On Thursday night, the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Carolina Hurricanes by a 7-2 final score.
With the Canucks rebuilding, these kinds of losses are going to happen this season. Furthermore, it is not surprising to see the reigning Stanley Cup champions beat the Canucks like this.
With the Canucks being a team focused on the future, it is likely that they will trade at least some of their veteran players this offseason. Because of this, one of their forwards is already being viewed as a prime trade candidate to watch.
Vancouver Canucks Forward Paul Cotter Predicted to Be a Popular Trade Target This Season
In a recent article for Sportsnet, Frank Seravalli predicted that Canucks forward Paul Cotter will be a very popular trade target around the NHL this season.
“Early predictions for deadline players in-demand if their team is selling: Vancouver’s Paul Cotter, Philadelphia’s Nick Seeler and New Jersey’s Brenden Dillon,” Seravalli wrote.
Seeing Cotter be named a potential popular trade target is not difficult to understand. He is a pending unrestricted free agent and is exactly the kind of player contenders love. This is because he is a hard-nosed forward who provides toughness.
Furthermore, Cotter has been producing well offensively so far this campaign. If he keeps this up, it will only make him a more appealing target for contenders this campaign.
Taking a Look at Cotter’s Season So Far With the Canucks
Cotter is having a strong start to the season with the Canucks. In five games so far with Vancouver, he has posted four goals, six points, 13 hits, and a plus-4 rating. With this, he is giving Vancouver a nice mix of offense and grit early on this campaign.
Expecting Cotter to be a point-per-game player throughout the season is unrealistic. However, if he continues to chip in some offensive production for the Canucks, that should lead to teams calling this campaign. Furthermore, that would make him a valuable trade chip for the Canucks to dangle. Teams are often willing to pay a bit extra for big, hard-nosed forwards at the deadline like Cotter.
Nevertheless, it will be very interesting to see what happens with Cotter this season. If the Canucks don’t have him extended by the deadline, he could very well end up being a trade chip for them.
In 301 career NHL games over six seasons split between the Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils, and Canucks, Cotter has posted 51 goals, 37 assists, 88 points, and a minus-49 rating.
Vancouver Canucks Red-Hot Forward Predicted to Be a Popular Trade Target