from Thomas Drance of Sportsnet,

And in team president Trevor Linden, the Canucks have a uniquely credible salesman in place to peddle patience and hope in a marketplace that has – in the past and throughout this season – proven skeptical of supporting teams that aren’t winners.

Now, what this all means for the upcoming week remains to be seen. Pending unrestricted free agents like Dan Hamhuis and Vrbata could net the club significant futures if they’re dealt, but their respective situations are complicated by injuries and no-trade clauses.

Can the club find Brandon Prust a new NHL home? Will they consider dealing a productive player with term, like Hansen?

It’s a fool’s game to project what Canucks management will be able to accomplish between now and the deadline. There’s nothing straightforward about navigating a barren marketplace with assets that have some measure of control over their own destiny.

What’s readily apparent though is that no matter how the team performs on the ice between now and Feb. 29 the Canucks have to try and be busy on deadline day; sellers for the first time since the turn of the century.

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