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Assessing Potential Under-The-Radar Trade Candidates

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After two major trades last week involving players like Quinn Hughes, Marco Rossi, Tristan Jarry, and Stuart Skinner, the trade bait boards in the media have removed several names from the potential trade list. There are still many clear candidates available for trade, including Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Andersson, Alex Tuch, and Yegor Chinakhov. However, beyond that initial group of obvious options, there are less obvious, under-the-radar players who might come into play as the next few months unfold.

We start with a couple of Jets players who are near the bottom of the NHL standings and have been a colossal disappointment this season. Much of their struggles are due to three-time Vezina Trophy winner (and last season’s Hart Trophy winner) Connor Hellebuyck missing three weeks after an arthroscopic knee procedure on Nov. 21.

If this slow start persists, the Jets have two veterans, Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Toews, who could be trade targets if Winnipeg decides to punt on this season. With just six assists in 24 games, Nyquist hasn’t been a fit in Winnipeg. The 36-year-old is on a one-year deal worth $3.25MM that he signed on July 1 and is only two years removed from posting 75 points in 81 games with the Predators.

Should Winnipeg make Nyquist available, he will attract significant interest due to his veteran experience and passing skills. Make no mistake, Nyquist is somewhat one-dimensional at this stage in his career, but he can also contribute on the penalty kill and occasionally score. Last year at the trade deadline, Nashville traded Nyquist to the Wild for a second-round pick; however, his performance this season (and last year) makes that return unlikely. Nyquist doesn’t have trade protection on his current deal.

Initially, Toews’ story was an incredible demonstration of perseverance and grit in getting back to the NHL. The Jets took a chance on Toews, hoping he could regain his spot as an NHL center in their top six, or at least their top nine. That hasn’t happened so far, as Toews has struggled to keep up with today’s NHL pace, which is understandable given his health issues and the time he was away from the game.

Winnipeg misjudged how effective Toews would be, and they are now paying the price in the standings because of a significant gap in their forward group. That said, they are still in the playoff hunt, and with an intense stretch of play, they could contend again. However, if they stumble, they might consider moving Toews if he’s willing to waive his no-move clause. Since he returned home to play for the Jets, it’s unlikely they will trade him or that he will accept a deal, but if Winnipeg’s struggles persist, it could become a real possibility.

Toews has been moved to the fourth line (along with Nyquist) and has scored just three goals and six assists in 33 games this season with a -13 rating while averaging 15:33 of ice time per game. Those stats mark the worst production of Toews’ career. He’s appeared slow this year, and Winnipeg seems like a team playing in slow motion when he is on the ice. It raises the question of whether they can continue to include him in the lineup.

The Jets signed Toews to make a substantial impact in the playoffs, but if the playoffs look unlikely, it makes sense to see if they can find him a team that will qualify and receive a small return. That is, if he wishes to play elsewhere.

Sticking with the Western Conference, the Blues have also disappointed this season, after pushing the Jets to the very limit in last year’s playoffs. St. Louis is a team caught between being a playoff contender and an up-and-coming squad, and it’s fair to wonder how many veterans they might move this season. Much has been said about Jordan Kyrou, Jordan Binnington, and Brayden Schenn, all of whom are on many trade candidate lists, but one name that isn’t talked about often is forward Mathieu Joseph.

Joseph is a Stanley Cup champion who could be a reliable addition to a contending team looking to strengthen its depth. The 28-year-old has a good shot, can kill penalties, and plays with a lot of speed. He is carrying a $2.95MM cap hit in the final year of a four-year deal and won’t cost a fortune for any team aiming to improve their lineup. Joseph would also bring a bit of physicality to the bottom of a forward group, making him a strong candidate for a trade.

Switching over to the Eastern Conference, a name that emerges as a somewhat under-the-radar trade candidate is defenseman Ryan Shea. The Penguins signed Shea to a one-year NHL contract in the summer of 2023 that included a $775K guarantee, despite him having never played an NHL game up to that point.

Shea had spent three seasons in the Stars’ minor league system after captaining Northeastern University in the NCAA. The 28-year-old is once again heading for free agency next summer and was earlier projected by AFP Analytics to receive a one-year deal worth just over $1MM.

However, his performance this season (two goals and 11 assists in 33 games) has raised his value, and he could be eyeing a multi-year contract considering his age and recent form. The Penguins have over $54MM in cap space for next season (as per PuckPedia) and could easily re-sign him, but it remains uncertain whether he fits into their long-term plans given their projected window of contention. If they see him as part of their top-six forward group, he will sign and stay; if not, he should be an available trade asset before the deadline due to his $900K cap hit.

Lastly, we have Teddy Blueger of the Canucks. Blueger has played just two games this season due to a lower-body injury, but is expected to return after Christmas, making him a likely trade candidate given his upcoming free agency next summer.

Blueger is a dependable pro and a consistent presence; he is a fourth-line center, no more, no less. The 31-year-old is in the final season of a two-year deal paying him $1.8MM and is likely to get a raise if he can return to the lineup and perform at his best. Blueger has been remarkably consistent throughout his career, peaking at 28 points in a season, a number he has reached multiple times.

Blueger isn’t overly big or fast, but he is an excellent forechecker and has some offensive skills beyond goal scoring, which he isn’t particularly good at. He is a smart player both offensively and defensively, especially on the penalty kill, where he has been excellent historically.

All these factors make Blueger a prime candidate to be moved before the deadline, given his timeline and the Canucks’ plans. Vancouver is about as unpredictable as any team can be right now, but Blueger has a Stanley Cup on his resume and will be sought after by playoff-bound teams, which Vancouver is not.

Multiple Teams Interested In Kiefer Sherwood

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The trade market for Vancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood is beginning to materialize and will likely continue growing leading up to the trade deadline. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have “kicked the tires” on Sherwood.

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Canucks’ Arshdeep Bains Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Dec. 17th: According to a team announcement, Bains has successfully cleared waivers and has been reassigned to AHL Abbotsford.

Dec. 16th: The Canucks have waived forward Arshdeep Bains, according to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic. He’ll be reassigned to AHL Abbotsford tomorrow if he clears.

The news doesn’t come as a major surprise. Bains’ role was bound to reduce after Vancouver recouped forwards Liam Ohgren and Marco Rossi in last week’s shock Quinn Hughes blockbuster, and they’re set to be immediate fixtures in the Canucks’ lineup. He was one of the odd men out when they were inserted into the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Devils, marking his sixth healthy scratch of the season.

With center Elias Pettersson not expected to miss too much more time with his upper-body injury, the Canucks were going to need a roster spot to activate him from injured reserve sooner rather than later. They can do so as soon as today – Bains is eligible for a non-roster designation if his waiver placement comes in conjunction with an IR activation – if he’s ready to play tonight against the Rangers.

Bains’ 26 appearances this season more than doubled his career total. The 24-year-old now has 47 games under his belt for Vancouver over the past three seasons, scoring two goals and four assists for six points. Five of those came this year while he averaged 9:09 of ice time per game in a fourth-line role.

An undrafted free agent signed out of WHL Red Deer back in 2022, he could carry some intrigue on the wire thanks to an excellent AHL track record. In three prior seasons for Abbotsford, he’s put up a 40-96–136 scoring line in 175 games with a +34 rating.

Reichel's Agent Trying To Facilitate A Trade

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  • After clearing waivers over the weekend, the Canucks assigned winger Lukas Reichel to the minors. Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province mentions that Reichel’s agent has permission to talk to other teams about trying to facilitate a trade.  While there were no takers for the 23-year-old with his $1.2MM AAV, it’s possible that there could be some interest if they could send a player the other way to offset some of the money.  Either way, Reichel’s stock has certainly fallen after struggling following a late-October trade from Chicago.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Max Sasson To Two-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks announced today that forward Max Sasson has signed a two-year, $1MM AAV contract extension with the club.

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin commented on the signing in the Canucks’ official announcement, saying:

Max has made the most of the opportunity presented to him this season and has provided us with some solid play. Since signing with the organization out of college, he has shown significant improvement, using his speed and skill to build a strong foundation for his future. Max was a key contributor to our championship run last year in Abbotsford, and we’re excited to watch him continue to grow as a player.

Sasson, 25, signed an entry-level deal with the Canucks as an NCAA free agent in March of 2023. He earned that NHL deal off the back of a stellar two-season run playing college hockey at Western Michigan University. He scored 15 goals and 42 points in his second season in Kalamazoo.

Sasson was an instant-impact signing for the Canucks, quickly becoming one of their more reliable centers at the AHL level. After a seven-game cameo in 2022-23, Sasson hit the ground running during his true rookie season of 2023-24, scoring 18 goals and 42 points in 56 AHL games.

He kept growing his game into the following year, earning his first NHL call-up in November 2024. He played in a total of 29 games at the NHL level last season, scoring seven points. He spent the Spring of 2025 back in the AHL, helping the Abbotsford Canucks with the Calder Cup, scoring 14 points in 24 AHL playoff games.

Sasson began 2025-26 in the AHL but quickly rose to the NHL, earning a recall in early October after playing just two AHL games. (He scored a goal in each of those games) Sasson has begun to establish himself this season as a legitimate NHL-caliber fourth-line center, scoring six goals and eight points through 29 games this season. Head coach Adam Foote hasn’t shown a willigness to deploy Sasson much on special teams yet, but he is playing 11:01 time on ice per game mostly at even strength.

Seeing as Sasson is earning a $1MM AAV on his next deal with a relatively thin NHL résumé, it’s likely the Canucks are betting that Sasson’s upward trajectory will continue. He does still have some work to do, such as earning the trust of Foote to the point where he can be reliably used on the penalty kill, as that is usually an expectation of bottom-six centers at some point in their career. Sasson also has to improve at the faceoff dot, as he’s winning just 40% of his draws this season.

But as Allvin said, Sasson has already improved significantly since joining the Canucks, and he’s given every reason to believe he’ll be able to make those adjustments and grow into a more well-rounded NHL player. While this AAV might feel a bit high to some given that Sasson has just 58 career NHL games to his name, it’s important to take into account where the Canucks are as a franchise.

As they pivot into more of a rebuild-like direction, it’s understandable that the Canucks would want to devote some of its cap space to rewarding hard-working players who have proven to be developmental success stories for the organization. Sasson has been exactly that, and this solid contract extension is his reward for his steady growth over the last few years.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

These Pending UFAs Have Increased Their Stock

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The 2026 UFA class had been highly anticipated for quite some time free agency even opened this year. That excitement only grew through July and August as many potential UFAs didn’t sign extensions with their current clubs. However, that feeling was quickly dampened in the fall as players like Kirill Kaprizov, Connor McDavid, and Jack Eichel began signing new contracts, taking the energy out of the 2026 free-agent frenzy. While many stars have signed new deals, a noticeable group of talented players is still set to hit the open market on July 1, 2026, with some having significantly boosted their stock after a strong start to the season.

Jack Roslovic has encountered two difficult situations in the UFA market, with the first ending in him signing a one-year, $2.8MM deal with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2024. His second attempt this past summer saw him join the Oilers for one year at $1.5MM. This year’s outcome was quite unexpected, given that Roslovic played well last season with 22 goals for Carolina, yet a multi-year deal that suited him never materialized. Roslovic was not alone this summer; defenseman Matt Grzelcyk also couldn’t secure a multi-year contract that met his expectations, despite having a career-best season last year in Pittsburgh.

This summer, however, Roslovic seems to be positioning himself for a multi-year deal that has eluded him. Injuries could affect his market value, but through 23 games in Edmonton this season, the 28-year-old has scored 10 goals and added eight assists. He’s also averaging over three more minutes of ice time per game compared to his career average. These impressive stats could spark a bidding war for his services if he stays healthy and maintains his current level of performance for the remainder of the season.

Nick Schmaltz is another forward whose performance this season has increased his value. The 29-year-old has 30 points (12 goals and 18 assists) in 34 games, and he will likely exceed his current $5.85MM cap hit when he signs his next contract next summer. Schmaltz’s impending free agency puts the Utah Mammoth in a tough spot, as Schmaltz has recorded back-to-back 60+ point seasons and is on track to do so again, which could raise his next cap hit to around $9MM annually.

The Mammoth might not want to commit to that kind of deal for Schmaltz, which means they will either trade him before the trade deadline or let him walk for nothing at the end of the year. Utah reportedly held trade talks for Schmaltz last summer, and it doesn’t seem likely that a deal will be finalized soon, meaning Schmaltz might enter the open market at the best possible time.

Another forward whose future remains uncertain is Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres. Tuch has scored 11 goals and 17 assists in 31 games and initiated contract talks at the beginning of the season, which puts the Sabres in a difficult position. The Sabres find themselves in a familiar spot at the bottom of the standings, and while Tuch has done his part, the team appears to be heading nowhere. If Tuch continues at his current pace, his value will only increase, which might be what the Sabres want if they plan to trade the Syracuse, New York native.

Two veterans nearing the end of their careers are Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers. Both entered this season with significant questions about their futures, and so far they’ve performed well, raising even more questions about what lies ahead for them.

Evgeni Malkin seems to have no interest in playing anywhere in the NHL other than Pittsburgh. This could lead to some interesting contract negotiations after the season if he maintains his current level of play. Malkin is in the final season of a four-year, $24.4MM contract he signed in the summer of 2022. Many believed last summer that the 2025-26 season could be Malkin’s last in the NHL and possibly his final season as a player at all. However, with the 39-year-old experiencing a significant resurgence this season with eight goals and 21 assists in 26 games, there’s a chance he continues playing, especially if Pittsburgh remains competitive and has a role for him moving forward. Nobody could have predicted that the Penguins would start the season as they have. With more young players emerging and an incredible amount of cap space next summer, the short-term future for Pittsburgh actually looks quite promising. It seemed unlikely that Malkin would receive a contract offer from Pittsburgh next summer, but now it seems like a real possibility he returns, assuming he can maintain his current work rate.

For Panarin, it’s not so much his play this season that has raised his profile, but rather the better options being taken off the table next summer. With many of the top pending UFAs now tied up in extensions, Panarin has risen on the list as one of the best offensive options available. The 34-year-old, for his part, remains a point-per-game player with 11 goals and 22 assists in 33 games, which should attract a healthy market despite his age by NHL standards. AFP Analytics is projecting a four-year, $41MM deal for Panarin, which, considering market conditions and his performance, looks pretty feasible.

On defense, arguably the top available player is Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames. Andersson had a tough year last season but has bounced back in 2025-26, which should give him a strong market if and when he hits free agency. The Flames have started poorly this year, opening up the possibility that Andersson becomes a key trade piece before the NHL Trade Deadline, giving him a chance to play meaningful hockey in the spring if he joins a contender. The 29-year-old has been used in more defensive roles this season but has still managed 22 points in 33 games, after recording just 31 points in 81 games last season. If Andersson maintains this offensive level, his cap hit could rise closer to $9MM a season on his next contract, likely the last major deal of his career. Some teams might hesitate because of his less successful past seasons, but for now, Andersson is hitting his stride at just the right moment.

A couple of honorable mentions to round things out include forwards Victor Olofsson, Jaden Schwartz, and Kiefer Sherwood. Olofsson signed his second straight one-year “prove it” contract this summer, signing with the Colorado Avalanche for a $1.575MM AAV. Since then, Olofsson has been a steady performer for the Avalanche, recording seven goals and 12 assists in 32 games. AFP Analytics projects a three-year deal at $3.41MM per year, which would be a nice bump for the 30-year-old.

A year ago, Schwartz looked like a player who would need to accept a significant pay cut when his current contract ends. The 33-year-old is currently earning a $5.5MM AAV in the final year of a five-year deal. After scoring 49 points last season, Schwartz is on pace for a 65-point season this year, which would be a career best. Considering that level of production, AFP is predicting a two-year deal worth just under $10.8MM, which would be a slight decrease from his next contract but not the huge drop expected a year ago.

Sherwood has become a bit of a goal scorer since joining the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2024 as a free agent. He is on track to surpass 20 goals for the first time in his NHL career (after posting 19 a year ago), and the timing could not be better since he is expected to hit the open market next summer. His lack of long-term NHL experience may somewhat limit Sherwood’s market value, as he was a late bloomer, becoming a full-time NHLer at the age of 28. He has just one season with more than thirty points (last year), but if he can do that again, he should still attract a team willing to offer a multi-year deal at an AAV that might surprise some people.

Latest On Quinn Hughes Trade Aftermath

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As the dust begins to settle from Friday’s Quinn Hughes trade, an era-defining transaction for two NHL franchises, more and more information is being reported regarding the circumstances that led up to the deal.

Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin addressed the media yesterday regarding the trade, and revealed a few things about how it all came together. He said that he took a direct, aggressive approach in negotiations with the Canucks, stating “we had to go to them with something real, right away, to tell them that we’re serious,” and adding that the eventual package the Wild sent to the Canucks was the first offer Guerin made.

That bit of information sheds some light on the Wild’s overall strategy regarding their path to contention. Guerin’s willingness to part with key future pieces such as Zeev Buium to acquire Hughes, who has less than two years of team control remaining, indicates that the club sees itself as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender within that period.

Of course, the simple fact that they acquired Hughes sends that signal as well, but it’s also notable that the Wild did not hesitate to include players such as Buium in their initial trade offer to the Canucks.

From the Canucks’ perspective, it’s easy to see why the Wild were able to push through the other bidders for Hughes’ services and get a deal done.

It’s been reported (by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun) that other clubs, such as the Philadelphia Flyers, didn’t feel willing to surrender the caliber of assets the Wild were willing to part with, like a high-upside young player who is either NHL-ready or nearly NHL ready. The Wild were in a unique position where they were able to offer key players who brought a rare combination of youth, upside, NHL-readiness, and positional value.

Buium is a supremely intelligent defenseman who could very well quarterback the Canucks’ top power play unit in short order. Marco Rossi is a center who has a 60-point season on his record and hasn’t turned 25 yet. In a trade market where it’s extremely difficult to acquire centers, let alone young, productive ones, that’s a major piece. And then the willingness to add a player like Liam Ohgren into the deal, someone who has preexisting chemistry with key Canucks youngster Jonathan Lekkerimaki, is something that likely pushed the Wild even further in the Canucks’ eyes.

It’s extraordinarily difficult to “win” a trade where your franchise is parting with a player of Hughes’ caliber. The Wild’s initial offer was strong enough that it, at the very least, gave the Canucks a fighting chance given the key factor of Hughes’ limited team control.

LeBrun also revealed a few other teams that were involved in the race to acquire Hughes. He reported that the New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers “made legitimate offers” for Hughes, while the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes “showed interest.”

LeBrun also added that “despite rumors to the contrary,” the Washington Capitals “were never real players” to acquire Hughes and cited the organization’s unwillingness to part with a player such as Cole Hutson as a key reason for their reluctance. Hutson is the younger brother of 2024-25 Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson and has 20 points in 17 games this season at Boston University.

Looking at the deal from a different angle, Canucks head coach Adam Foote also spoke to the media yesterday and addressed an aspect of Hughes’ departure that could be key to the Canucks’ off-ice player dynamics. Per The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, Foote said that he hasn’t had an opportunity to speak with the club’s senior hockey operations leaders about naming a new captain, but added that defenseman Filip Hronek will be an alternate captain in the meantime.

The Canucks’ current alternate captains, besides Hronek, are Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Tyler Myers. The fact that Myers is now 35 and has just one year remaining beyond this one on his contract lowers the odds that he’d be a long-term solution as a captain, but both Boeser and Pettersson are in their late-twenties and under contract through 2031-32, making them more logical candidates for such a role, though it is also possible that the next Canucks captain is not currently on their roster.

Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

Vancouver Canucks Activate Marco Rossi

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The Vancouver Canucks announced this morning that center Marco Rossi has been activated off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the club placed center Elias Pettersson on IR, retroactive to Dec. 5.

Rossi has not played since Nov. 11, when his former team, the Minnesota Wild, took on the San Jose Sharks. The Austrian center, who turned 24 in September, was a major piece of the return package the Canucks received as part of Friday’s stunning Quinn Hughes trade.

He had scored 13 points in 17 games before suffering a lower-body injury against the Sharks. Rossi participated in Canucks practice yesterday in Newark, and now appears poised to dress for the team’s matinee contest today against the New Jersey Devils.

It seems Rossi will begin his time as a Canuck playing a major role in head coach Adam Foote’s lineup. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance indicated yesterday that Rossi will begin his tenure as the Canucks’ first-line center, skating in between veteran wingers Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser. That’s not a role he is entirely unfamiliar with, as he was tested in a similar role at times during his tenure with the Wild.

For much of their existence as a franchise, the Wild have struggled to source top-six offensive centers, pivots capable of scoring at a high rate. While that specific type of player is notoriously difficult for NHL teams to acquire, Rossi has joined a team with one such player already on the roster.

Pettersson, who scored 102 points in 2022-23, has been the key center in Vancouver since winning the Calder trophy in 2018-19. Pettersson has been out since Dec. 5 with an upper-body injury, and has missed three games so far.

When everyone is healthy and playing at their best, the addition of Rossi gives the Canucks an enviable level of depth down the middle. With Pettersson as the first-line center, Rossi anchoring the second line, and Filip Chytil running the third line, the Canucks have a trio of first-round picks at center to form the backbone of its forward corps.

But unfortunately for the Canucks, injuries and inconsistency have clouded that picture considerably. Pettersson hasn’t looked like the Pettersson that scored 102 points and emerged as one of the game’s dominant young centers for more than a year now. Chytil, despite his evident talent, has struggled with persistent injury issues and is once again sidelined with an upper-body injury.

That leaves Rossi, at the moment, the only pivot of that trio healthy and set to play for the Canucks. As the club continues to push forward in its rebuilding process, the health and performance of its three key young centers (as well as the continued growth of 23-year-old Aatu Raty) will be a key story line to track in Vancouver.

Elias Pettersson Out, Marco Rossi Could Make Canucks Debut

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The whirlwind around the Vancouver Canucks will continue into Sunday’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Vancouver will be without their star forward Elias Pettersson, but could return Marco Rossi back from injury, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Rossi has missed over a month of action with a lower-body injury. He has been considered as day-to-day over the last week and could now get the chance to make his Canucks debut in the first possible opportunity.

Rossi should be a major addition to a Vancouver side that’s struggled to fill their top-center role all season long. He scored 13 points in 17 games with the Wild to start the season, and is coming off a career year with 24 goals and 60 points last season. He was a fringe top-line center to start the year, rotating with Joel Eriksson Ek for minutes. That’s a standing he earned in the latter half of last season, when injuries to Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman pushed Rossi into a premier role. He hung onto it, despite a playoff series with minimal usage, and now has a chance to grow into a much larger role for Vancouver. The 24 year old scored 49 goals and 114 points in 202 games, and five seasons, in Minnesota.

Even with that production, Rossi could face an immediate challenge stepping in for Pettersson, who hasn’t played in over a week due to an upper-body injury. Pettersson has continued to serve as Vancouver’s top forward. He led the offense in average ice time (20:37) prior to injury and continues to lead the forwards in points (22). Vancouver has struggled in his absence, with only six goals in their last three games – tied for third-worst in the league over the last week.

With a return from injury and recent move weighing him down, Rossi likely won’t be the one to relight Vancouver’s offense out of the gates. His return will be a great indication of what Vancouver will have to offer on the heels of a historic trade. They acquired three young and promising pros and could slot two of them – Rossi and defenseman Zeev Buium – into top-line roles right away. How they’re able to perform under the pressure of a losing season could go far in forecasting Vancouver’s next era, now shaped around three former Minnesota Wild, Pettersson, and inevitably high draft capital.

Canucks Place Lukas Reichel On Waivers

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As a result of yesterday’s blockbuster trade with the Wild, the Canucks had some roster juggling to do after bringing in three players and only sending one out with only one roster spot available.  They dealt with one of the extra slots by putting Marco Rossi on their injured reserve.  But one player had to come off the roster and it will be winger Lukas Reichel, who will be placed on waivers at 1 PM CT, reports Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army relayed (Twitter link) earlier today that Reichel had been removed from Vancouver’s active roster.  Players can be waived with non-roster status and that’s clearly the move that the Canucks have made to get back to compliance.

This was not the plan for Vancouver when they moved a 2027 fourth-round pick to Chicago to acquire him back in October.  Reichel had gotten off to a good start with four points in five games before the swap but had fallen down the depth chart, resulting in the Blackhawks giving him a fresh start elsewhere.

Reichel played big minutes upon being acquired, even spending time at center with Vancouver’s injury issues at that position.  But the production simply hasn’t materialized as he has just one assist in 14 games following the swap.  Meanwhile, his role diminished to the point where he has only played once in the last ten games.  Over his career, Reichel has 22 goals and 37 assists in 188 NHL appearances.

The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Chicago back in 2020, going 17th overall.  He’s in the second and final season of a two-year, $2.4MM pact and will be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights to become an unrestricted free agent.  Based on how things are going, it seems likely that he’s heading towards a non-tender.

That said, players with first-round pedigree often get multiple opportunities so it’s not impossible to think that a team might be interested in taking a flyer on Reichel by 1 PM CT on Sunday, hoping that a different fresh start could get him going offensively.  If not and he goes through unclaimed, Vancouver will ultimately clear $1.15MM of his $1.2MM cap charge off the books by assigning him to AHL Abbotsford which would allow them to get out of using LTIR and allow them to start banking salary cap room again.

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