Vancouver Canucks: The case for trading Thomas Vanek

Though Thomas Vanek has been putting up excellent numbers with the Vancouver Canucks, general manager Jim Benning’s top choice should be to move out the veteran sniper.

There hasn’t been a lot of offence from the Vancouver Canucks this season, but Thomas Vanek is among the few players that has supplied ample scoring.

The 34-year-old was signed to a one-year contract worth $2 million, and has been frequently mentioned as trade bait for the Feb. 26 deadline. You can make a case that the Canucks should extend Vanek — who is second in team scoring with 16 goals and 38 points through 34 games.

Vanek has been an excellent leader in the locker room, and has mentored young players like Brock Boeser —…