Since starting the 2022-23 season 0-5-2, Vancouver Canucks fans have had to deal with rampant trade rumors from hockey insiders Elliotte Friedman, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger, among others. That’s unfortunately the nature of the beast when a team struggles to find its footing at the beginning of a campaign.

Even though the Canucks have found their game a bit and are now 12-13-3, the rumor mill keeps on churning. From Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, and Conor Garland, to Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, it seems like no player is safe from it. It remains to be seen how many of them are actually moved before the trade deadline, but here are the four major – and most probable – players that could be traded based on all the rumors out there.

Bo Horvat

After reportedly rejecting the Canucks’ latest and seemingly final contract offer, Horvat appears to be firmly on the trade market. But don’t expect him to comment on it further, as he released a statement on Dec. 13 saying, “I am focused on this season and playing for the Vancouver Canucks, helping the team in any way I can. I will not have any further comments this year about my future.”

According to Rick Dhaliwal and expanded on by LeBrun, the Canucks will now “[focus] on the trade market between now and March 3.” It’s a tough turn of events for Canucks Nation considering their captain is having a season for the ages right now. With 20 goals in 28 games and on pace for an absurd 59 goals, he could conceivably finish his tenure in Vancouver with a franchise record under his belt.

Horvat’s newfound goalscoring prowess along with his leadership, elite faceoff abilities and emerging two-way game will make him one of the biggest commodities at the trade deadline. Unfortunately for the Canucks, his value might be limited since he will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Unless it is a sign-and-trade, teams will be hesitant to give up premium assets for fear of losing him in free agency. Having said that, high-end rentals have fetched a pretty penny in the past, so I guess it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Canucks could get something substantial.

Brock Boeser

When Horvat was drafted in 2013 and Boeser in 2015, they were expected to be two pieces the Canucks could build around on the heels of the Henrik and Daniel Sedin era. While they both have racked up the miles and climbed the all-time scoring list, playoff success has mostly eluded them. Now, the duo could be traded in the same season. Not exactly the future many Canucks fans envisioned when Boeser was ripping it up in his rookie season and Horvat was named captain in 2019.

Since being driven into an unlatched door at the bench during that same rookie campaign, Boeser hasn’t looked like the player that was picking corners at the 2018 All-Star Skills Competition and beating Carey Price with a laser point-blank. He has had three 20-goal seasons since then, but fans have not seen a lot of his one-timer from the left circle or that sniper-like accuracy very often – at least not as frequently as in 2017-18.