It's not every day an NHL franchise comes out and announces that they're attempting to trade one of their players. Sure, sometimes guys announce that they've requested a trade, as Tampa Bay's Jonathan Drouin did just a week or two ago. And sometimes word leaks - in a suspicious manner - to the media that a certain player can be had for the right price, as evidenced by the Patrick Marleau situation late this past summer. But it's rare for a team to come straight out and announce that they're willing to trade a player. The Vancouver Canucks and GM Jim Benning bucked that, and really just about every, NHL trend this weekend when they announced that forward Chris Higgins was on the trade block.
"As part of our transition to a younger team, I can confirm we're exploring trade options for Chris Higgins so we can create more roster space for our younger players to develop," the team wrote in a press release. "Chris is a quality person who has been an important member of our team for nearly five seasons. Our focus has been on finding a positive new situation for him and we will continue to do so."
Higgins, 32, is not with the Canucks at this point and won't be until the "situation is resolved," a team spokesperson told Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun.
The Canucks, at this point of the 2015-16 season, aren't a bad team by any stretch of the imagination, but neither are they seeming contenders. They're sitting in a playoff spot in a wide open Western Conference, but anyone suggesting that it's a safe bet they'll reach the postseason is wildly misinformed. As such, it makes sense that Benning would look to continue the roster transition he has undertaken in recent years.
Higgins, a former first-round pick in the 2002 NHL Draft, has established himself as a steady double digit goal guy. He's not going to "wow," anyone with his play, but he'll contribute and could be an effective and potentially important add for the right team ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Will he be dealt? His $2.5 million hit, this year and next, isn't prohibitive, but it's hefty for a guy in decline. He's also played poorly this year, notching just two goals and three points in 25 games this year.
Keeping him out of the lineup likely won't increase his value, but he's a guy with a lot of tape, so to speak. Teams may be willing to pick him up based solely on prior production. He does have a partial no-trade clause, but is willing to expand it, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
In the end, Benning won't get much for Higgins, but it sounds like what he really wants is roster relief more than anything.
