Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
With the draft only days away the trade rumors are in full swing and many of these rumors have revolved around the Florida Panthers and their #1 overall selection in the draft. Its already been reported that the Toronto Maple leafs have made an offer to move up in the draft, and now it appears that the Vancouver Canucks can be added to the list of teams who are interested.
According to Elliotte Friedman:
"“One team that has definitely made an offer? Vancouver. I believe it included their first pick in this draft (which is sixth overall) and Hunter Shinkaruk, who was taken 24th in 2013. There was at least one other piece, probably off the main roster, but I can’t pin it down. It’s not Ryan Kesler, who won’t go there.”"
The roster player that hasn’t been figured out by Friedman has been rumored to be 24 year old D-man, Chris Tanev. Tanev seems to be a solid top 4 defenceman on the rise but he is currently a restricted free agent. On the other hand, if you haven’t heard of Hunter Shinkaruk its probably because he didn’t play in the NHL last year but that will soon change as he is a highly skilled prospect. Shinkaruk was drafted 24th overall by the Canucks in last years draft and during his time playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL he was a prolific point producer. Here are some of his highlights.
My Take: While Tanev and Shinkaruk seem to have bright futures ahead of them, I still don’t think this offer is enough for a trade to be agreed upon. To be honest, in order for us to trade the #1 pick, the trade has to help us now and this rumored trade offer does not. Tanev has yet to put up any more than 17 points during an NHL season and Shinkaruk is unproven at the NHL level. Its in our best interest to stand pat and take Aaron Ekblad who I believe will end up being better than Chris Tanev, or to look at other offers.
On Friday, June 27th we will find out what the Panthers will do with the 1st overall pick. Trade or no trade we will improve our roster but perhaps making a trade involving the 1st overall pick will speed up our quest to get back to the playoffs. Its going to be a VERY interesting and exciting couple of weeks.
Stay tuned as we will bring the latest Florida Panthers news and feel free to let us know what you think of Vancouver’s rumored offer in the comments section. Follow @FANSIDEDTHRAT for even more Panthers news. Thanks for reading.