Eriksson signed in Vancouver as a free agent after scoring 63 points (30 goals, 33 assists) in 82 games with the Boston Bruins in 2015-16. He has 76 points (32 goals, 44 assists) in 196 games with the Canucks over the past three seasons. Eriksson, who will turn 34 on July 17, has seen his role diminish under Green, with more checking duties and fewer opportunities on the power play and top two lines.
Eriksson averaged 2:28 per game on the power play his first season in Vancouver, under coach Willie Desjardins. The next season, Green's first as coach, Eriksson played 1:24 per game, and that dropped to 1:16 last season, 13th among Canucks forwards. He was a healthy scratch in March for the first time with the Canucks and finished the season with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 81 games.
"It is difficult when I do not get the same trust that I received from all the other coaches I had during my career," Eriksson told hockeysverige.se in May. "Of course, it is tough on that front."
Trading Eriksson would free up money to help sign restricted free agent forwards Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin. That would give the Canucks 17 forwards who played in the NHL last season.
"We have the months before the season starts and I am going to continue to see if I can move a player, and if I can't, everyone is going to come to camp and we are going to have competition from within for jobs and ice time, and I think that's going to be a good thing," Benning said.
Benning said the Canucks can remain salary cap compliant and keep everyone by putting forward Antoine Roussel, who is expected to be out until late November or early December after knee surgery, on long-term injury reserve.
As for Eriksson, Benning wouldn't rule out keeping him too.
"He's still a useful player for us," Benning said. "He can kill penalties, play a matchup role against other team's top lines, he's a good two-way player, so we'll continue to look at our options and see if something makes sense and talk to Loui and see where he's at and go from there."