Vancouver Canucks: Trading for Valeri Nichushkin
The Vancouver Canucks have one glaring hole right now and they might be looking at a Russian forward to fill it.
One of the biggest holes on the Vancouver Canucks roster right now is at left wing on the second line and one of the names that keeps coming up to fill that hole is Dallas Stars left winger Valeri Nichushkin.
There are many reasons why the Canucks should and shouldn’t consider him as an option to fill that hole. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of acquiring the 21-year-old Russian.
Pros
Valeri Nichushkin is currently 21 years old, entering his fourth NHL season. That fits right in with the core future of this Vancouver Canucks team.
Nichushkin burst on to the scene with a 34 point performance in 79 games with the Dallas Stars and followed it up with 2 points in a six game series against the Anaheim Ducks.
Right now, the Canucks are running out of options, as the free agent market has dried up for the summer, so Nichushkin looks to be the best option currently available.
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Cons
Acquiring Nichushkin won’t come cheap; the Stars could ask for Jacob Markstrom, while the Canucks take on the contract of either Antti Niemi or Kari Lehtonen, and one of the Canucks’ top forward prospects.
When looking at acquiring any Russian player, one has to consider the possibility that the player may bolt for the KHL at any time. Nichushkin has KHL experience, playing 18 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the 2012-13 season, so he already knows what the KHL has to offer. He also doesn’t have a contract right now, so there isn’t anything stopping him from leaving for the KHL if he doesn’t want to play for the Canucks.
Valeri Nichushkin missed all but eight games in his sophomore season due to hip and groin issues. In his second full NHL season, Nichushkin’s production dropped off slightly recording five less goals than he did in his rookie year.
The Decision
After weighing the pros and cons, Nichushkin might not be the best fit to fill the hole on the second line. There are simply too many risks and not enough proven reward for my liking to make this acquisition.
Instead, I’d like to see a player like Sven Baertschi get a shot to prove himself on the second line. Baertschi started slow last year, but once he started to get consistent ice time in January, he never looked back. He recorded 17 points from January to March, compared to just 11 from October to December.
If Baertschi gets that consistent ice time throughout the year, it’s not unreasonable to think he could record around 40 points for the season. At a price tag of $1.8 million, that seems a lot more appealing to me than the price tag that would come with Valeri Nichushkin.
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