A sign that the Vancouver Canucks are poised to go in the direction of rebuilding is their announcement on Sunday that they are exploring trade options for veteran Chris Higgins.
The 32-year-old forward has been with five NHL teams during his career, Montreal, New York, Calgary, Florida and the Canucks, but after scoring in double figures the last four seasons, his production has declined dramatically, with two goals and one assist in 25 games this year.
The Canucks want to give young forwards like Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen more responsibility, injured center Brandon Sutter is close to retiring and added Emerson Etem in a trade with the Rangers on Friday.
It will be challenging for Vanocuver GM Jim Benning to move the veteran forward making $2.5 Million through 2016-17 and may necessitate the Canucks retaining salary to get a deal done.
Montreal may be interested in their former draft pick (with the failure of Alex Semin) and Benning and GM Marc Bergevin have one trade under their belts (Zach Kassian for Brandon Prust).
Another possibility could be the slumping Islanders, who could be interested in adding the Long Island native for depth.