Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Canucks Rumors

Vancouver Canucks Sign Arshdeep Bains

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have dipped their toes into the undrafted free agent waters, signing local product Arshdeep Bains to a three-year, entry-level contract. Bains currently plays for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. Though not specifically mentioned, the contract likely starts in 2022-23.

Bains, 21, is tied for the lead in WHL scoring this season with 82 points in 55 games and leads all players with 52 assists. The undrafted winger is in his fifth season in the CHL, but has come a long way from the player who registered just seven points in 2017-18. With Red Deer heading to the WHL playoffs after a strong season, he likely won’t be joining the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks for some time.

Vancouver GM Patrik Alvin promised that the team would be looking everywhere for talent, not just through the draft, and this is the first step toward following through in the few months he’s been at the helm. A lesson he likely learned during his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Allvin knows that to truly fill out the organizational depth chart they need to take chances on players that might have otherwise been overlooked. Bains has a chance to be just that if he can carry over his offensive production to the professional level.

Trade Deadline Primer: Vancouver Canucks

at CDT | by 1 Comment

As the calendar turns to March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Vancouver Canucks.

A lot has changed in Vancouver over the course of this season. The team entered with Jim Benning as the general manager and Travis Green as the head coach. After a dismal run of results to start the season, both were fired from their roles. Veteran head coach Bruce Boudreau was brought in to man the team’s bench, and Jim Rutherford, the architect of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ back-to-back Stanley Cup victories, was brought in to oversee hockey operations. Rutherford then hired Patrik Allvin, the former interim GM of the Penguins after Rutherford’s departure, to be the GM of the Canucks.  Since those changes occurred, the Canucks’ play has drastically improved and they now find themselves playing meaningful hockey as they attempt to gain ground in the Western Conference playoff race. But despite that run of success, there have been many whispers of the Canucks’ new brain trust potentially making big changes at the trade deadline. Only time will tell what course Rutherford and Allvin will chart for the franchise, but at the bare minimum, we know at least something is likely to happen in Vancouver.

Record

29-23-6, 5th in the Pacific

Deadline Status

It’s complicated.

Deadline Cap Space

$2.4MM today, $2.4MM in full-season space, 47/50 contracts used, 0/3 retention slots used, per CapFriendly. 

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: VAN 1st, WPG 3rd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th

2023: VAN 1st, VAN 2nd, VAN 3rd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th

Trade Chips

The most talked-about trade chip on the Canucks’ roster has to be forward J.T. Miller. Ever since he arrived from the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2019-20 season, Miller has been an exceptionally productive, extremely valuable player. He had 18 points in the Canucks’ surprising run to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals in 2019-20, and has posted 189 points in 178 games for the Canucks overall. Miller adds a quality defensive game to his dynamic offensive ability, and has been a steal for the Canucks at a cap number of $5.25MM. But Miller only has this season and next remaining on his deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent, which is why many are debating the possibility of the Canucks dealing him in order to maximize the long-term value they can extract over that final season-and-a-half. If they do decide to deal Miller, it will likely take a significant haul to pry him loose. But given his offensive talent, positional versatility, and extra year of team control, Miller is among the NHL’s most talented players to be realistically available at the deadline.

Another talented player who could be traded is Brock Boeser, a 2018 Calder Trophy Finalist. It has been previously reported that Boeser is the “most likely” Canucks player to be traded among the trio of Miller, Boeser, and Conor Garland, and a major part of the reasoning for that is Boeser’s contract situation. Thanks to his $7.5MM base salary, Boeser is due a significant qualifying offer from the Canucks should they wish to retain his rights as a restricted free agent, and his production this season (34 points in 52 games) hasn’t been quite enough to warrant that cost on its own. That production is 53 point pace, and despite posting a very solid 49 points in 56 games last season, it is possible that the new leaders in the Canucks front office don’t view Boeser as the same kind of franchise cornerstone many believe him to be. Given his scoring pedigree and youth (he only just turned 25 years old) it’s possible that Boeser could be part of a significant trade for the Canucks, and could net them the high-end young defenseman they reportedly covet. Trading Boeser would certainly be a polarizing move for a new front office to pursue as it makes its first mark on the team, but if Rutherford and Allvin believe it’s the right thing for the team to pursue then it’s most definitely going to be something they legitimately consider.

Pivoting from the star players, one lower-importance trade chip the Canucks could offer is forward Tyler Motte. Motte is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1.225MM cap hit, and at 27 years old could be an in-demand bottom-six rental player. Motte has seven goals and 14 points in 43 games this season and has a career-high of 16 points, which he scored in 74 games in 2018-19. But despite that pedestrian production, Motte has been able to find his place as an NHL regular, providing energy, versatility, and sporadic scoring touch to the Canucks’ lineup. It’s unclear if Motte is in the team’s long-term plans, and if the Canucks decide that winning this season isn’t an absolute priority, they could receive offers for Motte strong enough to make him worth trading.

Others to watch for: D Luke Schenn, F Conor Garland, F Nils Hoglander

Team Needs

1) Cap Flexibility

This might seem like an odd need for a team currently in the middle of a playoff race, but take one look at the Canucks’ cap sheet and the issue will be apparent. The Canucks have a lot of talented players. It is incredibly difficult to win in the NHL without a top center, top goalie, and top defenseman, and the Canucks have top players at each of those positions who are 26 years old or younger. But as a whole the Canucks’ team is flawed, and the roster boasts many players who aren’t bad on their own but a touch too expensive for what they provide. Take Jason Dickinson, for example. The Canucks gave up a third-round pick this past offseason to acquire him, and he currently has six points in 49 games. He’s a solid defensive center and natural centers are hard to come by at the NHL level, but for $2.65MM through 2023-2024, the Canucks need a bit more than six points from him. So while subtracting players on marginally overpaid contracts could make the Canucks a bit worse in the short-term, if Rutherford and Allvin want to shape this team into a true contender they need to clean up the cap situation from where it is now. A contender needs to be able to maximize every dollar the cap allows them to spend, and right now the wasted dollars on the Canucks’ books are hurting their ability to build the best team they possibly can.

2) A Blue-Chip Young Defenseman

Much has been reported about the Canucks’ desire to acquire a high-end young defenseman, and it’s easy to see why. Young defensemen are among the most coveted assets in the NHL and quality ones are exceptionally difficult to come by. The Canucks already have a star in Hughes, but the rest of their defense is staffed by older, pricier veterans like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyler Myers, Travis Hamonic, and (when healthy) Tucker Poolman. The Canucks could use another young defenseman to build their defense around, perhaps one that offers more of a two-way game than the offensively-minded Hughes, and it looks like the Canucks’ trade interests are trending in that direction.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Update on Brock Boeser

at CDT | by 7 Comments

  • Now under new leadership thanks to the hiring of former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, the Vancouver Canucks have had a significant amount of attention paid to them in advance of the trade deadline. Much of it has centered around J.T. Miller, who has only one more year left on his contract after this season, but in an appearance on TSN’s TradeCentre program, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston points in a different direction. Johnston states that instead of Miller it is Brock Boeser, a 2018 Calder Trophy finalist, who is “most likely to be dealt.” He states that the rationale for trading Boeser would be the Canucks wanting to “maximize an asset” in advance of Boeser’s restricted free agency this offseason. Whereas he may have once been considered an untouchable franchise centerpiece, it seems as though the trade winds are blowing hard in Boeser’s direction and his time as a Canuck could be winding down.

Vancouver Asking Teams About Deadline Interest

at CDT | by 7 Comments

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have been struggling of late, losing their last two and six of their last ten. They still sit in a playoff position in the Pacific Division, but things are as tight as ever, with the sixth-place Vancouver Canucks just ten points out of first place in the division. It’s good news that Robin Lehner is set to return tomorrow night, but head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters including Jesse Granger of The Athletic that both Max Pacioretty and Mattias Janmark are out tomorrow and “wouldn’t call either close” to a return. Pacioretty has played just 25 games this season–though he does have 15 goals and 27 points in those appearances.
  • Speaking of Vancouver, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on CHEK TV today and spoke about the Canucks current trade talks. The insider explained that the Canucks have “thrown everyone’s name out there” except for Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko, asking teams how they view and what they would pay for them should they become available. Still, the Canucks are still not out of the Pacific race by any means and don’t really have to make any decisions by the trade deadline, with players like J.T. Miller still under contract for next season and Brock Boeser still a restricted free agent this summer.

Tucker Poolman Moves To LTIR, Kyle Burroughs Placed On IR

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Kyle Burroughs on injured reserve while transferring blueliner Tucker Poolman to LTIR.  Burroughs has had his first taste of extended NHL action this season, playing in 36 games while collecting five points and was injured last weekend against Anaheim.  The move was made to open up the roster spot for yesterday’s recall of Phillip Di Giuseppe.  As for Poolman, he will be eligible to return at any time if the placement is retroactive to his injury in late January but it temporarily adds his $2.5MM to their LTIR pool, enabling them to recall other players if there are more injuries in the near future.

Clay Stevenson Drawing NHL Interest

at CDT | by 3 Comments

At the collegiate level, there are times when a player bursts onto the scene without a ton of prior hype. Sometimes it can even lead to the attention of NHL scouts or even an NHL entry-level contract. It appears that’s the case with Clay Stevenson, a goaltender from Dartmouth College who may end up earning a deal in the coming weeks.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that NHL teams are already making pitches to the undrafted free agent, whose final regular season game is this weekend. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV goes a step further, reporting that the Vancouver Canucks have an interest in the Chilliwack, British Columbia native.

Perhaps burst onto the scene is a bit hyperbolic in Stevenson’s case, given how well he played in the BCHL before leaving for college. For the Coquitlam Express in 2019-20, the big goaltender posted a 30-2-2 record with a .936 save percentage, taking home the BCHL Top Goaltender award but missing a chance to win the Fred Page Cup after the league was shut down because of COVID-19 concerns. It was COVID issues that stole what would have been Stevenson’s regular freshman season in 2020-21 as well when Dartmouth and the other Ivy League hockey programs decided not to play.

The NCAA ruled that he would not lose a season of eligibility though, so this year is technically an impressive freshman campaign for the 22-year-old, even on a team without much success. His record is just 5-10-2 on the year, but Stevenson has produced a .925 save percentage as the primary starter. He’s even posted a pair of shutouts, two of the program’s six total wins. One of those came just a few days ago against Princeton, likely piquing the interest of scouts even further as the Dartmouth season comes to an end.

On March 1, teams will be eligible to sign entry-level contracts that begin in the 2022-23 season. It will be interesting to see whether or not Stevenson goes that route and then inks an amateur tryout to join a minor league club for the stretch run, as he’ll be limited to a two-year entry-level contract either way because of his age. A bargaining chip some teams may use to try and secure his services is having an ELC start for 2021-22, allowing him to enter the professional ranks right away and reach restricted free agency a little earlier.

Vancouver Canucks Interested In Andrei Kuzmenko

at CDT | by 2 Comments

When Patrik Allvin took over as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, he promised that they would be looking at college and international free agents in order to beef up the depth of the organization. That’s what he’d learned in Pittsburgh, after all, where the Penguins routinely signed undrafted talent from the college ranks to try and squeeze out some inexpensive NHL minutes.

A promise is a promise, and the Canucks have already started to show interest in a player from overseas. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that the Canucks are one of the teams to have contacted the representatives of Andrei Kuzmenko. The 26-year-old forward has been chased by NHL teams for years, going back to 2018 after his breakout KHL season. Instead of coming over then, he has spent the last four seasons with the powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg program, growing as an offensive force in the process.

This season, Kuzmenko scored 53 points in 45 games, good for second overall in league scoring behind short-time NHLer Vadim Shipachyov. The difference is that while Shipachyov and third-place Corban Knight both played more than 20 minutes a game, the SKA star averaged under 17. With the KHL season complete and the league moving directly into the playoffs, there is still work to be done for Kuzmenko. St. Petersburg went 31-11-6 on the season and locked up first place in the KHL western conference, meaning they’re set to chase a long postseason run and a chance at the Gagarin Cup. He won’t be available to sign until after that run finishes if he comes over at all.

It isn’t just the Canucks after Kuzmenko. Plenty of NHL teams have shown interest to this point, including the Chicago Blackhawks according to a report from a few days ago.

Of course, Vancouver could have an ace up its sleeve. Vasily Podkolzin, the tenth-overall pick from 2019, was a teammate of Kuzmenko for several years before coming to North America this season. Perhaps Allvin will be able to begin his task of adding depth to the organization by reuniting the two, though a decision still isn’t expected for a while.

Latest On Brock Boeser

at CDT | by 2 Comments

  • The pair of Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed several Vancouver Canucks forwards on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, including pending restricted free agent Brock Boeser. Marek suggests once again that the New Jersey Devils would be a good fit for the sniper, given the big qualifying offer he’s owed after this season.

Vancouver Canucks Remove Quinn Hughes From COVID Protocol

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks are getting a big boost to their lineup in the form of defenseman Quinn Hughes, who the team activated from COVID protocol today.

Hughes and his brother, Jack Hughes, found themselves on the league’s list after testing positive on arrival to their respective teams after the NHL All-Star break in Las Vegas. Because of the break, Hughes hasn’t suited up for the Canucks in two and a half weeks, missing the team’s first three games post-All-Star break. Vancouver’s last game was a 3-2 win this past Saturday against Toronto.

The 22-year-old defenseman has been Vancouver’s best player this season not named Thatcher Demko. With two goals and 32 assists this season, Hughes’ 34 points are best by far among Canucks defensemen and second on the entire team behind J.T. Miller’s 48 points. While Hughes isn’t exactly a defensive defenseman, he’s continually improving and developing in his own end, a trend that’s continued into this season.

Hughes will slide back into the Vancouver lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks, likely alongside Luke Schenn considering usual partner Tucker Poolman remains out with an undisclosed injury.

Jack Rathbone Discharged From Hospital, Will Travel With Abbotsford

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It was a scary scene in the AHL last night when Abbotsford Canucks defenseman Jack Rathbone was hit into the end boards in a game against the Bakersfield Condors. Rathbone was eventually stretchered off the ice after a long delay and taken to the hospital for further evaluation. Thankfully, it’s good news. Rathbone was not only discharged last night but is also expected to travel with Abbotsford to Colorado today. The Canucks play the Colorado Eagles over the weekend.

Recently the AHL player of the week, the 22-year-old defenseman was also ranked as the Canucks’ top prospect by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic last month. Selected 95th overall in 2017 he exploded onto the college scene at Harvard during 2018-19 and is having an outstanding year–when healthy–for Abbotsford. With 21 points he sits fifth on the team in scoring despite playing only 19 AHL games, as he’s had to deal with a COVID diagnosis, shoulder injury and time bouncing back and forth from the NHL squad.

If in this case, he has avoided major injury, Canucks fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Hopefully, he can jump back into the lineup soon, or even make another appearance at the NHL level. His last game with Vancouver came in November when he logged 16 minutes against the Colorado Avalanche.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top