Vancouver Canucks Should Consider Trading Alexandre Burrows

The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the more pleasant surprises of the early NHL season, compiling an impressive 12-5-0 record despite playing nearly 60% of their games on the road. Ryan Miller has been strong in net, Henrik Sedin has been his usual productive self and Daniel Sedin has looked as good as he ever has since the Duncan Keith elbow. It is tempting to think that the Canucks should stand pat with their current team due to this unexpected success, but Vancouver would be better off making a move. Specifically, the Canucks should look into trading Alexandre Burrows.

It isn’t that Burrows “deserves” to be traded; he’s actually playing some of his best hockey since the 2011-12 season. That’s the rub, though. There is no guarantee that Burrows will continue contributing and not return to being the liability that he was during both 2012-13 and 2013-14. He carries a hefty $4.5M hit on the cap, a generous number for an inconsistent player who relies on others to create offensive chances for him.

With Burrows currently on top of his game, it makes a lot of sense for the Canucks to shop him around and try to sell high. The team’s hot start shouldn’t fool anyone; this team might be better than most thought, but it is far from a Stanley Cup contender. Keeping an eye on the future and dealing Burrows for some assets would be a good move for Vancouver.

Sean Sarcu is a Chicago Blackhawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.