Do note though that the Canucks themselves are very high on Motte and are very much considering on re-signing him if they dont get the offers they want.
love motte to death but the smart play is trading him at his absolute peak value now and if it was meant to be he comes back to us in the summer
it's a unique situation where as a specialist role player his value is sky high because he is both excellent at that role and cheap, and teams could use it for a playoff run. but in contrast to previous beloved bottom six energy wingers like burrows and cooke, his value in normal circumstances is fairly low. cooke was motte with surprisingly good hands, middle six upside, and could credibly fill in on the top line in spurts. as a legitimately elite defensive forward with much much better offensive upside than cooke, burrows was a different class altogether. motte's ceiling is what he is, an excellent fourth liner, a good third liner. when we've had to move him up the lineup due to injuries and covid protocol, he's clearly been out of his depth.
realistically, if motte will re-sign here, he will do it whether or not he ends the year here. if he wants to test the market, he wants to test the market, and we can't afford him. other than the very small chance of making the playoffs, i don't see what we gain by keeping him.
