It’s suffice to say Vincent Desharnais’ time with the Vancouver Canucks hasn’t been smooth sailing.
The lumbering defenceman inked a two-year contract worth $2 million annually on the West Coast this summer, and it took only one game for things to go a bit sour. While he was in Vancouver’s opening lineup for the first game of the season, he was caught in the cross-fire of the Calgary Flames, and was bumped out of the lineup in games two and three of the team’s season.
Desharnais has only played in 17 of 27 games this season, and now, there are questions about whether or not he’s on the trade market.
“A couple of people tell me they’ve heard Desharnais’ name out there,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, who is as plugged into the Canucks as much as one could be. “They signed him in the summer. Great size, great potential, but he’s having a hell of a time being a regular defenseman.”
With Desharnais, who was drafted and developed by the Oilers, on the ice at five-on-five this season, the Canucks have controlled just 44.3 percent of the shot attempt share, 46.8 percent of the scoring chance share, and 51.6 percent of the expected goal share, while getting outscored 14-to-10. His individual contributions, according to Hockey Viz, are in line with what they were in Edmonton as a third-pairing defenceman. The offensive game is non-existent, driving play there at a 10 percent rate below league average, while his defensive game has been strong at a three percent rate above league average, with penalty kill work four percent above league average.
Dhaliwal went on to talk about how the regime’s mindset has seen them work to rectify mistakes quickly, with examples like Curtis Lazar, who signed a three-year deal in July 2022, played 45 games for the Cancusk and then was traded to the New Jersey Devils. Daniel Sprong signed a one-year deal this past summer, played nine games scoring a goal and three points, and found himself traded to Seattle in early November. Ilya Mikheyev was another example listed. He signed a four-year deal in July 2022, and was traded this past summer to Chicago.
And while that could be what happens with Desharnais, Dhaliwal opined it may not be all that easy to do.
“The other thing is… it’s going to be tough to move him,” he said. “And why is it going to be tough to move them? Well, hasn’t played that well. He hasn’t played that well, but he’s got term… If it was a one-year deal, and you’re trying to move him, it’s a lot easier. But when you add term to a guy, that makes it tougher. So we’ll see what happens out there.”

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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.