The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL when it comes to the trade market, and it sounds like they’re still open for business.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Canucks have made defenceman Carson Soucy available in trade talks. Friedman was a guest on The Fan Hockey Show and discussed what’s going on with the Canucks’ reshaped blueline.

“He got scratched the other night, and I think they’ve let people know he’d be available,” Friedman said. “They’re just remodelling their D right now. He’s had a tough year, but I really like Soucy as a player. I thought he was a really good player for them last year in the playoffs (and he) had a real presence. We’ll see where that goes, but I’ve heard they’ve made him available.”

The 30-year-old native of Viking, Alberta, is signed through the 2025-26 season at $3.25 million AAV. Soucy does hold a full no-trade clause this season, and reports have surfaced that his preference is to stay in Vancouver, but if the team isn’t going to play him, and is looking to move on, he’ll gladly work with the team to facilitate a deal.

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving should have some level of interest, it just should be very guarded. Soucy has great size at 6-foot-5 and is a big part of the Canucks’ penalty kill, which ranks a couple of spots ahead of the Leafs in league standings. Soucy is playing a career-high 18:54 a game this year, including 2:21 shorthanded, and has landed 77 hits, blocked 84 shots and chipped in offensively with eight points in 52 games. He did score 10 goals in 64 games a few years ago as a member of the Seattle Kraken, so there’s certainly more to give offensively.

Soucy isn’t someone who is going to step in and take over for Morgan Rielly on Toronto’s top power-play unit. He’s a strong third-pair option, who would help alleviate some of the burden felt on Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe on the Leafs’ penalty kill, and Soucy would essentially push Conor Timmins and Simon Benoit for minutes, assuming that either of them wouldn’t be included in a deal with the Canucks. Considering Soucy’s cap hit, Toronto would need to send at least one roster player to Vancouver in the deal, and likely a mid-level prospect, or late-round draft pick.

Soucy has been playing better than his numbers suggest this season, thanks in large part to the struggles of both Noah Juulsen and Tyler Myers. Soucy’s spent the majority of his season playing with one of Myers and Juulsen, and most of their underlying numbers rank last among Canucks’ defensive pairs. For Leaf fans who may not be familiar with Soucy’s game, here’s a reflection of his season compared to Benoit’s:

It’s obvious from the numbers that Benoit throws his weight around more, is quicker on his feet, and has allowed less for opposing teams in high-danger areas. So, if Treliving is considering adding Soucy, perhaps he should include Timmins or Myers instead of Benoit. However, with both Benoit and Myers signing extensions since Treliving took over as GM, the odd man out is likely Timmins, regardless of who is coming the other way to upgrade the Maple Leafs’ blueline.

Should the Maple Leafs have trade interest in Soucy? Yes, but very limited, and only under the right circumstances. If Canucks’ GM Patrik Allvin wants to retain a piece of his $3.25 million cap hit, for the rest of this season and next, perhaps a deal including both Timmins and Pontus Holmberg sparks the conversation.

While Soucy could help bring size and experience to the Leafs’ bottom pair, Treliving would be much wiser acquiring a legit top-four option, to help balance out Toronto’s back end.