No.
Okay, let’s back up a bit. Matt Duchene’s name has been floating around trade rumours for quite some time. He reportedly wants out of Colorado, which is pretty understandable; the Avalanche are truly terrible and the only team to finish below the Canucks in the standings last year.
Coming into camp with the Avalanche this year, it seemed very clear that Duchene didn't want to be there. He skipped their annual charity golf tournament. He looked absolutely miserable in the promotional photos he was forced to take. He went full Marshawn Lynch during his media availability.
While it is still possible that Matt Duchene plays for the Avalanche this season, it sure seems like he wants a trade. The big hangup is reportedly Joe Sakic’s asking price, which was, according to Darren Dreger, as high as two first-round picks or a first-round pick and a former first rounder that is now a quality NHL prospect.
Also according to Dreger, the Canucks have kicked the tires on a potential Duchene trade.
So, should the Canucks follow through on the tire-kicking and pursue Matt Duchene? No, definitely not.
Look, Duchene is a very good player. He is, at the very least, a high-end second-line centre and could, in the right situation, be a solid first-line centre. The Canucks need a first-line centre. It seems like there could be a fit: a top-two of Duchene and Horvat, with Adam Gaudette and Elias Pettersson on their way, seems pretty good.
It’s an issue of timeframe and cost, however. The Canucks are in the same boat as the Avalanche: they’re terrible, rebuilding, and looking towards the future. That means the cost to acquire Duchene will be future assets, exactly what the Canucks need to be stockpiling right now.
With the Avalanche looking for a young defenceman, Duchene would cost the Canucks Olli Juolevi to start, along with a first-round pick and definitely another prospect, because there's no way Sakic won't want more than Juolevi and a first. Is that worth Duchene?
It would also involve clearing some capspace to make room for Duchene’s $6 million contract, which would likely mean a couple lopsided trades to get other teams to take on bad contracts. In most cases, that means adding prospects and/or picks to a deal. Is that added cost worth Duchene?
And then there’s the timeframe: Duchene is only signed for the next two seasons, after which he could bolt in free agency. Are the Canucks going to be good enough in the next two seasons to make adding Duchene worth it? If not, the Canucks would probably look to trade him when he’s a pending free agent: would the assets the Canucks might be able to get in return be equivalent or better than what it would cost to acquire him right now?
So, in summary, it would cost too much for the Canucks to acquire Duchene, it would cost too much to create capspace for Duchene, and the Canucks won’t be good enough soon enough to make acquiring Duchene worth it.
There's no reason why the Canucks shouldn't kick tires, but in this case they should kick them far down the road.
