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Vancouver Canucks Acquire Jack Studnicka

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It’s been a busy day in Vancouver. Not only have the Vancouver Canucks placed a player on long-term injured reserve and another on regular injured reserve, they have also completed a trade.

As first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Vancouver Canucks have acquired center Jack Studnicka from the Boston Bruins. In exchange, the Canucks are sending goaltender Michael DiPietro and defenseman Jonathan Myrenberg. The trade has now been made official.

Studnicka, 23, leaves the Bruins having occupied a place on their roster bubble so far this season. He has appeared in just one game this year, and split time last season between the Bruins and the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Studnicka was formerly one of the Bruins’ top prospects, having been an exceptional junior scorer, quality AHL scorer, and 2017 second-round pick.

Studnicka has proven himself at the AHL level, and last season he had 35 points in 41 games there. It’s success at the NHL level that’s eluded him, and he has struggled to make an impact at the game’s highest level in the chances he’s been offered.

He’ll head to a Vancouver team currently looking for any sort of sign of life to cling onto. The team is seeking its first win of the season, and perhaps the Canucks believe that they can figure out what’s kept Studnicka’s AHL scoring success from translating to the NHL level.

The Canucks’ top-nine is currently filled with players who are more accomplished than Studnicka, but it’s possible the Canucks could use him in Nils Hoglander’s top-nine slot if Hoglander is moved this season.

For Boston, moving Studnicka clears a spot on the team’s 23-man roster, a spot that could go to Mike Reilly, who was sent down earlier today.

In trading Studnicka, the Bruins are ending a developmental project that once held significant promise. In return, the team is receiving two players who represent developmental projects of their own.

The first player they are receiving in return is Myrenberg, a 2021 fifth-round pick. Myrenberg is a right-shot defenseman currently playing for Mora in the Allsvenskan, the second division of Swedish pro hockey. The second player they are receiving is the goaltender DiPietro, a goalie prospect who was once held in high regard across the league.

The Bruins will have until the summer of 2025 to determine if they want to sign Myrenberg to an entry-level deal, meaning he will have a long developmental runway to work with. As for DiPietro, the developmental pathway will be a bit more condensed. The Bruins currently have Keith Kinkaid and Kyle Keyser manning the crease for AHL Providence, and both are performing well. This makes DiPietro’s fit in the Bruins organization not immediately clear.

While the implications of this trade for both organizations will be, in all likelihood, minor, each player involved still has room to grow into something more than they are currently. So while this deal might seem relatively insignificant at the moment, it will definitely be an interesting one to track moving forward.

Vancouver Canucks Place Travis Dermott On LTIR, Riley Stillman On IR

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The Vancouver Canucks are still chasing their first win of their season, and now it looks like that chase has been made more difficult. The team has announced that defenseman Travis Dermott has been placed on long-term injured reserve, while defenseman Riley Stillman, who the team recently acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, has been placed on injured reserve.

This news comes as an especially painful blow in the case of Dermott, as just a few days ago Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said that Dermott was progressing well. Dermott suffered a concussion in September, and while no specific details on the injury were mentioned, this placement does suggest that Dermott’s recovery process has worsened since Boudreau issued that update.

Dermott, 25, was acquired by the Canucks last season via a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canucks’ defensive lineup has been ravaged by injuries so far this season, meaning a healthy Dermott could have served as a crucial addition to their beleaguered blueline. Now, they’ll likely have to wait even longer as Dermott works his way back from his injury.

As for Stillman, he had been dealing with an undisclosed injury that was classified as day-to-day. With no word on the nature of the injury or the expected length of his absence, the immediate future of the Canucks’ blueline is made all the more cloudy.

Stillman is far from an elite defenseman, but he has played in five games this season and has over 100 NHL games under his belt, something that cannot be said about Jack Rathbone or Guillaume Brisebois.

These injuries are far from an ideal development for a Canucks team desperate to register its first win of their season, and they likely mean that Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers will be asked to weather significant minutes in Vancouver’s next stretch of games.

While much has been said about how poorly the Canucks have been played recently, perhaps the single biggest issue they face is the wave of injuries they’ve been hit by. With two more defensemen now seemingly out of the picture for at least a little while, those injury issues have only grown.

Canucks Receiving Interest In Nils Hoglander But Not Looking To Move Him

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The Canucks have received some interest in winger Nils Hoglander including from the Hurricanes in possible trade talks for Ethan Bear, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (Twitter link).  However, Vancouver is making it known that they have no desire to part with the 21-year-old.  Hoglander is off to a slow start this season with just one assist in five games, continuing his trend from last season where his production and role decreased.  It’s understandable that teams are seeing him as a possible buy-low candidate but Vancouver certainly isn’t in a position to trade a cost-controllable young player unless they’re getting a similarly-priced young asset back.  While they like Bear, he’s not in that price range at $2.2MM.  Dhaliwal notes that he’s heard that Carolina is making some progress on moving the blueliner so if it’s not going to be Hoglander, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin will need to find another option that Carolina likes if they want to land him.

Vancouver Canucks Place Curtis Lazar, Brock Boeser On Injured Reserve

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The nightmare season for the Vancouver Canucks continues, this time with two regular forwards headed to injured reserve. Curtis Lazar and Brock Boeser have been moved to IR, with the team recalling William Lockwood and Sheldon Dries in their place.

Boeser was listed as out day-to-day on Monday, so his move to IR is a little curious. The 25-year-old is off to a brutal start to the season (like so many other Canucks), with no goals in his first six games. While he does have four points, Boeser has always been his best when he’s putting the puck in the net, and this year he has only generated nine shots on goal.

Perhaps that is because of this injury, as he did receive a “maintenance” day earlier in the week as well before they called it an injury. General manager Patrik Allvin told reporters including Harman Dayal of The Athletic that Boeser is still considered day-to-day, though did not speculate when he will be able to return.

Lazar meanwhile played in Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, playing 11:09 and registering two shots and two hits. Allvin did not give the specific injury but noted that he is expected to miss three to four weeks.

The depth forward has turned into an energy and penalty-killing option for the Canucks, after having his best professional season with the Boston Bruins last year. Still, given how little upside he offers offensively and his rather pedestrian short-handed performance so far, losing him from the lineup shouldn’t weaken the overall chances for the Canucks very much.

Still, as they whittle away at their depth, it’s only going to be more difficult to dig themselves out of the 0-5-2 hole they are in to start the year. While the front office doesn’t want to rebuild, it does seem like the Canucks are headed for a finish a lot closer to the first-overall pick than the Stanley Cup.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Vancouver Canucks Place Tucker Poolman On LTIR

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4:37 pm: Just a few hours later, Poolman has now been moved to long-term injured reserve, according to the team. Hughes, who was listed as week-to-week earlier in the day, has been moved to injured reserve so the Canucks can recall another defenseman from the AHL – Noah Juulsen, who has a -1 rating in two games this year with the Canucks. Assuming the LTIR placement is retroactive to October 18, Poolman is ineligible to return until November 11.

12:50 pm: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tucker Poolman has been moved to injured reserve, and the team has recalled Guillaume Brisebois in his place. Poolman was listed as a game-time decision for the team’s game on Saturday but didn’t end up playing. His IR placement can be retroactive to the last time he did play (Oct 18), meaning he can be activated in just a few days if deemed healthy.

The 29-year-old just can’t seem to stay healthy and has played in just 43 games since signing a four-year, $10MM contract in 2021. Poolman has just four points in those games and has averaged fewer than 17 minutes a night as a Canuck. With the team in the midst of a firestorm of criticism after an 0-4-2 start (that has included blowing several multi-goal leads), his absence certainly won’t help things.

In his place is Brisebois, a 25-year-old that has just ten NHL games to his name. The third-round pick from 2015 is still looking for his first point at the highest level, but does at least bring some of the same defensive attributes that Poolman offers. With Quinn Hughes also missing today’s morning skate, the Canucks are potentially icing a defense group that looks anything but imposing. Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports that Brisebois is skating with Luke Schenn, Kyle Burroughs is with Jack Rathbone, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers make up the veteran portion of the blue line.

Quinn Hughes Out Week-To-Week

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The Vancouver Canucks didn’t have Quinn Hughes on the ice this morning and won’t for a little while longer. The team has announced Hughes is out week-to-week. Travis Dermott is too, while Brock Boeser and Riley Stillman are out on a day-to-day basis.

The Hughes news comes after Tucker Poolman was moved to injured reserve earlier today, with Guillaume Brisebois recalled to fill in tonight. When Brisebois hits the ice, he’ll already be the tenth defenseman that the Canucks have used this season.

Without Hughes (who is tied for second in scoring despite playing only five of the team’s six games) the Canucks were torn apart by the Buffalo Sabres. That included Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kyle Burroughs, and Tyler Myers all playing at least 21 minutes, something that will have to continue for the next while.

Vancouver had the ominous jersey toss from fans in that loss to Buffalo, and as Farhan Lalji of TSN tweets, J.T. Miller had a choice quote about this situation. Things aren’t going well with the Canucks, and now they will be without their most dynamic defenseman for at least another several games.

Vancouver Canucks Issue Injury Updates On Hughes, Poolman, Dermott

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These days, most news on the Vancouver Canucks relates to their early struggles to start the season. Given their 0-4-2 start after a tough 8-15-2 start last season, flanked by their extensions with Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, but lack of extension with Bo Horvat, the team’s captain, the questions are fair and the storylines sensible. That said, Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau did provide a few updates to the media this afternoon, including The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, regarding the team’s injuries.

Latest On The State Of The Vancouver Canucks

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It’s no secret the Vancouver Canucks are struggling to start the season; in fact, it’s probably the biggest storyline of the young NHL season. After the team similarly struggled to start last season, they fired then-Head Coach Travis Green, replacing him with Bruce Boudreau. Post-coaching-change, the team went on a sensational run to finish the season, nearly securing a playoff berth. Despite the turn around, many believed the organization would look to make some rather substantial changes to its core, centered around trades of Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller. Instead, both players were extended and remain with the team.

The outlook for this season appeared questionable, as the group didn’t seem like a basement team or a Stanley Cup contender. However the 0-4-2 start, which included a record-breaking four straight losses after having a multi-goal lead to start the season, was unexpected and has created plenty of frustration in Vancouver among players, coaches, management, media, and fans alike.

Last night after the Canucks’ 5-1 loss at home to the Buffalo Sabres, Canucks President Jim Rutherford appeared on Hockey Night In Canada to discuss an array of topics, but most notably, the state of the Canucks. When asked whether the organization was “steadfastly opposed” to a rebuild, Rutherford said:

“Well, I think people have to realize how long rebuilds are. You look at some of the teams that went through it, and we look at how good they are now, but there were a lot of tough years. We may very well be in a rebuild in the direction we’re going. But, ideally we’d like to transition this team on the fly.”

Rutherford’s comments are quite interesting as they seem to give a genuine answer, but one that is at the same time, not very clear as to what exactly that means or where the organization sees itself going, points out ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.

Looking closer, in onsense, a rebuild on the fly could look something like the Dallas Stars, who transitioned from a team lead by Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg, and Ben Bishop, featuring up-and-comers like Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Miro Heiskanen, and Jake Oettinger, to one that’s now lead by Robertson, Hintz, Heiskanen and Oettinger, featuring veterans like Benn, Seguin, and Joe Pavelski, as well as top prospects like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque and Riley Damiani. The Stars transition was made up of teams that were rarely non-competitive and at its height, included a Stanley Cup Final appearance. Vancouver, much like those Dallas teams has, and has had, plenty of talent up and down its roster.

Another way of looking at the ’on the fly’ rebuild is a team like the New York Rangers, who chose to hold on to a few key building blocks like Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Chris Kreider, but deal a majority of their veteran players for young players and draft picks. Instead of taking a drawn out approach, the team went after top free agent talent, primarily Artemi Panarin, counted on the development of prospects they already had or were able to select with their returns, namely Igor Shesterkin and K’Andre Miller, and admittedly got somewhat lucky with players like Adam Fox choosing them and the draft lottery helping them select Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. But, unlike Dallas, the Rangers quicker approach involved trading top talent and a few very lean years in the standings. It also involved, ironically when looking at the current Canucks, trading J.T. Miller.

Worth considering when it comes to the Canucks as they stand right now, is transitioning on the fly isn’t as clear as it is for other teams. For the Rangers, the writing was on the wall that the long-term future of the franchise was not J.T. Miller, Ryan McDonagh, Derick Brassard, or Kevin Hayes. Those players were taking a substantial portion of their salary cap and for some, getting close to hitting the free agent market. In Dallas, Benn had struggled, Seguin had injury woes, and Klingberg seemed to be a luxury they one-day couldn’t afford, but their young players all seemed to be developing as well as expected – it appeared it was merely a matter of time.

After the above quote on the state of the franchise, Rutherford continued:

“We do have some core players, some young players, that are really good. We just have to keep working and try to work through this. But we will continue to try to add younger players to this team and bring it together here in the next year or so.”

In Vancouver, the pieces rumored to be on the go the most were Miller and Boeser, who were both extended this offseason. The future of Bo Horvat, the team’s captain, was up in the air, but an extension seemed forthcoming after Boeser and Miller, however Horvat remains unsigned with free agency looming this coming offseason. There appears to be another young core coming, just like there was in Dallas, with Elias Pettersson, Vasily Podkolzin, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko, but it’s that core that is starting to take shape in Vancouver, along with Miller, Boeser, and Horvat, that has gone through two consecutive rough starts.

The continuation of Rutherford’s words indicates his confidence in moving forward with that young core. But, notably, the team does not have the rich farm system a team like Dallas did. Forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2022, is the team’s first opening round selection since Podkolzin back in 2019.

All of this to say, the Canucks are still 0-4-2. Six games into the season, the team is not remotely close to being out of playoff contention. Last year’s Canucks, who started 8-15-2 appeared to be in a much more bleak position when Green was fired than they are now, and that team barely missed a playoff spot. That said, although a rebound is quite possible, Vancouver is still in a precarious position. One bit of Rutherford’s comments, separated from the rest, does appear to give an element clarity, at least depending how this story continues to unfold: “We may very well be in a rebuild in the direction we are going.”

Vancouver Canucks Recall Nils Hoglander

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced that they are recalling forward Nils Hoglander from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. The team has also sent down defenseman Noah Juulsen in a corresponding move, effectively reversing the roster transaction they made yesterday.

Hoglander, 21, returns to the Canucks roster having not skated in a game for the team’s AHL affiliate. Before his demotion he had played in four games this season in Vancouver and scored a goal.

Hoglander’s stock in Vancouver has declined since his impressive 27-point rookie campaign, but now he’ll have the chance to put together some positive momentum in regards to his overall career trajectory as he re-enters the Canucks’ roster picture.

For Juulsen, this move is a setback but not one that could be totally unexpected. A 2015 first-round pick, Juulsen has settled into a role as a depth defenseman who sees NHL time sporadically depending on how injured his team’s blueline is. With Quinn Hughes possibly making progress to return to the lineup after missing last night’s game with a day-to-day injury, it looks like the Canucks no longer have a need for Juulsen to take on a role on their defense at the present moment.

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