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Vancouver Canucks Place Quinn Hughes In COVID Protocol

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Another high-profile name is unavailable as teams return from the All-Star break, as the Vancouver Canucks have placed Quinn Hughes in the COVID protocol. Players were due for one more round of testing as they rejoined teammates regardless of symptoms, and now Hughes has joined the likes of his brother Jack Hughes, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Evgeni Malkin in the protocol.

General manager Jim Rutherford has already confirmed to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV that Hughes will miss the next three games at least, and the team hopes to have him back on February 17 against the San Jose Sharks.

Despite the Canucks struggles for most of this season, Hughes is having another outstanding offensive campaign with 34 points in 45 games. Incredibly, he’s averaging more than 25 minutes a night for the club and even set a high of 31:07 in an overtime game against the Calgary Flames. The smooth-skating defenseman is the most important skater on the team and will be desperately missed over the next week.

Vancouver is back in action tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes as they try to climb their way back into the Pacific Division playoff picture. Currently sitting at 20-20-6, decisions will soon have to be made on what to do with several trade candidates.

Rutherford: Goal Is Still To Make Playoffs This Season

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While there has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding several of their veterans, Canucks president Jim Rutherford told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that their immediate goal is to get to the playoffs this season.  Center J.T. Miller, winger Conor Garland, and goaltender Jaroslav Halak have all been mentioned as candidates to be moved but it would stand to reason that Rutherford’s preference is to give his current group more time together if he wants to see Vancouver get back into the postseason picture.  The Canucks currently are seventh in the Pacific Division and are nine points out of the last divisional seed and six points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card seed although the Flames have four games in hand.

Canucks Considering Keeping J.T. Miller

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  • J.T. Miller has been the focus of trade speculation for the last few weeks as the Vancouver Canucks march toward the deadline, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet may have thrown some cold water on that in his latest 32 Thoughts column. He starts it by explaining that the Canucks have investigated the idea of re-signing Miller, not trading him, and notes that that could be one of the reasons why a name like Conor Garland has surfaced in recent days. The Canucks need to clear cap space and Miller’s $5.25MM hit is the fourth-highest among Vancouver forwards, but he’s also been the team’s most reliable and productive player this season. He would not be eligible for an extension until July 13 when free agency opens and he officially enters the final year of his current contract.

Trade Rumors: Canucks, Tippett, Mrazek, Ducks

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek didn’t hold back on their reporting late this evening on “Hockey Night in Canada”. The duo behind “32 Thoughts” had plenty to contribute, starting with Friedman’s report on the Vancouver Canucks. With the Vancouver front office finally coming together, with Patrik Allvin being named GM of Jim Rutherford’s new-look front office, the Canucks are starting to get busy in trade talks. Although the .500 club is still in the Western Conference wild card race, the reality is that any true playoff success for Vancouver lies in the future. It should come as no surprise then that the Canucks are listening to trade offers – and not just for talked-about target J.T. Miller. Friedman reports that nearly any Vancouver forward could be had for the right price outside of captain Bo Horvat and young star Elias Pettersson. That includes Conor Garland, who the team just acquired themselves this past summer and signed to a reasonable five-year, $24.75MM deal. It is believed that the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers are in pursuit of Garland, though there is likely no shortage of interest in the skilled forward, who has 102 points in 155 games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.

  • The Florida Panthers are one of the biggest surprises of the season, currently leading the top-heavy Atlantic Division with a .744 points percentage that is also third-best in the NHL. The Panthers are expected to go all-in on a Stanley Cup run this season and specifically are hoping to land a legitimate top-four defenseman. As they go about working the phones, Marek reports that one major name they are dangling is Owen Tippett. The 2017 first-rounder still has yet to make his mark in the NHL, struggling to find enough consistency at the top level to stick in the Florida lineup. However, he is only 22 and still a well-regarded as well as well-liked prospect. Tippett will likely end up as the centerpiece to any big trade the Panthers make this season.
  • With Jack Campbell playing at an elite level this season while Petr Mrazek has struggled with injuries and inconsistency, the latter has proven to be little more than a pricey backup for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season while the former will be the team’s offseason priority as an impending free agent. As a result, teams have begun to inquire about Mrazek’s availability. If Campbell does stay in Toronto, the team will have a proven starter and have some promising young options like Joseph Woll and Ian Scott behind him. Marek also adds that the Maple Leafs are in hot pursuit of undrafted OHL standout Mack Guzda, who would further boost the depth chart if Toronto can win a heated race for his services. This hypothetically makes Mrazek and his $3.8MM cap hit expendable, even though he just signed with Toronto this past summer. However, for now the Leafs are maintaining that Mrazek remains a part of their plans. Marek was not so sure about that, but does report that any decision on a Mrazek trade will have to wait for the offseason.
  • Among the other suitors for Guzda are the Ducks, Hurricanes, Islanders, Rangers, Penguins, and Predators. (Notably, Guzda is a Tennessee native.) One of those teams is about to get much more serious in their pursuit, as well as in the trade market. Friedman notes that Anaheim is closing in on naming a general manager. While there are still several names in contention, he believes that Pat Verbeek is the odds-on favorite. Once a permanent GM is named, the Ducks will become a fascinating team to watch; they are both well within the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, yet also possess numerous high-value rentals.

Noah Juulsen Recalled To The Taxi Squad

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  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve brought up defenseman Noah Juulsen to the taxi squad from AHL Abbotsford. The 24-year-old has suited up twice for Vancouver this season but has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, collecting 10 points in 25 games.

More On J.T. Miller Trade Speculation

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The Vancouver Canucks now have a brand new front office leadership group, with president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, general manager Patrik Allvin, and assistant general manager Emilie Castonguay. Quite the trio in terms of varied experience and expertise to take over a floundering franchise.

Allvin, introduced just this week, now has plenty of work to do in order to get up to speed before the March 21 trade deadline. When asked about whether he’ll be taking the lead on some of those decisions while his new general manager gets comfortable with the organization, Rutherford explained that he hired Allvin to make those calls but he could still be involved:

No, no. Patrik is going to do that work. It’ll be involving everyone in the organization, everyone’s going to have their input. But Patrik has to gather all of that information and make his decision. He certainly doesn’t have to come to me every time he’s making a decision, but when we get into some of the bigger decisions, I’ll be a little bit more involved, but it’s Patrik’s job. He’s the general manager, he has to work hard and make those decisions. 

One of those big decisions that Rutherford could potentially be involved in is the future of J.T. Miller, since what the Canucks do with their leading scorer could point to what direction the franchise will take in the near future. Miller is having an outstanding offensive campaign with 44 points in 41 games and is signed through next season at a very reasonable $5.25MM cap hit. The Canucks are certainly not in a desperate position to cash in with a deadline trade, and could even decide to hold onto Miller longer than his current deal if an extension could be worked out down the road.

That might be why twice in the past 24 hours Pierre LeBrun has referenced a potential asking price on Miller and suggested that the Canucks may be letting teams know that they better get in their best offer well ahead of the trade deadline. On TSN’s Insider Trading and in his latest column for The Athletic, LeBrun notes that to start a serious conversation about Miller, a team would have to be willing to part with three or four assets. The fact that he’s signed for another year allows the Canucks to be “picky,” as LeBrun puts it.

Recently, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the New York Rangers were the team that was showing the most interest in Miller, with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, and Minnesota Wild also all linked to the Canucks forward.

Jakob Chychrun, one of the other big names being tossed around in relation to the trade deadline, has also drawn speculation about a three-asset asking price. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet has reported several times that the Arizona Coyotes have already been offered a first-round pick, and two players selected in the first round. Chychrun has three more years on his current contract after 2021-22 but is also at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to performance this year, as he’s mired in a brutal campaign amid the tanking Coyotes.

If the Canucks decide they want to go through a bit of a rebuild, trading Miller would certainly help. Vancouver’s prospect pipeline is rather bare, with Scott Wheeler of The Athletic recently ranking them 28th in the league and listing Jack Rathbone, a 22-year-old fourth-round pick with 35 games of professional experience as their top name. The team is already without their second and third-round picks for the upcoming draft (though they have Winnipeg’s third from the Nate Schmidt deal), and desperately needs to inject the system with some talent even if it’s not a full tear down.

All of that said, there’s no guarantee that the best offer for Miller comes at this deadline. Perhaps an even better deal could be worked out by Allvin and the Canucks in the offseason when every team is still theoretically a contender. The 28-year-old does not hold any trade protection in his deal–the Canucks voided that clause when he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019–meaning he could be a draft day prize for a team on the upswing.

Jake Virtanen Charged With Sexual Assault

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The Vancouver Police Department has charged former NHL forward Jake Virtanen with one count of sexual assault, stemming from an incident in 2017 while he was playing for the Vancouver Canucks. Virtanen, 25, is currently playing for Spartak in the KHL where he has 16 points in 36 games.

In May of last year, the Canucks placed Virtanen on leave following the original allegations. In July, they bought out the final year of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. The team will carry a $500K cap hit next season as a result of the buyout, after carrying $50K this season.

A civil lawsuit was filed in May 2021 and in a response, Virtanen denied the allegations. The Canucks have issued a statement today:

We have been made aware of the charges laid by the Crown against Jake Virtanen. When the allegations first came to our attention, we immediately placed Jake Virtanen on leave. He is no longer a member of the organization. 

We have been in contact with the Vancouver Police Department throughout their investigation and will continue to provide support as needed. Our organization is committed to fostering a safe and welcoming environment and will not tolerate sexual misconduct of any kind. We will not be commenting further on this matter.

Virtanen is not currently in custody.

Vancouver Canucks To Focus On European, College Free Agents

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When Jim Rutherford was in charge of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he traded away his first-round pick six times. The Penguins were perpetually in a win-now mode because of the presence of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, so Rutherford did everything he could to surround them with established NHL stars. Because of that, the Penguins couldn’t sit back and wait for their own draft picks to develop, they needed to go out and find players through other means to supplement the high-end talent.

One of the biggest sources of depth for the Penguins was the NCAA, where they routinely added undrafted players that had polished their game at the college level. Players like Conor Sheary and Zach Aston-Reese were acquired for nothing more than an entry-level contract and went on to help the Penguins fill out their lineup with effective, NHL talent.

It appears as though Patrik Allvin, the new general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, learned how valuable those acquisitions are during his time in Pittsburgh. During his introductory press conference today, Allvin explained just how important it is to add players to the organization from avenues outside of the first round.

I think first and foremost you have to be open-minded. This is a humble game, I think the players change and the game is changing consistently. You have to be open-minded and you look for talent. You have to trust your scouting staff and the people that work for you. Obviously we want to play a fast and skilled game, and I think in order to be successful you have to be able to find players outside the first round. You need to complement the organization with college and European free agents. That’s something that I’m looking forward to. 

Rutherford noted Allvin’s connections in Europe especially as a valuable asset for the Canucks as they move forward. The new GM is the first-ever from Sweden and just the second European currently in charge of an NHL franchise.

If you look at the regulars for Vancouver, none of them were really acquired in the late rounds or through entry-level free agency. Even a player like Matthew Highmore, who was an undrafted college signing, came to Vancouver through a trade, several years after making his NHL debut. Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Nils Hoglander, Quinn Hughes, Bo Horvat, Vasily Podkolzin, and Thatcher Demko, the only real homegrown talent, were all picked in the top 40 selections in their respective drafts.

While it’s easy to say that a team should find top-end players in the late rounds, it’s extremely difficult to do. What Allvin means by his comments today is that the depth options, those that surround the stars and fill out the depth chart, need to be sourced directly by the Canucks through their amateur scouting staff. That’s a huge philosophical change from recent years, where bottom-six options were routinely signed well into their careers after they’d already reached unrestricted free agency. Tucker Poolman, Jay Beagle, Micheal Ferland, Antoine Roussel, Derek Dorsett, Erik Gudbranson, and others were given multi-year contracts by former GM Jim Benning, despite not really being at the point in their careers where they could fill out the top of a lineup. Whether Allvin’s strategy here will be successful is still yet to be seen, but Pittsburgh is a shining example of how–with the help of the right development staff–valuable assets can be acquired from many different places.

Patrik Allvin Named GM Of Vancouver Canucks

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The decision has been made and Patrik Allvin is the 12th general manager in Vancouver Canucks history. Canucks’ president Jim Rutherford announced the hiring today, explaining exactly why he chose his former Pittsburgh protege:

I am pleased to welcome Patrik and his family to Vancouver. Patrik and I worked together for seven years, and I believe he will be an excellent General Manager. He has won three Stanley Cups and has experience at all levels of hockey operations. He is intelligent, works hard, makes strong decisions and I believe he will help us build a winning team in Vancouver.

Allvin, 47, was actually the man who took over as interim GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Rutherford resigned suddenly last year, but eventually ceded the position when Ron Hextall was hired. His name was linked to the Vancouver job from the moment Rutherford was hired by the Canucks, as the senior executive was clear that the team would bring in someone who had little or no experience in the top job.

That’s Allvin, who was interim GM of the Penguins for less than a month but has plenty of experience in NHL front offices. He first joined the Montreal Canadiens in 2002 as a European scout and eventually worked his way to the Penguins as director of European scouting in 2012.

Born in Sweden, Allvin joins Jarmo Kekalainen as the only general managers in the league from outside of North America. He joins a front office that has recently made several other hires, including Emilie Castonguey and Rachel Doerrie. It’s also one that is expected to lean much more heavily into analytics, and one that will have the help of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin after they took positions as special assistants.

It’s a big job ahead of this group, as the Canucks have cap issues without being considered a real contender. With Allvin now in place, a trade deadline strategy can now be put together, with J.T. Miller leading the way as one of the most talked-about players in recent weeks.

Latest On Vancouver GM Search

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7:10 PM: Allvin appears to be the frontrunner for the job at the moment, tweets TSN’s Darren Dreger.  No deal is in place yet but it appears progress is being made on one.

4:16 PM: The Vancouver Canucks are expected to hire their next general manager in the coming days after conducting a search that included interviews with several candidates. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the final five candidates include Mathieu Darche, Patrik Allvin, Scott Mellanby, and Sean Burke–plus another name that has yet to be reported.

Darche, director of hockey operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and was recently linked to the GM search in Montreal before that job ultimately went to superagent Kent Hughes. The 45-year-old executive played 250 games in the NHL, ending his on-ice career in 2012 before being part of the NHLPA’s bargaining committee during the 2012-13 lockout.

Allvin, considered the frontrunner by many, was actually the one who took over as interim GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins when Jim Rutherford resigned last year. With Rutherford now in charge of the Canucks, Allvin’s candidacy certainly makes a lot of sense.

No matter who takes over, the Vancouver front office appears to be one that will have many new voices. Outside of the new GM and Rutherford, there’s also recently hired assistant GM Emilie Castonguay, who will be involved in all aspects of hockey operations and analytics hire Rachel Doerrie. As Rutherford explained when Doerrie was hired, there are “a lot of holes to fill” in the organization, not just at the senior executive level.

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