Would the Canucks really consider doing a deal with the Boston Bruins?
The Vancouver Canucks and the Bruins are rivals, for one big reason. The 2011 Stanley Cup Final, that saw half of Vancouver go up in flames due to riots. But that shouldn’t stint any trade talks between the two teams at all.
Both teams have a bad contract on their hands, and both teams have big pieces to re-sign. This will wind up leading to the Bruins not being able to bring back one of McAvoy or Carlo, but this deal could work wonders.
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Both teams lack leverage in trade talks, so that allows Sweeney to work some magic with a potential deal. The Canucks are rumoured to move Loui Eriksson, who has the same contract as Backes, but for one year longer.
There’s a chance the Bruins can convince Canucks GM Jim Benning to retain 15% of Eriksson’s contract ($900,000). With that, the Bruins add in a 2020 2nd round pick and 6th round pick.
Eriksson played three seasons in Boston, spanning from 2013-2016. He recorded 62 goals and 85 assists for 147 points in 224 games played. In that same three-season span with Vancouver, he recorded 32 goals and 44 assists for 76 points in 196 games played. That’s 30 fewer goals, 41 fewer assists and 71 fewer points in just 28 fewer games played.
Why does this matter? Well, how does a player coming off a 30 goal season immediately drop to scoring just 32 goals the next three years? Yes, Eriksson is far past what he used to be, especially at 34 years old. But he found a lot of success with the Bruins before he went free-falling through his sudden decline.