- Although Vancouver was hoping to open up some cap flexibility at the deadline, that didn’t happen; instead, they actually added money with the acquisition of defenseman Filip Hronek. One way to open up space for the summer would be the buyout route although GM Patrik Allvin indicated in an appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link) that he’s hoping to avoid going that direction. Buyout costs are two-thirds of the remainder of a player’s contract spread out over two times the remainder of the length of the deal. That allows for some short-term cap savings but the dead cap expenses can drag on which is something the Canucks would like to avoid.
Canucks Rumors
Trade Deadline Roundup: Western Conference
While trade deadline day was largely a dud in itself, that was because so many moves were made in the days leading up to March 3rd. With that in mind, here is a recap of the trades made in the Western Conference in the ten days leading up to deadline day to show who all moved where in what was a busy trade period overall. Players and picks that were acquired and then flipped are only noted for their final destination.
Anaheim Ducks
Acquired: F Brock McGinn, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Chase Priskie, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, D Andrej Sustr, 2024 third-round pick (PIT), 2024 third-round pick (SJ), 2025 fifth-round pick (MIN)
Traded: F Hunter Drew, F Max Golod, D John Klingberg, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Austin Strand, D Henry Thrun
Arizona Coyotes
Acquired: D Michael Kesselring, D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Jakub Voracek, Shea Weber, 2023 first-round pick (OTT), 2023 third-round pick (EDM), 2023 sixth-round pick (CBJ), 2024 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 third-round pick (NYR), 2023 fifth-round pick (VGK), 2026 third-round pick (CAR), 2026 sixth-round pick (OTT)
Traded: F Nick Bjugstad, D Jakob Chychrun, D Cam Dineen, G Jon Gillies, D Shayne Gostisbehere, D Dysin Mayo, F Nick Ritchie, D Vili Saarijarvi, D Troy Stecher
Calgary Flames
Acquired: F Dryden Hunt, F Nick Ritchie, D Troy Stecher
Traded: D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Radim Zohorna
Chicago Blackhawks
Acquired: F Joey Anderson, F Anders Bjork, F Hunter Drew, D Andreas Englund, G Anton Khudobin, F Pavel Gogolev, F Max Golod, D Vili Saarijarvi, F Austin Wagner, D Andy Welinski, D Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 second-round pick (NYR), 2023 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 first-round pick (TOR), 2025 second-round pick (DAL), 2025 fourth-round pick (NYR), 2026 second-round pick (TOR), 2026 fourth-round pick (OTT)
Traded: F Max Domi, D Jack Johnson, F Patrick Kane, F Sam Lafferty, D Jake McCabe, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, G Dylan Wells, D Cooper Zech, 2024 fifth-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick
Colorado Avalanche
Acquired: F Lars Eller, D Jack Johnson, G Keith Kinkaid, F Gustav Rydahl
Traded: F Anton Blidh, F Shane Bowers, D Andreas Englund, 2025 second-round pick
Dallas Stars
Acquired: F Evgenii Dadonov, F Max Domi, F Scott Reedy, G Dylan Wells
Traded: F Denis Gurianov, G Anton Khudobin, F Jacob Peterson, 2025 second-round pick
Edmonton Oilers
Acquired: F Nick Bjugstad, D Cam Dineen, D Mattias Ekholm, F Patrik Puistola, 2024 sixth-round pick (NSH)
Traded: D Tyson Barrie, D Michael Kesselring, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick
Los Angeles Kings
Acquired: D Vladislav Gavrikov, G Joonas Korpisalo, F Zack MacEwen, G Erik Portillo, F Nate Schnarr
Traded: D Frederic Allard, F Brendan Lemieux, G Jonathan Quick, F Austin Wagner, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick
Minnesota Wild
Acquired: D John Klingberg, F Marcus Johansson, F Gustav Nyquist, F Oskar Sundqvist, 2023 second-round pick (VGK), 2024 fifth-round pick (BUF)
Traded: F Jordan Greenway, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Andrej Sustr, F Andrei Svetlakov, 2023 fourth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick
Nashville Predators
Acquired: F Rasmus Asplund, D Tyson Barrie, D Cal Foote, F Isaac Ratcliffe, F Austin Rueschhoff, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick (EDM), 2023 second-round pick (PIT), 2023 third-round pick (TB), 2023 fourth-round pick (TB), 2023 fifth-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (WPG), 2024 fourth-round pick (EDM), 2025 first-round pick (TB)
Traded: D Mattias Ekholm, F Mikael Granlund, F Tanner Jeannot, F Nino Niederreiter, 2024 sixth-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick
San Jose Sharks
Acquired: D Arvid Henrikson, F Andreas Johnsson, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Nikita Okhotyuk, D Henry Thrun, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick (NJ), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT), 2024 second-round pick (NJ), 2024 fourth-round pick (PIT), 2024 seventh-round pick (NJ), 2025 fourth-round pick (WPG),
Traded: F Nick Bonino, G Zacharie Emond, F Michael Eyssimont, D Scott Harrington, D Santeri Hatakka, F Timur Ibragimov, F Timo Meier, D Tony Sund, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick (COL), 2024 fifth-round pick
Seattle Kraken
No trades made
St. Louis Blues
Acquired: F Zach Dean, F Jakub Vrana
Traded: F Ivan Barbashev, F Dylan McLaughlin, 2025 seventh-round pick
Vancouver Canucks
Acquired: F Josh Bloom, D Filip Hronek, F Vitali Kravtsov, 2023 third-round pick (TOR) 2023 fourth-round pick (DET), 2024 fourth-round pick (NJ)
Traded: D Wyatt Kalynuk, F Curtis Lazar, F William Lockwood, D Luke Schenn, D Riley Stillman, 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick
Vegas Golden Knights
Acquired: F Ivan Barbashev, F Teddy Blueger, D Dysin Mayo, G Jonathan Quick
Traded: F Zach Dean, F Peter DiLiberatore, G Michael Hutchinson, D Shea Weber, 2023 fifth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick
Winnipeg Jets
Acquired: F Nino Niederreiter, F Vladislav Namestnikov
Traded: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick
Rangers Sent Zach Giuttarri To Vancouver In AHL Deal
- We know what the future considerations are in the New York Rangers-Vancouver Canucks trade from earlier today. While the Rangers got Wyatt Kalynuk in the NHL portion of the deal, the Abbotsford Canucks landed Zach Giuttari separately. Players on minor league contracts can’t be included in NHL transactions, so they had to be two different trades. The 26-year-old defenseman has ten points in 43 games this season for Hartford.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to activate Matt Murray ahead of tomorrow night’s game, and start him against the Vancouver Canucks. The team left themselves just enough room to bring the injured goaltender back from long-term injured reserve and sign prospect Matthew Knies at the end of his college season—should he decide to turn pro. Murray hasn’t played since January 17, and has a .911 save percentge on the year.
New York Rangers Acquire Anton Blidh, Wyatt Kalynuk
The New York Rangers made two more minor moves just before the bell sounded. First, they acquired Anton Blidh from the Colorado Avalanche sending Gustav Rydahl back in return. Then, they acquired Wyatt Kalynuk from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for future considerations. All three players are currently in the minor leagues.
Blidh, 27, is the most experienced player in the deals, with 84 NHL games under his belt. Fourteen of those have come this season with Colorado, but the depth forward has been kept completely off the scoresheet. His acquisition is likely just to extend the Rangers forward depth chart ahead of the playoffs, as he is unlikely to play much unless the team suffers several injuries.
You could say the same for Kalynuk, who last saw NHL action during the 201-22 season and has spent this entire year with the Abbotsford Canucks. His acquisition is likely more about giving the Hartford Wolf Pack a bit more expeirence. Kalynuk was once expected to be a regular at the NHL level, after signing with Chicago out of the University of Wisconsin, but after 26 games in a Blackhawks sweater, his time in the league ran out.
Rydahl, meanwhile, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the SHL, where he has won multiple championships and starred for Farjestads. His first taste of North American hockey hasn’t worked out, with just seven goals and 15 points through 40 games, but perhaps the Avalanche can find a little more juice in the 28-year-old center.
Canucks Deadline Notes: Miller, Garland, Turcotte
The Vancouver Canucks already made a minor trade on deadline day, sending Curtis Lazar to the New Jersey Devils for a 2024 fourth-round pick. They are certainly a team in transition and it sounds like they are actively looking to make a few more deals today. Farhan Lalji of TSN reports there is talk of J.T. Miller’s name being out there in trade talks today.
The gritty forward has already signed an eight-year extension that begins next season, but has quickly fallen out of favor with the Canucks. He has 20 goals and 54 points in 60 games this season, but the Canucks are looking to shake things up.
- Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News reports that Conor Garland’s name is also out there in trade talks. He says that the team is interested in acquiring an effective NHL player in exchange for Garland, and do not want to deal him just for draft picks. The 26-year-old winger has three more years left on his contract with a cap hit of $4.95MM.
- As for who the Canucks may be interested in acquiring, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports they have checked in on Alex Turcotte. Turcotte was the fifth-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has 14 points in 24 AHL games for the Ontario Reign this season.
Devils Acquire Curtis Lazar
The Devils have added some extra depth up front as they’ve acquired forward Curtis Lazar from the Canucks. Going the other way is a 2024 fourth-round pick.
The 28-year-old was in his first season with Vancouver after inking a three-year, $3MM deal ($1MM AAV) with them last summer. However, things didn’t go quite as planned. Lazar has struggled to say healthy – he’s currently on injured reserve – and when he has been in the lineup, he hasn’t been the most productive, collecting just three goals and two assists in 45 games. However, Lazar has won nearly 52% of his faceoffs while averaging 2.75 hits per game.
New Jersey moved out some of its forward depth in the recent Timo Meier move and Lazar’s acquisition helps to fill some of that at a reasonable price tag. When he’s able to return, he could fill a spot on their fourth line or simply serve as injury depth for what they hope is a long playoff run and could spend some time on their penalty kill as he’s averaging more than a minute per night shorthanded.
Cap-wise, the Devils now have roughly $1.26MM remaining in LTIR room, per CapFriendly, so beyond another depth move, New Jersey might be quiet the rest of today. Meanwhile, CapFriendly pegs Vancouver’s LTIR space at just over $4.7MM. With the four players on their LTIR out for the season, they’ll have some flexibility to take on a contract or be a third-party retainer to add an additional pick or two.
Canucks In Talks With Panthers On Minor Deal
- The Vancouver Canucks may be working on something with the Florida Panthers. According to Rick Dhaliwal of the Donnie and Dhali radio show in Vancouver, the Canucks are working the phones and have been in talks with the Panthers. He also mentions it sounds like it is not a major deal, so don’t expect one of the Canucks big contracts to be heading to the Panthers.
J.T. Miller Unlikely To Be Traded
While there has been some speculation that the Canucks might move forward J.T. Miller before today’s deadline, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggests that’s unlikely to happen. A lot of teams would be needing some sort of salary retention to facilitate a move now but doing so would also require them to retain a similar percentage on his seven-year, $56MM extension that kicks in next season. That’s something Vancouver won’t want to do so there’s a good chance that the 29-year-old will be staying put today, even though he’s having a productive season with 20 goals and 34 assists in 60 games. It’s also worth noting that he’s listed as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Vancouver Canucks Acquire Filip Hronek
The Vancouver Canucks, not content with building through the draft, have already traded the conditional first-round pick they received from the New York Islanders in exchange for captain Bo Horvat. The Canucks have sent it, along with a 2023 second-round pick, to the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Filip Hronek and a 2023 fourth-round selection.
Hronek, 25, has developed into quite a strong all-around defenseman for the Red Wings and will set a career-high in scoring whenever he records his next point this season. That may have to wait a little while, as he left last night’s game after just eight minutes of action and is dealing with an upper-body injury.
The Canucks aren’t getting him for right now, though, as their season is already over. Instead, the focus of a pickup like this will be on next year when the Vancouver management believes the team can be competitive. Hronek is signed through next season on his current three-year, $13.2MM contract, and will be a restricted free agent at its expiry next summer.
It’s that contract price tag that makes this trade a little bit confusing from the Canucks perspective. Hronek is probably still providing some surplus value on his $4.4MM cap hit, but Vancouver will probably only get one year of that before another raise (he is owed a $5.28MM qualifying offer) is due. With the way the team’s cap situation looks at the moment, it’s hard to see how that will fit in, given the big sums already owed to Quinn Hughes and Oliver Ekman-Larsson through 2026-27.
Make no mistake, Hronek’s arrival in Vancouver will make them a better team. He instantly becomes their second-best defenseman, and could form a legitimate top pair with Hughes for the next several years. But Canucks fans are going to be screaming from the rooftops, at a management group that refuses to pull the plug and rebuild.
For Detroit, dealing Hronek brings up more questions than answers, as general manager Steve Yzerman tries to get the club to the playoffs as soon as possible. Are the Red Wings now looking at acquiring someone like Jakob Chychrun? Will they use their stash of draft picks on an even bigger name?
After signing Dylan Larkin to a massive extension today, the team signaled to fans that the rebuild is over. With five picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, and plenty of cap space, they could be preparing to make a big splash in the next few days, or this summer.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Luke Schenn
The Toronto Maple Leafs are making their third trade of the past few hours, acquiring a former player in the process. The team announced Tuesday afternoon that they’d acquired defenseman Luke Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick.
The move, which comes after the team already shipped out Rasmus Sandin and Pierre Engvall earlier today, is a clear effort by the Leafs to add more defensive depth, even after acquiring Erik Gustafsson in the Sandin trade.
Schenn is a veteran defenseman who was originally drafted by Toronto, taken fifth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. After spending four inconsistent seasons in Toronto, which saw him oscillate between top pairing and depth minutes, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for James van Riemsdyk. After later career stops with the Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Canucks, and Tampa Bay Lightning, Schenn returned to Vancouver as a free agent in the summer of 2021 after two Stanley Cup championships with Tampa.
He’ll now look to defeat his former team and help another former team get over a first-round series hump that’s lasted for nearly two decades. While never living up to his top-ten potential, Schenn has had some strong defensive seasons in the past and has penalty-killing experience. In 55 games with the Canucks this season, Schenn has three goals, 18 assists, 21 points, and averaged just over 17 minutes per game.
While interest in Schenn had been high throughout the trade season, the Leafs were able to acquire him without surrounding a prospect or a pick in the first two rounds of the draft. While Schenn may not immediately hold a place in Toronto’s top six on defense, he’ll be immediately called upon to enter the lineup in case of injury.
Schenn, 33, is in the final season of a two-year contract with an average annual value of $850,000. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was first to report that Schenn was heading to Toronto, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the return.