Defenseman Luke Schenn is being held out of the lineup for the Vancouver Canucks with speculation that a trade might be getting close ahead of this season’s NHL Trade Deadline. A serviceable blueliner on a cost-effective contract, Schenn has garnered strong interest around the NHL and teams like the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs are among those reportedly in the mix.

The Canucks have confirmed that Schenn won’t be playing Tuesday night against the Predators in Nashville and some are wondering if the defenseman is traded as early as Wednesday and with only 10 days left before the deadline. CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal was among the first to report that Schenn was likely going to be sitting and reports are he was sent back home to Vancouver where he and his wife are expecting a new child.

Schenn actually flew with the team to Nashville under the expectation that he would be playing. Things changed over the course of the last 24 hours and he is no longer in the lineup. The expectation is that a deal is imminent and the team that is looking to acquire him didn’t want to take any chances of an injury.

Schenn is in the final year of an $850k x two-year contract. His play and his cap hit have made him one of the most sought-after defensemen. While there are other names on the market that teams have been looking at, the price to acquire those players has been extremely high. It isn’t likely a team will have to give up a first-round pick for Schenn, whereas names like Vladislav Gavrikov, Jakob Chychrun, and Erik Karlsson would cost a team as high as multiple first-round picks.

The goal for the Canucks is to get a second or third-round pick. There have been no contract extension talks between the two sides. The 33-year-old has three goals and 18 assists in 55 contests this season while averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time.

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