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VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks approached the NHL trade deadline yesterday in need of some scoring punch and were hunting big game in Brad Richards, the top centre on the market.
The Canucks ended the day with left winger Matt Pettinger, who had seven points in 56 games with the Washington Capitals this season.
And the cost was a roster player, left winger Matt Cooke, who has 16 points in 61 games.
"We're not going to turn into a team that scores five goals a night because we got Matt Pettinger," general manager Dave Nonis said. "We're going to have to take care of our own end. We're going to have to score by committee. We're going to have to [lean on] our defence, which is now becoming a more vital part of our offence.
Goaltender Johan Holmqvist of the Tampa Bay Lightning is covered with snow by Matt Pettinger of the Washington Capitals at the St. Pete Times Forum on Feb. 16. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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"We're a middle of the road offensive team and if we can play high-end defence along with that, then I think we have a chance to compete."
That wasn't exactly the statement most fans wanted to hear, but Nonis made it clear he was not prepared to trade young roster players, such as centre Ryan Kesler and defenceman Alexander Edler, to land a luminary such as Richards. Doing so could have created a "big hole in the organization."
Nonis said the organization's depth when it comes to young, cheap players "wasn't near" what he wants it to be, and he hinted strongly he believed his offer for Richards, who wound up going to the Dallas Stars for a package that included goaltender Mike Smith, was good enough.
"We put packages out there that in our mind, and I think in a lot of people's minds, were superior to maybe some of the packages that were accepted," Nonis said. "With that said, I wasn't about to take significant young roster players off our team at this point to land a player. I think it would've set us back. I'm talking about more than one piece. It wasn't a situation that made sense for us.
"Every team has to make their own decisions on what they think they need. … You can't make a team trade with you."
Nonis said the Pettinger trade had been in the works for 45 days, but was put on hold for reasons he did not disclose. The one-for-one swap pales in comparison to the splash-value trades made by Vancouver's Western Conference rivals.
Richards, who has won the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy, was shipped to the Stars, while the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks also landed coveted players.
On Monday, the Avalanche signed centre Peter Forsberg, whom the Canucks had been talking to before he claimed last week that he would not return to the NHL this season. Nonis admitted the signing caught him off guard. Colorado also traded yesterday for defencemen Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei, while the Sharks picked up defenceman Brian Campbell, who was considered the best blueliner available.
"Obviously, some teams improved," Nonis said. "I'd be foolish to say anything otherwise. Colorado got better, there is no question about that."
Nonis added that he could have added four of five players in the final hour before the deadline, but didn't believe any of them were clear roster players. Nonis said he felt the existing players who have battled through a season of adversity deserved the chance to finish what they started, and he didn't want to send mixed messages to the dressing room by acquiring players who were not sure to be in uniform every night. Nonis said he targeted some rental players, but not the high-priced types who moved for significant compensation.
He also set out to acquire a player under contract for Cooke, who can become a free agent in the summer and would not have been re-signed. Pettinger, 27, is due to make $1.1-million (U.S.) in 2008-09.
"He is a young player who our scouts really like and they think he'll be able to step in and play on one of the top three lines," Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said. "I'm confident he is going to be able to help us here in the stretch drive."
Canucks captain Markus Naslund noted that while Vancouver may not have improved as much as Colorado, the Canucks are four points ahead of the Avalanche in the conference standings. The teams will face each other four more times this season, including tonight at General Motors Place, and 10th-place Colorado must still do some work before its deadline acquisitions become relevant in the postseason.
"Yeah, they've gotten better — no doubt about it," Naslund said, "but we can beat them."
