Marc-Andre Gaudet just landed on waivers, and cheap, controllable defensemen like this are exactly what a rebuild like Vancouver's should be chasing.
Elliotte Friedman confirmed the St. Louis Blues placed Gaudet on waivers this week.
The 22-year-old defenseman, 6-foot-3 and left-shot, was St. Louis' fifth-round pick, 152nd overall, back in 2022.
Gaudet just finished his first full AHL season with the Springfield Thunderbirds, putting up 20 points in 53 games before adding 4 more points in 11 Calder Cup playoff games.
His junior résumé also stands out. He posted 107 points over four seasons in the QMJHL between Acadie-Bathurst and Sherbrooke.
He's entering the last year of his entry-level deal, carrying a modest $827,500 cap hit at the NHL level, and becomes an RFA with compensation in 2027.
St. Louis clearly sees him as expendable organizational depth, which is precisely the kind of low-cost swing a rebuild like Vancouver's should be looking to add.
Why cheap, cost-controlled players matter this much right now
GM Ryan Johnson has preached patience and a clear roadmap since taking over, and stockpiling affordable, physical defensemen fits that exact philosophy.
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Vancouver already committed real money to Zeev Buium's $75,000,000 extension, meaning every dollar of cap flexibility elsewhere matters more than usual.
A near-free claim like Gaudet costs almost nothing against that same cap sheet while giving Vancouver another body to develop in the system without any pressure to rush him.
Vancouver finished dead last in the league standings last season, and a rebuild at that stage benefits more from volume bets on cheap, physical prospects than from splashy names.
Claiming him would cost the Canucks nothing but a roster spot, with real upside if his AHL trajectory keeps climbing the way it did last season.
Whether Johnson actually claims him is unknown, but this is exactly the type of depth swing that fits where Vancouver's rebuild currently sits.
Should the Canucks claim Marc-Andre Gaudet off waivers from the Blues?
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