NHL trade rumors: Elliotte Friedman airs Vancouver Canucks' 'clear' message amid D-man hunt

The Vancouver Canucks lack depth on defense, and their need to trade for a top player has been evident in the first two months of the season. If not a necessity, this need has become more urgent after their top blue-line defenseman, Filip Hronek, suffered an upper-body injury from a hit during the Canucks' 4-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, with no clear timeline for his return.

The Canucks will miss his partnership alongside Quinn Hughes. The pair had been one of only four defensive setups in the NHL to control more than 60% of goal share. Hronek himself was averaging over 24 minutes on the ice.

With his unfortunate sidelining, Rick Tocchet's team might be scouring the market. However, as per insider Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet's Saturday headlines:

“Vancouver’s down defencemen. They’ve also struggled a bit defensively. They’re out there. They have one of the most aggressive front offices in the league. Everybody knows it. Jim Rutherford, Patrik Allvin, they’re not afraid to do anything, but they have made it clear ‘we’re not going to do something just because other people think we're desperate.’”

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Suitable Filip Hronek alternatives for Vancouver Canucks alongside Quinn Hughes

As expected, Quinn Hughes took up the majority of the workload during the Vancouver Canucks' latest outing against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. He totaled 28:31 minutes of ice time and also registered two assists as his team won 4-3 in overtime. Alongside Hughes, Erik Brannstrom and Tyler Myers were mostly preferred on defense and turned in decent outings.

If the Canucks do not persist with players within their organization, they could also consider Pittsburgh's Marcus Pettersson, who has been linked to the Canucks throughout the season. He is in the last year of an expiring $20.1 million contract, and Vancouver might work out a deal with the Pens ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.

For now, the Vancouver Canucks will hope to continue in the same form, having won three of their last four games and holding a 12-7-3 record.