Vancouver Canucks Trade Rumors 2016: May Move Veteran Chris Higgins
Veteran hockey player Chris Higgins is having a bad season this year with the Vancouver Canucks, which is why multiple reports are saying that the team is reportedly hoping to find another team to move Higgins.
In 25 games so far this season, Higgins only produced two goals and an assist. He likewise is playing to a minus-12, which means that this season is so far his worst in his entire career.
Reports are even coming in confirming that the 32-year-old has been told not to report for practice, suggesting his career as a Canuck is coming to a close.
Perhaps Higgins is having a bad season, but it isn't the real reason why the team is looking to unload him. The more reasonable cause is the fact that Canucks, along with several other teams, are already looking toward the future by focusing on younger players. In the Canucks' case, this was evident when they traded for young forward Emerson Etem.
Higgins did not ask to be traded nor did he express being unhappy with the team. Because he's been asked not to report by head coach Willie Desjardins, it means he may never play a game in the NHL this year, although the team assured they're going to find him a new team.
The problem is, can they get one? The ice hockey winger who was selected 14th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft couldn't come up with a kind of season and production that will interest other teams. His current contract with the Canucks has one year left and he's owed $2.5 million in salary every season. In order to officially move him, the team will have to swallow the fact that they'll be paying some of that.
In the event that Vancouver does not find a team to get him, they will be forced to waive him and assign him to the minor hockey league.