Vancouver Canucks must be active before today's NHL trade deadline

Between injuries and inconsistency, the Vancouver Canucks clearly have a few areas of concern that need to be addressed prior to today's (March 3) 12 p.m. National Hockey League trade deadline.

There is plenty of room for improvement among the team's bottom six forwards and there is also an obvious need to upgrade the team's depth on defense. Mike Gillis elected to stand pat at this point last year figuring that Mats Sundin had been enough of a mid-season addition. It's unlikely that Canuck fans will settle for such inactivity this time around.

There will surely be a price to pay to bolster the roster and it's Gillis' job to figure out how to help his hockey club now without giving away too much of the future. Does he part with minor-league goalie Cory Schneider for someone who can help the big league team right now? Does he move forward Michael Grabner who hasn't proven himself at the NHL for someone who has? Both Schneider and Grabner are former Canuck first round selections who aren't contributing to the cause at the NHL level right now. That's not to say that they won't some day.

Does it make sense to part with former first rounders in exchange for depth players? Perhaps not. But do the Canucks have a shot at making something happen this spring? If Gillis believes so, then Schneider and Grabner seem like the most-attractive assets the general manager has to work with in an effort to upgrade his hockey team for the rest of this season and what the Canucks are surely hoping is a lengthy playoff run.

By noon, we'll know what the Vancouver Canucks—and the other 29 NHL teams look like moving forward—and then we can better judge who the real Stanley Cup contenders are.

Follow Jeff Paterson on Twitter at www.twitter.com/patersonjeff.