San Jose Sharks Acquire Kiefer Sherwood
One of the trade deadline’s most sought-after rentals is now off the board. The Vancouver Canucks announced that they’ve traded winger Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Cole Clayton, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick.
The Sharks’ interest in Sherwood has been known for some time. In late December, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that San Jose was one of the teams involved in Sherwood’s market.
Given the capital needed to acquire Sherwood, it would make sense for the Sharks to begin extension negotiations immediately. The Canucks were known to have been seeking a first-round pick for Sherwood’s services, though acquiring two second-round picks is hardly settling. Still, even if he is only a rental, Sherwood’s particular brand of hockey should help the Sharks considerably as they look to return to the postseason for the first time in seven years.
Vancouver originally signed Sherwood ahead of the 2024-25 season to a two-year, $3MM agreement. Their inspiration for signing him came a year earlier, when Sherwood, then playing for the Nashville Predators, totalled 33 hits against the Canucks in the opening round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. He finished the campaign with 10 goals and 27 points in 68 games.
His offense continued to develop in British Columbia. Throughout the past year-and-a-half with the Canucks, Sherwood has been a reliable scorer, registering 36 goals and 63 points in 122 games. Additionally, his physicality has truly been off the charts, averaging 5.5 hits per game — 672 in total.
That makes his fit with the Sharks remarkably clear. Outside of Ryan Reaves, who has been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions, and Ty Dellandrea, who is currently on the team’s injured reserve, San Jose doesn’t have too many physical forwards in their lineup. Additionally, the team desperately needed to add secondary scoring behind phenom Macklin Celebrini.
Given their value to the team, Sherwood would be a perfect option to play on the top line next to Celebrini and Will Smith, allowing the Sharks to shelter some of their younger wingers on the bottom two lines. If opposing teams aim to counter Celebrini and Smith physically, San Jose can now respond similarly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the transaction, the Canucks continue to grow their stockpile of draft picks. Entering the season with five picks in the upcoming draft, Vancouver now has seven this year, and eight next.
Clayton, 25, is a big-bodied right-handed shot defenseman. A product of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers program, Clayton had spent the last four years with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters before signing with the Sharks last summer. Throughout his five-year professional career, the Alberta native has scored 14 goals and 66 points in 257 games with a -13 rating.
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.
Red Wings Interested In Canucks’ Elias Pettersson
As the Vancouver Canucks look to retool their roster, speculation has begun to grow surrounding the availability of forward Elias Pettersson. Speaking on Sportsnet’s Canucks Central last week, Frank Seravalli reported that the Detroit Red Wings are one of the interested teams if Vancouver becomes serious about moving Pettersson.
The news follows a report from last week indicating that the Canucks are willing to consider offers for Pettersson, although they are not yet actively committed to trading him. Regardless, given the multiple hurdles present in his contract, trading Pettersson would be one of the most complicated in-season trades to manufacture, and is likely better suited for an offseason move.
In our write-up, PHR’s Ethan Hetu clearly articulated these hurdles, saying, “Pettersson’s situation is quite a bit more complicated. First and foremost, the full no-move clause on his $11.6MM AAV deal gives the player and his representatives (led by CAA’s Pat Brisson) full control over where he is dealt to. Pettersson needs to sign off on any trade before it can be completed.”
Still, of all the competitive teams this season, the Red Wings are one of the few that could add Pettersson’s large cap hit outright. Additionally, given their success with Swedish players for the last three decades, Pettersson may be more apt to sign off on a trade to HockeyTown.
Pettersson’s fit in Detroit’s lineup is less obvious. Even with a return to his 2022-23 form, there’s no chance he’d usurp Dylan Larkin as the Red Wings’ top center, meaning he would become one of, if not the highest-paid, second-line center in the league. Throughout the past two years with Vancouver, Pettersson has scored 28 goals and 74 points in 104 games played, whereas Larkin has registered 54 goals and 114 points in 132 contests.
This season, the team has been utilizing Andrew Copp to center their second forward unit. Although he’s been best used as a third-line center for most of his career, he’s been one of the league’s top scorers for over a month. Since the calendar turned to December, Copp has scored seven goals and 21 points in 24 games with a 51.2% faceoff percentage, giving Detroit a formidable duo in their top six.
Furthermore, and what is the most important point for Detroit specifically, is that General Manager Steve Yzerman has historically held his cards very close to the vest. Given that there have been very few leaks coming from the Red Wings organization since Yzerman took over, a larger grain of salt must be consumed when Detroit is tied to a particular player. Still, given their lack of moves at recent trade deadlines and current spot in the standings, it would make a ton of sense for the Red Wings to take a shot or two leading up to this year’s deadline.
Assessing The Canucks’ Direction
Reports surfaced earlier this month that the Canucks had re-engaged in contract talks with pending free-agent forward Kiefer Sherwood and were discussing a potential five- or six-year deal worth over $4MM per season. It’s hard to say whether the reports had merit, or whether the Canucks were serious about retaining Sherwood – or merely posturing to get a better trade return before the trade deadline.
Regardless of their true intentions, the Canucks’ direction is tough to figure out. They currently sit last in the NHL standings and, since New Year’s Day, are 0-7-2 and have been outscored 40-14. They don’t appear close to a winning run, yet there is little talk of a sell-off or a pivot into a rebuild. Their fans certainly like to talk on social media about embracing the tank, and the Canucks are reportedly willing to listen to offers for Elias Pettersson.
The truth about Vancouver is that it’s been a mess, off and on, for the better part of the last 10 to 15 years, from the top of the organization down to the players. There have been highs and moments of hope when it looked like the team was on the cusp of greatness, but those highs have been short-lived, followed by rapid declines.
The last two years are a clear example: the Canucks went from a team that was a win away from the Western Conference Final to one that missed the playoffs last season and appears destined to do the same this year. Those falls aren’t all that common (although the Rangers are living through a familiar descent) and are generally the result of self-inflicted missteps or a run of terrible luck.
In Vancouver’s case, it appears to be a mix of both, but there is no doubt that the J.T. Miller/Pettersson rift did irreparable damage that could have long-standing effects on Vancouver’s locker room.
Miller’s departure should have signaled the Canucks’ direction. Still, a quick trade for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor then implied that Vancouver intended to compete for a playoff spot last season, and the subsequent re-signing of both players certainly reinforced that notion.
Internal and external pressures aside, the trade to bring in Pettersson and O’Connor added to the Canucks’ depth, and they shed some bad contracts (Danton Heinen and Vincent Desharnais) in the deal with Pittsburgh. But the trades showed a lack of direction for Vancouver, and that carried into last year’s trade deadline as well as the summer, when the Canucks showed a lack of forward thinking. All of that leads us to this season, where Vancouver has spun its wheels despite rostering an ageing, expensive core.
The Miller trade to the Rangers had to happen, and while the return wasn’t great, it wasn’t awful either, as Miller has struggled to regain his form in the Big Apple. But the moves that followed the trade felt reactionary and forced, and ultimately proved in vain.
Pettersson was a top-pairing defender in Pittsburgh, but this season with the Canucks has been perhaps the worst of his career. The 29-year-old looks to be a shell of his former self and, like many players in Vancouver, has been terrible.
O’Connor has been fine in Vancouver, tallying 10 goals and seven assists in 47 games thus far while continuing to use his speed and size to be disruptive on the forecheck. That move, while tainted by Pettersson’s play this year, made sense at the time, but as the Canucks approached the trade deadline, some of management’s decision-making left a lot to be desired.
There was a moment after the Miller trade when the Canucks could have pivoted to a quick retool that might have been tough to stomach for the rest of last year and this season, but it would likely have yielded results next season. Instead, the Canucks did what they did, extended both Pettersson and O’Connor, and inked backup goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a deal that pays him $4.5MM per season for five years. All of it was reactionary, in the hope of getting the Canucks into the postseason last year. They didn’t.
The Canucks also tried to trade Brock Boeser last year at the deadline, but weren’t able to come to terms on a deal. It seemed all but certain he would bolt elsewhere in free agency last summer, but there he was on July 1, surprisingly signing a seven-year agreement with Vancouver that appears set to age like milk.
The Canucks added to their forward depth in another move, acquiring Evander Kane via trade from Edmonton. It was an acceptable deal in a vacuum; however, given Vancouver’s overall roster construction, it was a head-scratcher, as the Canucks used much of their cap space to fix the wing while watching their already thin center position get worse when Pius Suter departed in free agency.
Vancouver spent the rest of the summer making small roster changes in hopes that the core would find its mojo again. Still, a few months into the season, it was clear that wasn’t going to happen, which sparked trade rumours for their star defenseman, Quinn Hughes, whom they eventually dealt to Minnesota towards the end of 2025. The Hughes deal was actually a great haul for Vancouver given the circumstances, but it has officially put them into a hybrid retool that probably should’ve happened a year ago.
Hindsight is 20/20, but had Vancouver pivoted in early 2025 after trading Miller, they might have avoided some of the mistakes they’ve made over the past year, which have effectively set them back a few years. Instead, Vancouver is locked into long-term deals with underperforming forwards, a talented yet expensive goalie tandem that has injury and inconsistency issues, and a defense core that is now average at best.
Sure, they do have some nice young players who will likely become NHLers, but they will be surrounded by an old, pricey core unless the Canucks can start moving out from under some of the contracts they’ve locked in. No one is taking Boeser’s deal this year; the same could probably be said for Elias Pettersson’s.
But Vancouver could move their pending UFAs before the trade deadline and have nearly $17MM in cap space next summer to sign just two roster players (as per PuckPedia). That type of wiggle room could allow for additions before next season, but it’s not clear whether Vancouver should do that in the midst of what appears to be either a retool or a rebuild.
Patience might be the best thing for the president of hockey ops, Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin to exercise, but given their track records, that has not been their strong suit, and it is a big part of the reason the Canucks find themselves where they are.
Canucks Getting Calls On Garland; Chytil And Blueger Close To Returning
Canucks winger Conor Garland has been generating several inquiries lately, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). While Vancouver has shifted into a rebuild of sorts, Pagnotta adds that Vancouver isn’t necessarily looking to move him but will listen to inquiries. The 29-year-old has seven goals and 15 assists in 37 games so far this season in the final season of his current deal that carries a $4.95MM cap charge. However, he has already signed a six-year, $36MM extension that will begin in 2026-27 so any interested teams would know they’ll need to take on that sizable commitment.
- Still with the Canucks, they could be getting some good news soon on the injury front. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma notes (Twitter link) that centers Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger were full participants at practice and are nearing returns. Chytil has only played in six games this season (where he has three goals) and has been sidelined with a concussion for the last three months. Blueger has been out just as long with a lower-body injury. After also being injured to start the year, he has only been able to play twice so far in 2025-26. A pending UFA, Blueger is a strong trade candidate if he’s able to stay healthy between now and the trade deadline in early March.
Canucks Announce Multiple Roster Moves
The Canucks have made some shakeups to their roster heading into tomorrow’s game against the Islanders. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Jiri Patera and defenseman Elias N. Pettersson from AHL Abbotsford. To make room on the roster, netminder Nikita Tolopilo and blueliner Victor Mancini were sent down.
Patera is up with Vancouver for the fourth time this season but playing time in his first three stints was limited to just one start, one that saw him allow seven goals on 40 shots. The 26-year-old has spent the bulk of the year in Abbotsford, posting a strong 2.49 GAA with a .915 SV% in 16 games. He’ll now serve as Kevin Lankinen’s backup for the time being while allowing Tolopilo to get some extra game action in.
As for Pettersson, he has spent the majority of the year in the NHL but was sent down to get into a couple of games with Abbotsford. He was held off the scoresheet in those outings while he has a goal and five assists in 38 games with Vancouver while averaging 13:40 per night of playing time.
Tolopilo was brought up when Thatcher Demko went down with his latest injury. He made two starts while on recall but didn’t fare particularly well in either of them, allowing six goals to both Montreal and Edmonton. He has fared a little better in the minors, putting up a 3.02 GAA and a .900 SV% in 11 outings in Abbotsford.
Mancini, meanwhile, got the call to rejoin Vancouver last week when Pettersson went down. He got into four games on this stint, bringing his season total to nine although he’s still looking for his first point. The 23-year-old has suited up in 20 games for Abbotsford, picking up a goal and five assists and will now get a chance to add to those totals.
Filip Hronek Has “No Interest” In Trade Away From Canucks
As the Vancouver Canucks consider all possibilities to help reshape their club and build a future Stanley Cup contender, one name that has emerged as a potential key trade candidate is defenseman Filip Hronek. The Czech blueliner is the Canucks’ most important rearguard in the aftermath of the Quinn Hughes trade, and would likely draw an immense amount of league-wide interest if he was shopped.
The prospect of Vancouver dealing Hronek is a topic that has been recently discussed by numerous figures in the media, but today Hronek’s agent, Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, shut down the speculation, writing: “This is just wasted air,” and “Vancouver management and coaches are happy with Fil and Fil has no interest in going anywhere else.”
While Hronek may have seemed like a potentially realistic trade candidate for those outside of the Vancouver market, Walsh’s unequivocal denial of such a possibility does not come as any great surprise upon closer examination. First and foremost, Hronek’s eight-year, $7.25MM contract carries a full no-move clause until 2028. As a result, Hronek and his camp would need to sign off on any deal involving him. In other words, if Hronek doesn’t want to be traded (and Walsh said, in no uncertain terms, that he does not), he won’t be traded.
Additionally, while the Canucks are pursuing a team-building strategy centered around acquiring young players and draft picks, there is still a necessity for veteran leaders to insulate and guide that young talent. The Montreal Canadiens, a team many point to as an example of rebuild done right, retained key veterans such as Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, and Mike Matheson throughout their rebuild, ensuring their young core players had experienced veterans to guide them. Hronek could be one of the Canucks’ equivalents to that Canadiens trio.
Hronek is valued both for his immense on-ice contributions as well as his value off the ice to the Canucks’ locker room and overall team culture. He’s a valued veteran and is a legitimate candidate to be the Canucks’ next captain, according to CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal (via The Athletic’s Thomas Drance).
While he’d certainly fetch the Canucks a mammoth return if they ever elected to trade him, keeping Hronek could very well end up being the more valuable choice when it comes to meaningfully advancing their rebuild.
In this sense, it’s important to not look at the concept of “advancing a rebuild” in narrow, dogmatic terms.
Keeping a valuable veteran asset, rather than trading him for draft picks or prospects, can be the right choice for a rebuilding team. The value to a rebuild provided by a veteran effectively absorbing a difficult workload can equal, or even outweigh, the value provided by an extra set of draft picks. Hronek is positioned to be able to illustrate this in the coming years.
Hronek is now Vancouver’s No. 1 defenseman, averaging 24:23 time on ice per game including time on both sides of special teams. He’s behind only Elias Pettersson for the team lead in scoring, and is often their most consistent player on a nightly basis.
There is a real trickle-down effect of the workload Hronek handles on a nightly basis. By handling the tough matchups and eating so much time on ice per game, the Canucks are able to more appropriately deploy their younger blueliners. Because Hronek is playing 24 minutes per night, the Canucks can ease a younger defenseman such as Victor Mancini into the NHL in a role he’s more suited for. If Hronek were traded, a defender like Mancini could end up playing more minutes and tougher matchups than he’s ready for, something that may not be conducive to his development.
Matheson was mentioned earlier as a comparable defenseman in terms of being a veteran on a rebuilding club, and one only needs to look at the impact Matheson has had in Montreal in order to grasp just how valuable Hronek can be to the Canucks’ rebuild. Over the course of the worst years of the Canadiens rebuild, Matheson was a rock. He ranked No. 11 in the NHL in time on ice per game his first year in Montreal, and was No. 3 in the NHL in 2023-24.
Because Matheson was able to weather those difficult matchups and handle such a heavy workload, the Canadiens enjoyed a clear trickle-down benefit. Young, developing defensemen such as Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, and Arber Xhekaj were able to find their footing at the NHL level without being handed too much, too fast.
Those defensemen were able to be placed in positions to succeed more often than not, and faced a far lower risk of over-exposure damaging their confidence and development. The Canadiens have reaped the benefits of that arrangement. Their rebuild meaningfully advanced because they elected to prioritize the on-ice value of keeping Matheson, rather than the hypothetical future value of trading him for prospects or draft picks.
That appears to be the approach the Canucks are set to take with Hronek. As mentioned, the player’s representation has made it clear that he has no interest in landing elsewhere, and the Canucks themselves are reportedly more likely to name Hronek captain than they are to deal him. That may not stop teams in need of a high-end blueliner from calling, but they’ll likely do so with a clear understanding that trading for Hronek is not a realistic possibility.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Canucks Willing To Listen On Elias Pettersson
As the Vancouver Canucks continue to ponder seismic, franchise-altering changes, significant attention has been paid to the possibility of the club moving on from top center Elias Pettersson. TSN’s Darren Dreger spoke on that possibility on today’s Insider Trading segment, saying “the Vancouver Canucks are listening and will listen to interest in Pettersson.” Dreger also noted that the Canucks firmly believe that Pettersson will thrive if he ends up receiving a new opportunity and fresh start elsewhere.
This current Canucks management group, led by veteran executive Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin, is not shy about making franchise-altering deals. They traded Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild earlier this season, for example. But it’s worth noting that Hughes’ trade was, on some levels, quite a bit more straightforward than a potential Pettersson trade.
Hughes is widely considered one of the game’s best players, and he had communicated, in no uncertain terms, that he was not prepared to commit to signing an extension in Vancouver. As a result, trading Hughes became a foregone conclusion for the franchise.The Canucks were able to shift their focus to figuring out the best way to maximize their return in a Hughes deal, rather than trying to decide whether or not to trade Hughes in the first place.
Pettersson’s situation is quite a bit more complicated. First and foremost, the full no-move clause on his $11.6MM AAV deal gives the player and his representatives (led by CAA’s Pat Brisson) full control over where he is dealt to. Pettersson needs to sign off on any trade before it can be completed. Dreger reported today that the Canucks have yet to communicate with Brisson regarding specific trade possibilities.
Pettersson could very well be receptive to a whole host of trade possibilities, so the more significant complicating factor is how exactly to properly value Pettersson in a trade. Hughes’ situation was, as mentioned, far more straightforward straightforward.
He is one of the NHL’s best players and a massive offer containing high-end young talent would be necessary to acquire him. But in Pettersson’s case, he has a few competing factors clouding where his exact trade value might land.
On one hand, Pettersson seems like a hugely valuable trade asset. He’s just 27 years old, and under contract through the 2031-32 season. He also has a 102-point season on his résumé, and managed 89 points as recently as 2023-24. He’s looked like an elite No. 1 center in some years, and at worst has played like a second-line pivot.
The center market is, at the moment, defined by its scarcity. When the Philadelphia Flyers signed Christian Dvorak recently to a five-year contract extension, GM Danny Briere cited the state of the center market, and the difficulty of acquiring centers, is part of the reason why he decided to push forward with the deal.
That environment could be one the Canucks are able to leverage to gain a significant return in any Pettersson deal. Put simply: centers in their prime who have scored at a point-per-game rate simply don’t become available very often. Even with his faults, Pettersson is likely to be a coveted trade asset.
There are some headwinds, of course, complicating Pettersson’s value on the market. Like Jack Eichel before him, Pettersson as a trade target carries a notable degree of risk. For Eichel, the risk largely lay in his uncertain medical situation. For Pettersson, the uncertainty and risk is largely of an on-ice variety. Pettersson hasn’t looked like the same player over the last season and a half, and his diminished level of production reflects that.
Despite scoring at a far lower rate than the best years of his career (he’s at 28 points in 38 games this season, and scored 45 points in 64 games last year), Pettersson’s salary still reflects his early-career promise. He’s set to make $11.6MM against the cap through 2031-32. While the cap is rising and it’s a less weighty commitment than it would have been a few years ago, $11.6MM is still an enormous cap hit. A team that is interested in acquiring Pettersson runs the risk of significant financial inefficiency down the middle should Pettersson be unable to return to his prior levels of play.
To be clear, the team control afforded by Pettersson’s contract also gives the acquiring team a significant amount of potential upside with a deal. They could get a top center they don’t have to worry about re-signing for the rest of the decade and beyond. That’s an extraordinarily valuable thing for an NHL team, something that can anchor a contending lineup. But that team control also brings with it a significant amount of risk in the event Pettersson isn’t able to excel in his new environment.
Regardless of those risk factors, it still seems overwhelmingly likely that a laundry list of teams will be interested in acquiring Pettersson. He’s simply too talented, and centers of his caliber are simply too rare. It also doesn’t hurt the Canucks’ efforts that teams have found success in similar deals in the past few years, most notably including the Flyers’ recent rehabilitation of Trevor Zegras or the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup win soon after acquiring Eichel.
But even though Pettersson will likely still command a fair amount of interest, his deal won’t be a simple one to complete. His situation in Vancouver is emerging as one of this season’s most intriguing storylines to watch.
Photos courtesy of Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Canucks Place Thatcher Demko On Injured Reserve
More discouraging news has hit the Vancouver Canucks, as they shared this afternoon that Thatcher Demko has been placed on injured reserve, his second such designation this season. The injury-plagued goaltender left last night’s game after the first period, and with fans fearing the worse, after the 5-0 loss Head Coach Adam Foote confirmed to reporters, including The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, that it was indeed a lower-body injury.
Based on the designation, Demko will miss at least the next 10 days, but after constant knee issues over the past few years, as well as a groin ailment earlier this season, it is another tough blow. A turnaround is effectively out of reach for the team, currently last in the league, losers of six in a row, and without a regulation win since December 19. Firmly out of contention, there is no real urgency to get Demko back in the crease, but having just turned 30, the past Vezina finalist and All-Star may be faced with dreaded questions on his long-term career outlook.
As they recalled Nikita Tolopilo under emergency conditions earlier today, Vancouver will move forward in the time being with him alongside Kevin Lankinen, a usually well-regarded backup, who unfortunately has struggled this season, with a 6-11-4 record, and an .883 save percentage, a career-worst mark for the 30-year-old.
Due to their star back stopper’s constant injury struggles, Lankinen played in 51 games last season, his first as a Canuck, a career high. Knowing they were in need of a dependable #2 option, Vancouver locked down the Finn on a five year extension worth $4.5MM per season. Lankinen figures to be a mainstay for the blue and green for years to come, and although the group’s overarching struggles are surely a factor, they will need more from Lankinen given the combination of his contract and Demko’s status.
Demko himself is in for a big raise starting in 2026-27, as he inked a three year extension last July, worth $8.5MM per season. Back then, GM Patrik Allvin figured the group would make noise on the way to a playoff return, on the back of a healthy Demko, but with a group rattled by injuries and Foote’s imprint unable to bring such results, the Canucks are left with more questions than ever.
The hope is that Demko will avoid another long-term absence, already having missed a month so far this campaign. While he could return as soon as January 23 against New Jersey, naturally there’s reason for more concern. Simply shutting down their star in a lost season could become a real option, leaving Lankinen to backstop the group into what could be a long spring.
Canucks Assign Elias N. Pettersson To AHL, Recall Victor Mancini, Nikita Tolopilo
The Vancouncer Canucks shared a number of transactions this afternoon: Defenseman Elias N. Pettersson has been assigned to AHL Abbotsford, while Victor Mancini has been recalled. Additionally, goaltender Nikita Tolopilo has been recalled from Abbotsford under emergency conditions.
Set to return to action tomorrow night in Montreal, the Canucks swap Pettersson for Mancini, the former who skated just 13:58 in a 5-0 loss to Toronto on Saturday, fewest out of Vancouver’s defensemen by a considerable margin. Pettersson has played in 38 of the team’s 44 games this season, in a bottom pairing role, but the 21-year-old is still finding his game at the highest level, and will return to the AHL for more seasoning, where he’s made just one appearance so far in 2025-26.
On the other hand, Mancini brings a right-handed shot to the table, and will earn another look after five games early in the season, where he did not record a point in limited ice time. Since then, Mancini has put up six points in 20 games in the AHL, not jumping out on the page, but the 6’3” rearguard is a pure stay-at-home contributor. If able to enter the lineup over Pierre-Olivier Joseph, eyes will be on the former fifth-round choice of the Rangers to showcase improved mobility and sound decision-making with the puck, if he can become a full-time NHLer in the future.
Another feature of today’s news, Tolopilo, a netminder, has been recalled under emergency conditions. The 25-year-old will likely serve as Kevin Lankinen’s backup tomorrow night, as Thatcher Demko left last night’s game with an apparent lower-body injury.
Tolopilo has played well in four NHL games this season, with a .911 save percentage and two wins, but naturally, the hope will be that Demko will not miss much time, while Tolopilo can return to the Abbotsford Canucks. Despite bringing home the Calder Cup last season, they’ve had a rough season so far, currently second-to-last in the AHL.
With a season starting to get off the rails, Vancouver figures to have several more moves on the horizon leading up to the spring.
Conor Garland May Return On Road Trip
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to get a boost to their forward core during their current road trip. According to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, forward Conor Garland should return in the near future.
It’s no surprise that the team has struggled in his absence. Since going down with an injury, the Canucks are 0-2-2 in their last four, and are on their way to their sixth straight loss, this time against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening.