Canucks forward appears to be a potential priority target for Stars at trade deadline

With Calgary Flames winger Blake Coleman currently in Dallas ahead of the NHL's return to play next week, Stars fans are itching even more for the NHL trade deadline. Coleman very well may end up in victory green by March 6. But a different Western Conference foe carries the player odds say is most likely to end up in Dallas.

The Stars play the Canucks in Vancouver on March 2, the penultimate game before the deadline arrives. The Canucks are in fire sale mode, sitting dead last in the NHL standings with just 42 points through 57 games, seven points worse than the team next to them in the table: St. Louis.

"The Athletic's" most recent NHL big board lists five Canucks among the 50 players most likely to be traded. And with Stars general manager Jim Nill interested in adding depth to the Dallas roster, Vancouver is a fine place to look.

Canucks winger Evander Kane

Spend any real time on social media among Stars fans when Kane's name comes up and it's clear the 16-year veteran isn't the most desired object of affection. His Wikipedia section titled "Controversies and legal issues" has a lot to do with it. But he's also in the midst of his worst statistical season since 2015-16.

Regardless, Kane is considered a priority target for various GMs across the league, including Nill. His numbers aren't atrocious aside from an anemic 6.6% shooting percentage. Kane brings a physical element the Stars' forward group badly lacks, and he's carried a positive relative Corsi his whole career, including this season on the worst team in the NHL. He's also played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. He is an unrestricted free agent after the season, meaning any time spent in Dallas would almost certainly be minimal, as it's hard to imagine him inking for another round in the Metroplex.

Vancouver Canucks Trade Targets: Canucks center Elias Petterson

If Kane is the most likely Canucks player to be in a Stars uniform, then Petterson is the least likely.

Yes, he's the most talented player on the team. But there's zero reason why Nill would give up winger Jason Robertson for a center (a position Dallas doesn't need) who makes four million more ($11.6 million) a season, signed through 2030, and has just 34 points in 49 games after a season in which he scored 45 in 64. Granted, the situation in Vancouver is abysmal, but Dallas is better served just by re-signing Robertson instead.

Vancouver Canucks Trade Targets: Canucks winger Conor Garland

Garland is, in normal years, a staple for high teens or low 20s in the goal-scoring column. It isn't a normal year for the Canucks, and the 29-year-old has just seven. Garland is also under contract through 2030 and will see his salary rise to $6 million a year starting next year. That sort of contract isn't going to be easily moved in the middle of the season.

Vancouver Canucks Trade Targets: Canucks centers David Kampf and Teddy Blueger

Incidentally, both Kampf (Czech Republic) and Blueger (Latvia) played in the 2026 Winter Olympics this month, and both are 31 years old. They're also good depth pieces that the Canucks would be better off moving as they go into a rebuild.

Dallas doesn't appear to be a likely destination, though. The Stars, as stated, have depth at center, and they also have a glut of fourth-line types. They have so many, in fact, that a couple is playing out of their expected spot on other lines. While they would make good additions in the offseason as both are set to be unrestricted free agents, don't expect either in Dallas next month.

In other words, when it comes to the Canucks, it's a Kane show. It's to be determined whether that show stops at the American Airlines Center.