Evening Notes: Blueger, Fowler, McKenna

The Vancouver Canucks are expected to have a high asking price for potential rental center Teddy Blueger, as written by Thomas Drance in an article with The Athletic from last week. 

The 31-year-old had to miss a large portion of the season with an undisclosed injury, but since being activated on January 21, he’s been on a hot streak with five points in his last five games. Never notching more than 28 points in a campaign, Blueger is more of a penalty killing role player, but especially in such a thin center market, with a $1.8MM cap hit, he will come at a premium. 

Nearly three years ago, Blueger was traded from Pittsburgh to Vegas for a third round pick, then catching on with Vancouver as a free agent. It’s hard to imagine the Canucks will part with him for less than that, considering demand and his strong play of late. 

Contenders will have a chance to watch Blueger play a large role against elite competition on the global stage. He is helping lead Team Latvia in the Olympic Games, before coming back to the bottom ranked Canucks heading into the Trade Deadline season. 

Elsewhere across the league:

• Montreal Canadiens top goalie prospect Jacob Fowler will miss AHL All Star festivities due to an upper-body injury, the Laval Rocket shared. The 21-year-old has proven to be a steal, chosen in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Boston College and now one of the league’s premier goaltender prospects. Fowler has a .914 save percentage, good for fourth in the AHL, on the sixth-ranked Rocket. Still early in his professional career, the Florida native already appeared in 10 games with the big club this season and performed well. The Rocket noted that he will still “remain on the bench” so it is likely precautionary and no cause for real concern. 
• Top 2026 draft prospect Gavin McKenna is expected to return this weekend, according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. NHL scouts were apparently notified that the Penn State star will be in action at Michigan in a huge matchup between the two top five ranked Big 10 teams. McKenna has had an eventful February, starting with an arrest and felony aggravated assault charges, which were eventually withdrawn. He still faces a misdemeanor charge, but an initial court date tomorrow has been postponed, meaning the 18-year-old can focus fully on the Wolverines.