Thomas Vanek played a stint with the Vancouver Canucks last season. He was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets near the trade deadline last season for Tyler Motte and Jussi Jokinen. The return to the Canucks in exchange for Vanek was quite underwhelming.
That is a concern moving forward. What do other teams value Thomas Vanek? He has struggled this season while he was in the Detroit Red Wings lineup. He started on the third line and was bounced to the fourth line before he was injured.
Vanek is a 20 goal candidate, but time may be catching up to the one-time perennial goal scorer. He was only able to record 2 goals and 3 assists through his first 12 games of the season. He is also a minus 8. The Detroit Red Wings continued to roll him out on the first power-play unit, but his chances were spotty at best.
Vanek netted 17 goals and 24 helpers during his 61 game stint with the Canucks last season. He would be able to provide a bottom six scoring threat and already has some chemistry with a few of the Canucks players. Vanek seems like he was well liked with the Vancouver players. After he was traded from the club last year, players mentioned he would be missed in the room.
Thomas Vanek has a full no-trade clause, and he has been well traveled in recent years. Who knows if he is willing to move once again, he holds the cards to his immediate future this season. The only way Vancouver has any interest in Vanek is if they find themselves continuing to be an above average team.