Elliotte Friedman Reveals Top-Four Defenseman Now on the Trade Block
The Vancouver Canucks have made a flurry of changes recently, and it's led to one defenseman being made expendable according to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman.
After the a flurry of moves that saw J.T. Miller unceremoniously traded away as well as acquiring some much needed depth with Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor, things are looking drastically different in Vancouver in only a short time.
But with those moves it seems one player has found himself on the outs, and according to NHL hockey insider Elliotte Friedman; it's Carson Soucy.
He was great last year in the playoffs, I've heard they made him available. What it says to me is the way they looked the other night, there isn't a lot of room for him and you're willing to work with the team and player to see what's better for him."
Soucy would be a solid option for a lot of teams and comes at a fairly reasonable price of $3.25M for this season and the next.
Though he is struggling this season, he has been a solid shutdown defender for the Canucks the past few years. He has two goals and six assists in 51 games but has added 83 blocks and 76 hits in that span.
For his career, the Viking, Alberta native has 25 goals, 57 assists, and is a career plus-56 in 341 games.
His offense has taken a dip in recent years but he's more than capable of scoring, having 21-point season with Seattle in 2021-22. Soucy was drafted in the fifth round (137th overall) by Minnesota in 2013 and has spent time with the Wild, Kraken and Canucks.
Teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and Florida Panthers could always use some extra insurance, and Soucy is a cheap and reliable option.
It remains to be seen if GM Patrik Allvin will pull the trigger on another trade, but there's a big potential he's the next casualty on Vancouver's list as they try and head toward a new identity.
