Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Canucks Rumors

Canucks, Penguins Reportedly Interested In David Kämpf

at CDT | by 8 Comments

It’s only been a few hours since David Kämpf had his contract terminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and interested teams are already coming to light. In his recent rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in signing the freshly minted unrestricted free agent.

Of all the teams that could be interested in Kämpf, the Canucks make the most sense. The team is dealing with longer-term injuries to Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger, which have further thinned an already depleted center core. Behind Elias Pettersson, the team is utilizing Max Sasson, Aatu Räty, and recently acquired Lukas Reichel as their next three options.

That’s not to suggest that Kämpf should be considered a cure-all to Vancouver’s woes, though he would be an improvement on their existing bottom-six options. The 30-year-old center has scored 31 goals and 85 points in 301 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last four years, with a 51.7% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s interest may come from familiarity with Kämpf’s game. The Penguins General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, brought Kämpf to the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2021-22 season on a two-year, $3MM contract. Brad Traveling was at the helm when Toronto signed Kämpf to the four-year, $9.6MM deal that was terminated this morning.

Still, the Penguins don’t have a true need for Kämpf outside of the front office’s familiarity. The team is already relatively deep at center with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes as their top-three options, and has put a premium on bringing in younger players — not additional ones that have already cleared the 30-year threshold.

There are a few additional teams, such as the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils, that could use more forward depth in their bottom six. Still, given that teams are already being named, Kämpf shouldn’t expect to remain a UFA for very long.

Canucks Place Thatcher Demko On IR, Activate Victor Mancini

at CDT | by 1 Comment

According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have placed Thatcher Demko on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. In a corresponding roster move, the team has activated defenseman Victor Mancini.

Demko suffered the injury during Tuesday’s game in Vancouver against the Winnipeg Jets, which is why the Canucks made their transaction retroactive to November 11th. He left the game after the first period, stopping five of eight shots.

This is a familiar spot for Demko. He spent much of last season on the injured reserve due to knee and other lower-body issues. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 10-8-3 record in 23 games with a .889 SV% and 2.90 GAA. Still, despite the significant injury issues, the Canucks extended Demko to a three-year, $25.5MM contract extension this summer.

Vancouver will rely on Kevin Lankinen for the next few weeks while Demko recovers. Unfortunately, he’s struggled out of the gates this season with a 3-5-1 record in nine games with a .885 SV% and 3.57 GAA.

Meanwhile, Mancini returns to the lineup after missing the Canucks last eight games due to an undisclosed injury. He’s only skated in five games this season, going scoreless with a -2 rating. The 23-year-old blueliner was a supplementary piece of the J.T. Miller trade with the New York Rangers last year. Unfortunately, with seven other defensemen on the active roster, Mancini doesn’t have a spot in the lineup set in stone.

Canucks Activate And Assign Jonathan Lekkerimaki To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Canucks have been injury-riddled this season, to put things lightly, as they’ve had at times more than six players on injured reserve.  That number is coming down by one as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki has been activated.  However, instead of returning to Vancouver’s roster right away, he has been sent down to AHL Abbotsford.

The 21-year-old has been limited to just four games due to an upper-body injury sustained more than three weeks ago.  He was cleared to practice without contact last week and clearly, he has received the full green light with this assignment.

Lekkerimaki had just one point – a goal – over his first four outings to start the season after putting up three goals and three assists in 24 games with Vancouver in 2024-25 in his first taste of NHL action.  He was quite productive in Abbotsford last season, however, notching 19 goals and nine assists in 36 games.

Considering the extent of Vancouver’s injuries up front (Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil, and Nils Hoglander), it seems unlikely that Lekkerimaki’s stint in the minors will be a long one but rather more of a short-term conditioning stint.  He only needs to play once before being eligible to be recalled and with Abbotsford in action later tonight, it’s plausible that Lekkerimaki is brought back up in time for Vancouver’s next game on Friday against Carolina.

At the moment, the Canucks still have a full 23-player roster so whenever they do decide to bring Lekkerimaki up, they will need to make a corresponding roster move to open up a spot first.  At first glance, moving goalie Thatcher Demko to injured reserve would be the easiest approach after it was revealed today that he’ll miss two to three weeks with a suspected groin injury.

Thatcher Demko Out Two To Three Weeks With Apparent Groin Issue

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Canucks starting netminder Thatcher Demko will miss two to three weeks with the apparent groin injury he sustained in last night’s loss to the Jets, Frank Seravalli of Victory Plus reports. It’s a new issue that’s entirely unrelated to the knee issues he’s had over the past couple of years and also irrelevant to why he didn’t dress for a pair of games earlier this month, Seravalli adds.

After his lingering knee issues and a few other ailments limited Demko to 23 appearances last season, he’s back to looking like a legitimate starting netminder in 2025-26. He started hot, compiling a .911 SV% and 5-4-0 record in his first nine games, until he allowed three goals on eight shots last night before leaving the game after the first period. That showing brought his year-to-date save percentage down to .903, along with a 2.80 GAA. Those numbers are still far superior to what No. 2 option Kevin Lankinen has put on offer (.885 SV%, 3.57 GAA, 3-5-1 record) and remain good for 6.3 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, 10th in the league.

Demko sustained what looks to be a relatively minor groin strain when he stretched across his crease to make a save on Jets forward Cole Perfetti (video via Canucks Army). He played out the first period and took a skate as players warmed up for the second, but ended up ceding the net to Lankinen, who saved 20 of 21 shots in relief but took the loss.

Demko has only played two of Vancouver’s last five games, including his abbreviated performance last night, thanks to his pair of missed games over the weekend due to maintenance/load management. That stretch has coincided with the Canucks now allowing at least three goals in six straight games. The Canucks have been porous defensively this season. Even with his .885 SV%, Lankinen is still credited with 1.4 goals saved above expected. Vancouver is allowing 30.2 shots against per game, which ranks 26th in the league. Their xGA/60 of 3.77 in all situations is the second-worst in the league, according to MoneyPuck.

Without Demko propping them up for the next few weeks, the Canucks could be in for a slide. They’re already behind the eight ball with an 8-9-1 record, undoubtedly influenced by an injured list that now contains eight players, including Demko. Their -10 goal differential is 29th in the league, and they face a pair of top-five offenses (the Ducks and Hurricanes) in their next six games.

The Canucks were already rostering Jiri Patera as a third goalie after recalling him to back up Lankinen over the weekend, so there won’t be a corresponding transaction, and an IR placement for Demko isn’t necessary at this time.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Teddy Blueger Nearing Injury Returns

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • The Vancouver Canucks are likely to benefit from the return from injury of two forwards, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Teddy Blueger, Patrick Johnston of The Province reported today. Lekkerimaki, 21, hasn’t played since Oct. 19, and has one goal in four games this season. Blueger has also not played since Oct. 19, and also has one goal to his name. The return of Blueger in particular should help the Canucks. The 31-year-old veteran center ranked second among forwards on the team in short-handed ice time per game last season, and the forward who ranked No. 1, Pius Suter, now plays for the St. Louis Blues. Seeing as the Canucks penalty kill currently ranks second to last in the NHL, getting a key contributor back from injury is surely a positive development for their hopes of improving in that area.

Canucks Recall Jiri Patera

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that netminder Jiri Patera has been recalled on an emergency basis from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Patera, 26, has played each of the last two seasons exclusively at the AHL level, though an injury did cost him a chance to earn NHL games last season, as he was limited to just seven games played. He’s already up to five games played so far this season, posting a .894 save percentage, 3.10 goals-against average, and 1-2-2 record.

CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on this recall in some additional detail, noting that while netminder Kevin Lankinen is not currently injured, Thatcher Demko “may need a maintenance day.” And since the Canucks have back-to-back games to play on Saturday and Sunday, recalling Patera allows the team to be cautious and give head coach Adam Foote an additional goaltender to work with in case Demko is not able to play in one of the team’s two upcoming games. Dhaliwal did also note that Demko “is not hurt.” While he hasn’t yet played for the Canucks, Patera does have some NHL experience. The 26-year-old played in eight games across two seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, posting a .902 save percentage.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Kirill Kudryavtsev

at CDT | by 1 Comment

According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have assigned defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouver did not make a corresponding roster move.

Even without Kudryavtsev on the roster for tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Canucks still have seven defensemen to choose from. The team likely felt confident about captain Quinn Hughes’ performance on Monday, which led them to reassign Kudryavtsev. The 21-year-old Russian was originally recalled on October 26th — one day after Hughes sustained a lower-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens.

Unfortunately, given that seven healthy defensemen were ahead of him on the active roster, Kudryavtsev did not play for the Canucks despite spending 10 days with the team. After today’s reassignment, the only NHL playing time to his name came last season in mid-April.

He has spent most of his playing time in the North American professional circuit with the AHL Canucks. Last season, the first of his professional career, Kudryavtsev scored five goals and 26 points in 65 games with a +18 rating. Further, he registered one goal and 10 points in 21 postseason contests with a +18 rating, helping Abbotsford win the 2025 Calder Cup Final.

This season, he’s off to an encouraging offensive start, tallying five assists in five games. The team has had a challenging start to their Calder Cup defense, holding a record of 2-7-0-1 after their first 10 games, which places them last in the Western Conference.

Canucks Place Vitali Kravtsov On Unconditional Waivers

at CDT | by 9 Comments

2:36 p.m.: It’ll be a three-year deal for Kravtsov back with Traktor Chelyabinsk, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK.

11:55 a.m.: The Canucks placed winger Vitali Kravtsov on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate his contract, the team announced. It’s presumably a mutual decision, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow if he clears.

Kravtsov began his second stint in the Vancouver organization when he signed a two-way deal with them in August. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 draft last played in North America in the 2022-23 campaign, during which he was sent from the Rangers to the Canucks for William Lockwood, and had spent the last two seasons playing with Traktor Chelyabinsk in his native Russia. He remained on Vancouver’s reserve list during that time because they issued him a qualifying offer when his contract expired, so they were his only option for an NHL return this year if they didn’t trade his signing rights.

The 25-year-old Kravtsov was coming off a resurgent showing in the Kontinental Hockey League. He made 66 appearances for Chelyabinsk last season, notching 27 goals and 31 assists for 58 points with a +31 rating. He was among the most dominant two-way players in the KHL with the only professional club he’s ever suited up for in his home country. There was understandable optimism that he could be a contributor in Vancouver’s top nine as a result, but he didn’t have a great camp and only got into one preseason game. He cleared regular waivers at the beginning of October and began the year on assignment to AHL Abbotsford.

Kravtsov hasn’t had much of an impact in the minors through 10 games, limited to one goal and three assists with a -7 rating. That performance wasn’t going to get him an NHL recall anytime soon, and he’s already been passed over by options like Joseph LaBate and Mackenzie MacEachern during Vancouver’s recent spree of injuries to its forward group. With very little pathway to minutes and him essentially taking up a contract slot for little return in the minors, the Canucks likely have no qualms about losing his rights and letting him pursue a contract elsewhere, likely back in Russia.

Kravtsov will forfeit the remainder of his salary, which would have been $450K if he spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He’ll easily outpace that with a new deal in Russia.

Canucks Believed To Have Inquired About Steven Stamkos

at CDT | by 16 Comments

The Canucks have long been searching for extra help down the middle, a need amplified by the latest injury to Filip Chytil.  To that end, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic recently reported (audio link) that he has been told that Vancouver has kicked the tires on Predators forward Steven Stamkos as they continue to cast a wide net in their search for a center.

Stamkos was one of Nashville’s splashy signings in the 2024 offseason, a summer that also saw GM Barry Trotz bring in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei in the hopes of establishing themselves as a contender in a tough Central Division.  While Marchessault has worked out reasonably well so far (though underachieving relative to expectations), the other two haven’t.

Stamkos is in the second season of a four-year, $32MM pact, signed with the belief that he could still be a steady scorer away from Tampa Bay where he spent the first 16 years of his career.  However, after putting up 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, the 35-year-old managed just 27 goals and 53 points last season.  This year, he’s off to a much slower start, managing just a goal and an assist through 13 outings.

It should be noted that on top of having a contract that looks to be well above market value with how he has played so far, Stamkos also has a full no-move clause.  That means that even if the two teams could agree on a trade, he has full veto power if he doesn’t want to go there.

At this point, there’s no indication that Stamkos is interested in even considering a change of scenery.  However, with how things went off the rails for the Preds last year, another quiet start this season, and his own struggles, it wouldn’t be shocking if he or the team decided to ponder the possibility.

Vancouver’s salary cap situation is quite tight; they’re nearly $2.8MM into LTIR, per PuckPedia.  That means that the Canucks would need to match money to make a move work, something that could be mitigated in part by Nashville retaining salary.  On the other hand, the Predators only have one retention slot remaining this season having already utilized them on Mattias Ekholm and Colton Sissons.  Considering his value has dropped considerably, does it make sense to use that last slot (retaining several million dollars a year for multiple seasons) to elicit what would likely be a middling return?  Or, would they be better off saving that last slot for someone else this season and revisiting the idea over the summer after those other two slots open back up?

While Stamkos is probably better off as a winger at this stage of his career, he has played with some regularity at center for the past few years after primarily playing the position before that.  Given Vancouver’s need for help down the middle, he would certainly help there.  However, considering how difficult it would be to make the cap fit work for the Canucks, Stamkos doesn’t seem like the most plausible of candidates at the moment.  That said, they appear to be examining all possibilities as they look to upgrade the center position.

Evening Notes: Couturier, Boeser, Blue Jackets, Avalanche

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Two notable players have left their respective games after taking hard shots: Sean Couturier and Brock Boeser. First, the Flyers announced mid-game their captain Couturier will not return vs Nashville. The 32-year-old’s injury was not disclosed, but he appeared bothered after blocking a shot in the first period. Couturier has been off to a great start so far this season, with nine points in nine games, looking like his old self after two straight seasons not passing the 45-point mark. 

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks confirmed Boeser will not return after being struck in the midsection point-blank from his teammate Elias Pettersson (defenseman) on a slap shot just 33 seconds into the game vs St. Louis. It’s an extra tough blow considering that the team is already missing Conor Garland, Quinn Hughes, and several other forwards.

Elsewhere across the league:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled defenseman Dysin Mayo from AHL Cleveland, per the team. With veteran Erik Gudbranson day-to-day, having already missed time this season, Columbus has called upon the 29-year-old with 82 games of NHL experience in advance of Saturday’s game vs St. Louis. Although Mayo is likely just insurance, if he is to appear, it will be his first NHL game since 2022-23, all 82 of his so far as an Arizona Coyote. The right-hander leads the Cleveland Monsters in points, with four helpers in five games. 
  • In what has been a big day for the Avalanche, after locking up Martin Necas, the team announced that they have recalled defenseman Wyatt Aamodt from AHL Colorado. While Samuel Girard remains sidelined, Jack Ahcan has drawn into the lineup for the last two games, but Aamodt will be added depth if needed, as the Avs head to Vegas, then San Jose, on a road trip this coming weekend. The 27-year-old has spent the last four seasons with the Colorado Eagles, earning a two-game stint with the Avalanche last year.

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