad.
5 | Boston Bruins
AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
Sorry, my brain just recoiled at the thought of Tanev on the Bru-AAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!
Okay, I鈥檓 okay. Look, Zdeno Chara is a shell of his former self. They need a sterling defensive defenceman to step in and support the run-and-gun Torey Krug. The Bruins need Tan-AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!
6 | Detroit Red Wings
The Wings are paying way too much money to old, declining defencemen. If they can figure out a way to move Jonathan Ericsson in a trade, Tanev makes the same amount of money and is six years younger. That's how you spell .
7 | Florida Panthers
Look, the Panthers are the Canucks' perennial trade partners. They have to make a deal and, since they owe the Canucks for the Gudbranson trade, the Panthers should be able to make it worth their while. That's how this works, right?
8 | Montreal Canadiens
Hey Montreal? Do you happen to have another P.K. Subban you鈥檙e willing to trade? No? Rats. I guess we鈥檒l just have to settle for Mikhail Sergachev.
9 | Chicago Blackhawks
The 鈥楬awks just got swept by the Nashville Predators, which means they鈥檙e bound to overreact and try to copy the template of the team that defeated them. In Tanev, they could have their own version of Matthias Ekholm. Sure, they鈥檒l have to jump through numerous flaming hoops of fiery death to clear the cap space to make the deal, but I鈥檓 sure they can figure something out.
10 | Nashville Predators
Speaking of the Predators, can you imagine their deadly defence corps with another聽amazing defenceman? I mean, considering the inevitability of injuries, they鈥檇 be foolish not聽to trade for Tanev.
11 | Pittsburgh Penguins
One team that needs Tanev more than the Predators is their Stanley Cup Final opponents. The Penguins one weakness that pundits have identified is their defence. Acquire Tanev, instant dynasty. Easy-peasy.
12 | New Jersey Devils
A bad penalty kill, an aggressively mediocre defence, and one of the best wingers in the NHL with no one to give him the puck. The Devils need a lot of things and one of those things is Tanev.
13 | Ottawa Senators
Imagine if Erik Karlsson didn鈥檛 have to carry the Senators all by himself, but had a steady defensive defenceman either as his partner or to anchor a shutdown second pairing. Then they would truly be Canada鈥檚 Team.
14 | New York Rangers
If the Rangers had a stronger defence, Henrik Lundqvist would probably have a cup by now. Marc Staal is bad. Dan Girardi is bad. Chris Tanev is good.
15 | Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are paying way too much money to bad defencemen Andrew Macdonald and Radko Gudas. The Canucks could take one of those bad contracts back in exchange for Tanev and all of their first round picks for the next five years. Make it happen, Benning.
16 | San Jose Sharks
Sure, the Sharks defence is already quite good, but they have a lot of capspace with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau鈥檚 contracts expiring. Also, according to my super-secret Canucks fan-fiction, Tanev and Jannik Hansen are best buds and miss each other a lot. Reunite Jan and Tan, guys.
17 | Edmonton Oilers
Don鈥檛 be fooled by their playoff run: the Oilers still have some issues to sort out. If they were smart, they would avoid re-signing Kris Russell and instead trade for Tanev to provide a major boost to their defence. But, I mean, they鈥檙e not smart. Obviously.
18 | Calgary Flames
Matt Bartkowski is one of just four NHL defencemen signed with the Flames for next season. They desperately need Chris Tanev.
19 | New York Islanders
The Islanders give up a lot of shots; they need Tanev to block a few. Sure, they have baffling salary cap issues that might cause hangups (Behold! The perils of overpaying bottom-six forwards!) but the Canucks could help them out with that for the cost of a few draft picks.
20 | Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets went on quite a run this season, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that things won鈥檛 go so smoothly next season. Know what they need to steady the boat? An even-keeled defenceman like Chris Tanev.
21 | Minnesota Wild
I can鈥檛 bring myself to care in the slightest about the Wild. Even when they鈥檙e not trapping, they鈥檙e still the most boring team in the NHL. But yeah, they could probably use Tanev.
22 | Washington Capitals
Yet again, the Capitals fell short in the playoffs. Know what they need? A defenceman with Stanley Cup Finals experience. Someone like Chris Tanev. I鈥檓 not saying that Tanev is the only player that can transform the Capitals from Presidents鈥� Trophy winners to Stanley Cup winners, but I鈥檓 not not聽saying that.
23 | Los Angeles Kings
The Kings have lost their Midas touch. It鈥檚 about time they panicked about missing the playoffs and made some bad trades, giving up way too many blue-chip prospects and first-round picks in a desperate move to extend their Stanley Cup window. Preferably for Tanev.
24 | Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have six defencemen making over $3 million per year signed through next season. What鈥檚 one more?
25 | St. Louis Blues
It鈥檚 weird: the Blues seem like a team poised to become Stanley Cup favourites, but I just can鈥檛 bring myself to believe they鈥檒l actually take the next step. If they added Tanev to their defence corps, however, I might. He could provide some balance to a pretty top-heavy defence corps.
26 | Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes are a young team looking to grow into a contender with a young, analytics-minded GM in the front office. Tanev, an analytics darling, is right up their alley. He鈥檇 be a great fit alongside any one of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, or Jakob Chychrun.
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There you have it: a few completely reasonable, well-thought-out trade destinations for Chris Tanev. Can you think of any I might have missed? Let me know if the comments.聽
