For Elias Pettersson’s Vancouver Canucks to pursue a player with a background involving Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins, they must be really needy. It isn’t the first time, of course, but it’s safe to say the Canucks prefer exploring other options in the NHL. However, reports indicate their sights should now be fixedon a former member of the Spoked B.
The Canucks have several areas that need addressing on their roster. However, the need for a left-handed defenseman is among the biggest needs. Especially one that produce on the O-zone. At some point, Quinn Hughes has to take a breather on the bench, and Pettersson and company need another blueliner to fill in.
On that note, a report by Sports Illustrated suggests former teammate of Marchand on the Bruins, Matt Grzelcyk, as a potential fit for the Canucks. The 31-year-old defenseman remains an unrestricted free agent (UFA) after a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“For a franchise desperate to return to the postseason, adding Grzelcyk to the lineup in the final weeks before training camp is a no-brainer,” Jacob Punturi of Sports Illustrated said. “With a new head coach and top-six forward now in the mix, the biggest missing piece is another puck-moving defenseman to improve the left side.”
Matt Grzelcyk playing for the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Just missed out on Lord Stanley
If Grzelcyk joins Pettersson and the Canucks, he will do so out for blood. The blueliner skated alongside Marchand and company during Boston’s trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019—a memory that still haunts fans in Beantown.
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The Bruins fell to the St. Louis Blues in seven games, with the decisive clash heartbreakingly played at TD Garden, where a sold-out crowd watched the visitors skate away with the grand prize. The scenes of Marchand in tears on the bench are still brought up by fansaround the NHL in memes to this day.
Marchand has already earned his redemption, joining the Florida Panthers and hoisting his second Stanley Cup, but Grzelcyk is still chasing that same sense of fulfillment.
Aged just fine
While the 2024-25 NHL season was hardly one to remember in The Burgh, Grzelcyk enjoyed a career year with the Penguins. Not only did he register a personal-best 40-point (1G, 39A) campaign, he registered his first full campaign, playing all 82 games.
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Now, many wonder why Grzelcyk remains unsigned as training camp looms closer across the NHL. Perhaps the Canucks should pounce on the veteran defenseman to help out Pettersson and company, or they might live to regret it during the 2025-26 season.
