As the Vancouver Canucks have learned, top-pairing defencemen in the NHL are very hard to find these days. When you think of Norris Trophy blueliners, only a handful come to mind — Drew Doughty, P.K. Subban, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Victor Hedman, among a couple of others.
Chris Tanev is far-and-away this team’s top blueliner, but he’s often injured and doesn’t come with much offensive upside. There’s no doubting the Canucks’ weak link is their depth on defence, and general manager Jim Benning could sure use a No.