Things couldn’t have gotten any worse for the Vancouver Canucks, a team that is currently in a desperate search for any sort of identity. Canucks’ GM, Mike Gillis and his club, have no choice but to entertain Ryan Kesler’s trade request, as the stubborn yet talented center has made it very clear that he no longer wants to be a part of the Vancouver organization. Whether Gillis decides to pull the trigger and send Kesler elsewhere, the Canucks are indeed in a lot of trouble moving forward.
It’s never a good thing when your team’s star player wants out of dodge. Not only does it cause turmoil in the dressing room, it also brings up questions in regards to the effort put forth by the player on a day-to-day basis. In addition to that, if the Canucks do decide to move Kesler, who ever it is they acquire in the trade will have questions of their own surrounding the organization. The slippery slope has officially taken shape since the disgruntled native of Livonia, MI has stated his claim against the Canucks, and there’s no reason to believe things will get any easier for them as they try their best to figure out what to do in this very sticky situation.
Given the details surrounding the situation, the Canucks front office may very well find themselves with out the upper hand if they do indeed engage in trade talks that would send Kesler elsewhere. When a player wants out, you often toy with different ideas in your head of whether or not it’s smart to turn down deals offered to you that involve a player of lesser talent than who you are giving up. However, the Canucks may be forced to do just thought, since keeping Kesler, a player who doesn’t want to be there in the first place, may just prolong the situation and make things worse for everyone both on and off the ice.
Despite trade talks surrounding Kesler still being in it’s early stages, there are a couple of teams that can afford to offer up somewhat enticing deals to the Canucks front office. The Detroit Red Wings have a number of young talented forwards that they have been forced to showcase all season long with veterans such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen battling injuries right from the get go. In addition to the Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins have plenty of depth on their roster that they can afford to send to Vancouver in exchange for Kesler on their quest for yet another Stanley Cup Final birth.
Whether Kesler gets his wish and lands in another city come the trade deadline date of March 5th, or ends up having to sulk his way through the remainder of the season in a Vancouver uniform, the Canucks organization will find it hard to come out on top in the situation. It will be very difficult to get someone who is of equal or better value in exchange for Kesler since he is the one calling the shots. It also looks as though it would be equally as bad to keep him on the team with his negative attitude towards those he’s working with. The Canucks are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and there’s no telling how they are going to turn this situation they now find themselves in into something they can ultimately benefit from.