- Now that the calendar has been turned to 2023, players on one-year deals are eligible to sign extensions as Joe Pavelski did yesterday. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Ethan Bear and the Vancouver Canucks are expected to talk this week about a potential deal, though there is no guarantee a contract is signed so quickly. Bear has played well for the Canucks since they acquired him at the end of October from the Carolina Hurricanes, and is currently scheduled to become a restricted free agent when his one-year, $2.2MM deal expires.
Canucks Rumors
Vancouver Canucks Recall William Lockwood, Reassign Nils Aman
The Vancouver Canucks made a pair of corresponding transactions today, recalling right wing William Lockwood from the Abbotsford Canucks and sending down center Nils Aman.
Lockwood is having a strong season in the minors, notching 12 goals in 24 games with Abbotsford. It’s already a career-high in the AHL for him.
He’s played once in the NHL this season, registering an assist and a +1 rating in a November 15 win against the Buffalo Sabres. He could easily add to that total over the next few days as he battles with players like Sheldon Dries and Jack Studnicka for a spot in the lineup.
Aman had played in all 35 Canucks games up until this point in the season, so it’s surprising to see him sent down without much indication. A 22-year-old free agent signing out of Sweden, Aman impressed in training camp and has a goal and four assists so far in his young NHL career.
He heads to Abbotsford where he’ll get more ice time and a bit more offensive opportunity.
Calgary Flames Re-Assign Dennis Gilbert, Recall Radim Zohorna
Dec 30, 11:13 am: Less than 24 hours later, Calgary has brought Zohorna back up to the roster from the Wranglers. Calgary plays tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks.
Dec 29, 12:54 pm: The Calgary Flames, fresh off a win against the Seattle Kraken and headed home for a game on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, have sent two players to the minor leagues. Dennis Gilbert and Radim Zohorna have been assigned to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL for the time being.
The moves will allow the Flames to bank a little more cap space over the next few days, as they continue to prepare for a trade deadline without much wiggle room.
Gilbert was only activated from injured reserve yesterday and has played just a single game for the Flames over the last month. The 26-year-old has one point in eight NHL appearances this season, averaging just over ten minutes a game.
Zohorna, meanwhile, went scoreless in his five games with the team earlier this month – all five of which the Flames ended up losing. The 26-year-old was nabbed off waivers at the beginning of the season from the Pittsburgh Penguins but hasn’t quite made the impact some expected.
It is very likely that at least one if not both will be back up when the Flames go on the road again next week.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Travis Dermott
After recalling him from his conditioning loan two days ago, the Vancouver Canucks have activated defenseman Travis Dermott off of long-term injured reserve. (LTIR)
This activation puts Dermott in a position to make his season debut for Vancouver. The move puts eight defensemen now on the team’s active roster. Riley Stillman will likely come out of the lineup in favor of Dermott, landing Dermott on a pair with veteran Luke Schenn.
The Canucks acquired Dermott, 26, from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade last season. He played 17 games for the Canucks, scoring two points. He didn’t play a huge role in that time, featuring only sporadically on special teams while playing in just under 17 minutes a night.
Previously, Dermott had been seen as a promising young blueliner for the Maple Leafs, who picked him 34th overall at the 2015 draft. Injuries had been a consistent issue, though, and the most games played he’s registered in a season in his career has been 64.
With this activation from LTIR, Dermott will hope to remain healthy for an extended period. If he can match availability with quality play, he’ll put himself in a strong position for the summer, when he’ll be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent.
Injury Updates To Thatcher Demko, Tanner Pearson
Realistically, it’s not too late for the Vancouver Canucks to still turn their season around. Coming into tonight, the team has 35 points through 34 games, out of the playoffs, but not so far that they can’t make the jump. If they want to do that though, one thing they’ll need is a healthy Thatcher Demko, and the sooner, the better with that. Demko was injured back on December 1st and originally the Canucks projected a six-week absence for their goaltender. But, that no longer seems likely, writes Patrick Johnston of The Province.
Johnston had a chance to speak with Vancouver head coach Bruce Boudreau, who discussed Demko’s return “I’m hoping that’s within the next month,” Boudreau said, “We have that big break coming (in late January), it might be right after that” he added. The Canucks will have a long break around the All Star Game, playing their last game on January 27th before picking things back up on February 6th. Also from Johnston, forward Tanner Pearson, who had hand surgery on November 10th and was originally projected to miss four-to-six weeks, has been skating and might make Vancouver’s mid-January road trip, which begins in Winnipeg on January 8th.
Travis Dermott Recalled From Conditioning Loan, Remains On LTIR
There’s a few things the Vancouver Canucks could use right now to help turn their season, and even with the addition of Ethan Bear, another defenseman would be among those needs. One defenseman the team has been without all season, Travis Dermott, appeared fairly close to returning, having been sent to the Abbotsford Canucks, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, for a conditioning loan.
Dermott was able to get into a game with Abbotsford, failing to record a point but registering a +2 rating, however it doesn’t appear things went too well otherwise. According to Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin, Dermott has been recalled from his conditioning loan and now remains on LTIR. Generally one would expect a recall from a condoning loan to line-up with being activated off of IR, however this combined with the fact that Dermott played just the one game points to something else being amiss, though Allvin did not specifically clarify anything further.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Vancouver Canucks
As we approach the end of the year, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Vancouver Canucks.
Who are the Canucks thankful for?
Amid turbulent times in Vancouver, the Canucks do find themselves with one of the brightest pieces in the entire league: Elias Petterssoon. Already a clear star in the NHL, the 24-year-old took the next step this season with a massive breakout, featuring 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points through just 31 games.
The young Swede is signed through next season at a $7.5MM cap hit, expiring as a RFA, and was recently listed as the one untouchable player in the Canucks organization. Pettersson being “untouchable” might seem obvious, but on a team with a few superstars. but no certain direction in the short or long-term future, that denomination is significant.
Once this summer begins, regardless of the direction the team chooses to go in, the organization will surely need to focus on negotiations with their superstar center to keep him from hitting the UFA market in a couple of years. Extensions with J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko are an encouraging sign of things to come, but the issues with captain and pending UFA Bo Horvat do raise concerns.
Regardless of contract concerns or the success of the current build, Pettersson has taken himself from a solid top-six forward and propelled himself into superstar status with this season. Having him, whether that’s to carry the team on his back, to build around, to ultimately deal for assets, or something else, is a blessing for the organization, especially as it goes through these difficult times.
What are the Canucks thankful for?
Assets
Regardless of who is untouchable or not in Vancouver, and independent of how the team chooses to navigate its future, the organization is lucky to have a bevy of assets that hold substantial weight on the trade market for different reasons. The most clear-cut of these is Horvat.
After negotiations appeared to break down between the Canucks and Horvat’s camp, it seemed as though the struggling Canucks would likely deal their captain before this winter’s trade deadline. Normally, a rental of a responsible two-way forward who was also good for 60 points would fetch a massive haul on the market, but that’s not necessarily the story here. This year, Horvat has been much the same player with one significant change: he’s on pace for 60 goals. If Horvat keeps that level of production up, or even remains close, Vancouver could be looking at a package of picks and prospects not seen at the deadline in some time.
Another interesting pending UFA could be first-year winger Andrei Kuzmenko. The former KHL star chose to come to North America this offseason, pursued by a number of NHL teams, ultimately signing a one-year ELC with Vancouver. Expectations were high for the winger, though he’s arguably eclipsed them, registering 29 points, 14 of them goals, through 32 games.
Outside of the “untouchable” Pettersson, perhaps Vancouver’s biggest asset could be Hughes, who Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman estimated would require a “mammoth” haul to get Vancouver to trade him. The 23-year-old, signed through 2026-27 at a $7.85MM cap hit, has blossomed into an elite playmaking defenseman for Vancouver. There’s no shortage of teams who might find themselves interested in the defenseman, though presumably the Canucks’ asking price could drive them away. While there’s been no connection between the two teams, it is interesting to consider the team best-equipped to make this kind of trade, the New Jersey Devils, already have both of Quinn’s brothers in the organization.
What would the Canucks be even more thankful for?
A clear direction
After a poor start, losing their first seven games to start the season, the Canucks were able to bounce back, even finding themselves just a couple of points out of a playoff spot at times. The team’s play hasn’t simply been mediocre since the rough start, but instead has been up and down, that start merely representing the first down.
Comments and action from management have lead some to believe the team could be headed for a rebuild, some to believe they need a short-term reset, and some believing the team is still trying to compete. Complicating the situation is the team’s 2021-22 season and the offseason that followed. Last season was rather similar to this one, a rough start, followed by a rebound, just missing the playoffs. The team appeared to need a clear direction last year too, and re-signing new head coach Bruce Boudreau, extending J.T. Miller, and signing Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev seemed to indicate the team was all-in. But, this confusing start, the lack of a Horvat extension, and the previously discussed comments from management still make that unclear.
It would seem what Vancouver needs most in order to ice a team competitive enough to compete for a Stanley Cup, is simply direction. A full-scale rebuild might extend the process, but the assets they have now should bring back plenty of quality pieces. A temporary re-tool would make sense given the players they have signed long-term and what they could get back for players like Horvat and Kuzmenko. Continuing to compete as is wouldn’t be surprising either, given the team’s ability to bounce back and the players they have now, but that could be risky given Horvat’s contract status.
What should be on the Canucks holiday wishlist?
A Horvat extension, or a massive trade package
Already discussed in detail, the Canucks have had issues extending Horvat and at this point, a trade seems more likely than ever. Even with broken negotiations and a struggling team, it’s easy to understand why the Canucks would still prefer to work out a deal with Horvat.
It’s hard to imagine, so long as they get a respectable deal, that anyone would blame the organization either way. The issue comes with Horvat’s ability to simply leave on July 1st. Obvious as it sounds, the Canucks cannot allow Horvat to simply walk like Johnny Gaudreau did with the Calgary Flames last offseason, how Artemi Panarin did with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019, or how John Tavares left the New York Islanders in 2018.
None of those departures were a “good” thing for those teams by any stretch, however Calgary and Columbus had been in a position to win a Stanley Cup those years and needed their star wingers to compete for it. Add onto that, Calgary had expected they could re-sign Gaudreau for most of the spring, and Columbus knew what might be happening as Matt Duchene and Sergei Bobrovsky also hit the UFA market. As for the Islanders, they also expected to be able to re-sign Tavares the entire spring, but at the very least, though Tavares was going out, a pair of legends in that of GM Lou Lamoriello and head coach Barry Trotz were coming in, breathing new life.
What was the case for Calgary, Columbus, and New York isn’t necessarily the same for Vancouver. They have plenty of talented players, many of them signed long-term, a legendary executive in Jim Rutherford, and a star coach in Boudreau, but the team has been lacking direction for a few years now with no clear sign of a new one coming. Losing Horvat for nothing wouldn’t necessarily make a decision for them on their direction, but would make whatever option they eventually chose just that much more difficult to be successful with.
Elias Pettersson Named Third Star Of The Week
With no games scheduled until Tuesday, the NHL has gone ahead and released its Three Stars for this past week. Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin took home the top nod after recording six points in three games, including two goals against Winnipeg to put him in sole possession of second in NHL history with 802. Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was the Second Star after a trio of extra-time victories that saw him post a 0.94 GAA along with a .965 SV%. Meanwhile, Canucks center Elias Pettersson earned the last spot of the group after tying for the most assists (five) and points (seven) on the week which is particularly impressive considering he missed Vancouver’s first game of the week due to illness.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Collin Delia
For the last few days, the Vancouver Canucks have been swapping Arturs Silovs and Collin Delia back and forth in order to keep both fresh. That continued today with Silovs heading back to the AHL and Delia recalled under emergency conditions.
With Thatcher Demko out since the start of December, the Canucks have been relying heavily on Spencer Martin to carry the load. Delia did get one game at the NHL level a few weeks ago but otherwise, the swaps continue to allow him to stay sharp by playing in the AHL.
Of course, Martin hasn’t been very good for the Canucks, posting an .885 save percentage behind a leaky defensive unit. In each of his last two starts – losses to the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets – he has allowed five goals on 27 shots. With the Canucks set to start a back-to-back tonight against the Seattle Kraken, before traveling to Edmonton to face Connor McDavid and the Oilers tomorrow night, Delia might get another chance to play.
After that, the team doesn’t have another back-to-back until January 14-15, meaning Martin will likely continue to start every game until Demko returns.
Vancouver Canucks Loan Nils Hoglander, Arturs Silovs To AHL
Before the roster freeze went into effect last night, the Vancouver Canucks completed a transaction that might raise some eyebrows. Nils Hoglander was loaned to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.
Hoglander, 22 (today!), looked like he was going to be a star during his rookie year, when he scored 13 goals and 27 points in 56 games. Whether it was the odd division setup, the team around him, or just some extra confidence, that level of play has been hard to come by ever since.
Last season, Hoglander had just 18 points in 60 games, and this year he has nine through his first 25. He’s been a healthy scratch several times and is averaging just 12 minutes a game.
The roster freeze does not prevent the Canucks from bringing Hoglander back up, but the move suggests he won’t be in the lineup for Vancouver when they play a back-to-back starting Thursday.
If he does play for Abbotsford, it would be the first minor league action of Hoglander’s career. The young forward stepped right from the SHL to the NHL and never looked back. Perhaps some development time to reset his game is all that’s needed to get him back on track.
The team also completed a goaltending swap, returning Artus Silovs to the AHL while recalling Collin Delia under emergency conditions.