NHL Insider: Canucks May Plan Short-Term Trade Amidst Absences of Miller, Boeser & Forbort

The Vancouver Canucks are set to kick off their six-game road trip on Saturday night in Ottawa as they face the Senators, but they'll be doing so without the services of J.T. Miller, who announced he was taking a leave of absence on Tuesday.

While it might not have been the start J.T. Miller had been hoping for, he was still playing well, registering 16 points in 17 games, so there's going to be a big hole to fill in the Canucks' lineup.

On Friday's edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman talked about the Vancouver Canucks and what they could be up to on the trade market.

As we all know by now, the Canucks have been searching for a top-four defenseman and have been linked to a number of players, but could a deal happen sooner than expected?

Without specifying which position, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that he could see the Vancouver Canucks going out onto the trade market and making a deal that could help them get through the next couple of weeks.

With the team on a road trip, which they won't return home from until December 6th against Columbus, they could certainly need some help, particularly on forward without J.T. Miller in the lineup and the uncertainty surrounding Brock Boeser's return.

If it is a forward that the Vancouver Canucks are after on the trade market to help on the road trip, it's hard to nail down who they could target.

Some options could include Montreal's Christian Dvorak, Pittsburgh's Noel Acciari or even Yanni Gourde of the Seattle Kraken, if, and it's a big if, Ron Francis is willing to move the pending unrestricted free agent forward.