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Canucks Recall Vasily Podkolzin

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After being papered down to the minors yesterday, Vasily Podkolzin is back up with the Canucks as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him from AHL Abbotsford.

The 22-year-old was the tenth pick back in 2019 and spent the full 2021-22 season with Vancouver.  However, last season, he split the season between the NHL and the AHL, and this year, they decided he’d be best served playing big minutes in his final season of waiver exemption.

This season, Podkolzin has played in 44 games with Abbotsford, collecting 15 goals and 13 assists.  He also has seen action in three games with Vancouver this month but has been primarily limited to fourth-line duty.  That’s likely to continue to be the case moving forward.

Podkolzin had been shuffled back and forth over the last week but that should change now.  With Vancouver having a dozen healthy forwards before this roster move, that means this will count as one of their four allowable post-deadline regular recalls so his stint with the Canucks should be longer this time around.  Notably, his promotion effectively caps Vancouver out as they won’t be able to afford another recall.  That likely played a role in their decision yesterday not to sign Phil Kessel as an extra depth player after he had worked out with Abbotsford recently.

Canucks Attempted To Move Tucker Poolman’s Contract

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Tucker Poolman’s tenure with Vancouver has been rough, to say the least.  Concussion and migraine troubles have limited him to just 43 games in his three seasons with the team, 40 of those coming two years ago.  For the rest of the time, he has been on LTIR, allowing the Canucks to spend over the cap by his $2.5MM AAV but his presence there has restricted them from accruing in-season cap space.  Accordingly, that has limited them when it comes to trying to bank cap room for late-season additions.

Speaking with Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston following yesterday’s trade deadline, GM Patrik Allvin acknowledged that he has attempted to move Poolman’s deal but hasn’t been able to find a taker.  It’s not a matter of his contract having value as the Canucks would need to incentivize a team to take it on but evidently, teams aren’t willing to do so or Vancouver hasn’t been offering up enough of an incentive – likely in the form of a draft pick – to take it on.

Poolman has one year left on this one at that $2.5MM price tag so Allvin will need to continue working on this into the summer.  Already without their top two selections and their fifth-rounder in the upcoming draft in June, it stands to reason that they might be hesitant to part with another selection from this class to get a team to take Poolman’s contract on but they have all but their third-rounder for 2025 so moving a pick from that group might make more sense.

One of the other challenges of being in LTIR for the entire season is that any performance bonuses earned roll over as an overage penalty to the following season.  Fortunately for the Canucks, that shouldn’t be much of a concern this year as they’ve been more of a veteran-heavy group but they will have to rely on some of their cheaper prospects to fill out their roster next season.  Those players will likely have bonuses which will provide a bigger impetus for Allvin to find a taker for Poolman’s contract in the coming months.

Dakota Joshua Set To Miss Two Weeks

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  • Jeff Patterson of Canucks Army reports that Vancouver Canucks’ forward Dakota Joshua will at most miss the next two weeks for the team. Thankfully, the Canucks only have five games over the next 14 days, so Joshua shouldn’t miss too much action down the stretch. Having the most productive season of his career up to this point, Joshua has played in 53 games for Vancouver so far this year, scoring 13 goals and 26 points overall.

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Canucks Do Not Sign Phil Kessel

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March 8, 2:02 p.m.: The Canucks have not signed Phil Kessel by the trade deadline, Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports.

March 8, 8:48 a.m.: Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic relays that the signing is contingent on Vancouver opening up enough cap space before the deadline.  Otherwise, it won’t happen.  If they can do so, the agreement is expected to be for the prorated minimum salary of $775K.

March 7: The Canucks are expected to sign free-agent winger Phil Kessel through the remainder of the season before tomorrow’s trade deadline, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports.

Kessel, 36, had been linked to the Canucks as far back as last summer. It became apparent last month that Vancouver would be his next NHL home after Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced Kessel had traveled to the area and would be skating with their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.

Vancouver must sign Kessel by 2 p.m. CT on Friday to make him eligible to play in the postseason. Players not on their team’s reserve list at the trade deadline are ineligible to play in the playoffs.

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, including just last season with the Golden Knights, Kessel still carries value as a depth winger with decent scoring ability. While he was a healthy scratch for most of Vegas’ playoff run, he appeared in all 82 regular-season games, continuing his league-record streak of 1,064 consecutive games played. That streak will remain active until he’s scratched for a regular-season contest while under contract.

Averaging a career-low 12:49 per game last season, Kessel scored 14 goals and added 22 assists for 36 points. However, his possession impacts were subpar for the third straight season – a 46.1 CF% at even strength and a -2.5 expected rating. His 1.82 shots per game were also a career low, although that’s to be expected with a reduction in ice time.

Kessel could see an even further reduced role in Vancouver, as he’s likely to unseat any of Teddy Blueger, Conor Garland or Dakota Joshua for a spot as a third-line winger. He’ll instead likely skate in a fourth-line role, slotting in above the likes of Phillip Di Giuseppe. However, it’s hard to imagine Kessel’s iron-man streak lasting much longer with Vancouver’s already strong scoring depth on the wing.

The 2007 Masterton Trophy winner will be a UFA again next summer.

Canucks Unlikely To Flip Lindholm

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There had been some speculation that the Canucks could flip Elias Lindholm to secure assets that would be part of a Jake Guentzel trade.  However, with Guentzel now in Carolina, it appears Vancouver won’t be looking to flip Lindholm after all, reports TSN’s Chris Johnston in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link).  The 29-year-old hasn’t lit it up yet with his new team as he has just four goals and three assists in 16 games since coming over from Calgary, not the type of stretch run he was hoping for as he heads to UFA eligibility this summer for the first time.

Western Notes: Wild, Oilers, Podkolzin, Foudy

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The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Marcus Johansson on injured reserve with a lower-body injury suffered in the team’s Saturday game against the St. Louis Blues. Johansson has since missed the team’s last two games, and will now be out until at least Sunday. Minnesota has recalled forward Adam Beckman from the AHL in a corresponding move.

Johansson, 33, has managed nine goals and 27 points in 61 games this season. It’s his third season spending time with Minnesota, joining the team via trade last season, with Minnesota sending a 2024 third-round pick to the Washington Capitals in return. He also played 36 games for Minnesota during the shortened 2020-21 season. Johansson has totaled 117 career games with the Wild, the second-most he’s played for any team. He has 21 goals and 59 points across those games – bringing his career totals up to 480 points in 894 games.

Johansson is signed through the 2024-25 season, riding out a two-year, $4MM contract extension signed at the end of last season. The new deal will carry him through his age-35 season and carries a $2MM cap hit. His absence will make room for Beckman’s return to the NHL. The 22-year-old winger has been called up twice this season, though he’s yet to play in his first NHL game of the season. He’s instead played 48 games in the AHL, serving as an alternate captain for the Iowa Wild and scoring 29 points. Beckman made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season, and has since totaled 12 games in the league, though he’s still searching for his first NHL goal.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Edmonton Oilers have sent young winger Dylan Holloway and veteran Sam Gagner to the AHL. Gagner had to clear waivers for the loan, while Holloway maintains waiver exemption. The pair have each slotted into a handful of NHL games this season, with Gagner scoring 10 points in 27 games and Holloway managing four points in 32 games. These moves make both Holloway and Gagner eligible to play in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Holloway has appeared in four AHL games this season, scoring four points, while Gagner has played in three games and scored five points.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled winger Vasily Podkolzin, after sending him to the minor leagues on Wednesday. He appeared in two games during his previous recall, recording one shot and no other stat changes while averaging roughly 10 minutes of ice time. The two games marked Podkolzin’s first NHL appearances of the season, with the 22-year-old spending much of the year in the minor leagues, where he’s put up 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games.  Podkolzin recorded 120 NHL games over the last two seasons, scoring a combined 33 points. He’ll likely serve as an extra forward for Vancouver.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned Jean-Luc Foudy to the AHL, just hours after after he scored his first NHL goal. Foudy’s season started late, with the forward grappling with a lower-body injury until mid January. He’s since played in 12 AHL games, scoring six points, and one NHL game. The 21-year-old’s appearance with the Avalanche brings his career totals up to 10 games – with his first career goal also marking the first point of his career.

Five Teams Remain In Talks For Jake Guentzel

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The Canucks, Golden Knights, Hurricanes, Panthers, and Rangers are the five teams remaining in the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes as a trade is “getting close,” reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas didn’t have a deal in place for his star winger by Wednesday night as he’d hoped, but all signs point to Guentzel still changing hands before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

None of these teams come as a surprise, and various sources have bandied them about as fits for Guentzel throughout the past few weeks. The Golden Knights, Panthers and Rangers have been incredibly aggressive in advance of the deadline, collectively acquiring some of the top trade targets in Noah Hanifin (VGK), Anthony Mantha (VGK), Vladimir Tarasenko (FLA), and Alexander Wennberg (NYR) in the past 72 hours.

The veteran winger is amidst another All-Star-caliber season. While he’s been out since Valentine’s Day with an upper-body injury but is inching toward a return, practicing without a non-contact jersey today for the first time since the injury (video via team reporter Dan Potash). He scored 22 goals, 30 assists and 52 points in 50 games before getting hurt, his fourth time averaging over a point per game since 2019. He’s also logging over 20 minutes per game for the fifth straight year.

Despite the high level of production and his clutch postseason performances (58 points in 58 career playoff games), it makes little sense for the retooling Penguins to sign the 29-year-old pending UFA to a long-term extension. Multiple reports over the past week indicate that Guentzel will likely be dealt as a rental and be the top free agent on the market when the 2024-25 league year begins on July 1. His suitors probably note that Guentzel backs up his consistent production with consistent possession quality control numbers – he has a 57.1 xGF% this season and a 54.5 career xGF% throughout his 503 games as a Penguin, per Hockey Reference.

The Golden Knights, Hurricanes and Panthers could all take Guentzel’s $6MM cap hit at 50% retention without involving a third-party broker. The Rangers are a few grand short of having the necessary cap space to do so and could still make a trade work with a third party, while the Canucks have just $125K in cap space and would need to move a significant chunk of salary out to accommodate Guentzel, even at a 75% reduced $1.5MM cap hit. There have been some spotty but credible rumors of Vancouver potentially flipping Elias Lindholm, whom they just spent a first-round pick to land from the Flames in January, to create cap space for Guentzel.

Improbably, Vegas is still well-positioned to land Guentzel even after landing the top defenseman on the market in Hanifin. The team still has $3.8MM in deadline cap space with Robin Lehner and captain Mark Stone on long-term injured reserve despite having 27 players on the roster counting against the cap – their full 23-man roster plus $9.375MM taken up by Alec Martinez, Brett Howden, William Carrier, and Pavel Dorofeyev on standard injured reserve. They also still have their first-round draft picks in 2024 and 2026 and have not parted ways with top prospects Brendan Brisson, David Edstrom, and Carl Lindbom.

Vancouver Canucks Most Aggressive Suitor For Guentzel

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Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer, Josh Yohe, is reporting that although several teams remain in the mix for forward Jake Guentzel, the Vancouver Canucks have been far and away the most aggressive team. This reaffirms multiple reports over the last several days listing the Canucks as one of the top suitors for Guentzel’s services.

In his own right, Guentzel does make a lot of sense for a team like the Canucks, with many of the team’s top players having minimal playoff experience throughout their careers. Playing for the Penguins over his entire career, Guentzel has been a standout playoff performer, scoring 34 goals and 58 points in 58 postseason games as well as a Stanley Cup ring in 2017.

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Canucks Reassign Vasily Podkolzin

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The Canucks returned winger Vasily Podkolzin to AHL Abbotsford on Wednesday, per a team announcement.

The 22-year-old’s second stint on the NHL roster this season was brief, lasting just three days. He made back-to-back appearances against the Ducks and Kings, recording one shot while averaging 10:58 of ice time.

Podkolzin, the 10th overall pick in 2019, could very well be in his final days in the Canucks organization. The Canucks remain embroiled in trade talks for high-profile deadline targets like Jake Guentzel, and without a full-time NHL role, he’s a natural candidate to increase the value of their offers.

Sending him to Abbotsford frees up a necessary roster spot for Vancouver, who was at the 23-player maximum on their active roster. They may use the extra roster space to execute trades today or sign UFA winger Phil Kessel for the remainder of the season. The three-time Stanley Cup champion remains in Vancouver and has been working out with the organization since last month.

Podkolzin is in the final season of his entry-level contract, which carries a $925K cap hit. He’ll be an RFA this summer but is not yet eligible for salary arbitration.

He’s continuously slipped down the depth chart since skating in 79 NHL games for Vancouver two seasons ago, but he’s been decent in the minors this year with 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games. He boasted solid possession numbers in his two NHL showings this week, recording a 55.3 CF% at even strength with a +0.6 expected rating.

Updates On Jake Guentzel, Elias Lindholm

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One month ago, the Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames in a trade to bolster the organization’s top-six. Now, it appears that Lindholm’s days in Vancouver may be numbered, as Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that the Canucks have spoken with the Boston Bruins about flipping Lindholm in order to acquire Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In theory, a trade could work between the three teams, but there will undoubtedly be a lot of moving parts in any trade of this magnitude. Hypothetically, the Bruins could send a package of Jake DeBrusk and John Beecher to the Penguins, with the Canucks sending Vasily Podkolzin to Pittsburgh as well.

Before this year started, the Bruins were heavily rumored to be a team looking for center help after watching Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retire in the offseason. Nevertheless, the team opted to utilize Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle as their one-two punch down the middle. Both players have handled the pressure well, with Coyle now six points away from a career-high in a single season.

It is interesting to see Lindholm’s name pop back up in trade rumors, as they surrounded him for nearly a year in Calgary. In 14 games with the Canucks since the trade in late January, Lindholm has scored two goals and six points overall coupled with a 58.1% faceoff percentage. Ultimately, the team may prefer to add more offense to their wings, instead of employing Lindholm in a third-line role down the middle.

In the hunt for their third President’s Trophy victory in franchise history, the Canucks are seemingly doing everything they can to create a Stanley Cup-caliber team. Infamously, even with the organization now being 53 years old, Vancouver has lost all three Stanley Cup Finals in team history.

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