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Vancouver Canucks Interested In Andrei Kuzmenko

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When Patrik Allvin took over as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, he promised that they would be looking at college and international free agents in order to beef up the depth of the organization. That’s what he’d learned in Pittsburgh, after all, where the Penguins routinely signed undrafted talent from the college ranks to try and squeeze out some inexpensive NHL minutes.

A promise is a promise, and the Canucks have already started to show interest in a player from overseas. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that the Canucks are one of the teams to have contacted the representatives of Andrei Kuzmenko. The 26-year-old forward has been chased by NHL teams for years, going back to 2018 after his breakout KHL season. Instead of coming over then, he has spent the last four seasons with the powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg program, growing as an offensive force in the process.

This season, Kuzmenko scored 53 points in 45 games, good for second overall in league scoring behind short-time NHLer Vadim Shipachyov. The difference is that while Shipachyov and third-place Corban Knight both played more than 20 minutes a game, the SKA star averaged under 17. With the KHL season complete and the league moving directly into the playoffs, there is still work to be done for Kuzmenko. St. Petersburg went 31-11-6 on the season and locked up first place in the KHL western conference, meaning they’re set to chase a long postseason run and a chance at the Gagarin Cup. He won’t be available to sign until after that run finishes if he comes over at all.

It isn’t just the Canucks after Kuzmenko. Plenty of NHL teams have shown interest to this point, including the Chicago Blackhawks according to a report from a few days ago.

Of course, Vancouver could have an ace up its sleeve. Vasily Podkolzin, the tenth-overall pick from 2019, was a teammate of Kuzmenko for several years before coming to North America this season. Perhaps Allvin will be able to begin his task of adding depth to the organization by reuniting the two, though a decision still isn’t expected for a while.

Latest On Brock Boeser

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  • The pair of Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed several Vancouver Canucks forwards on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, including pending restricted free agent Brock Boeser. Marek suggests once again that the New Jersey Devils would be a good fit for the sniper, given the big qualifying offer he’s owed after this season.

Vancouver Canucks Remove Quinn Hughes From COVID Protocol

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The Vancouver Canucks are getting a big boost to their lineup in the form of defenseman Quinn Hughes, who the team activated from COVID protocol today.

Hughes and his brother, Jack Hughes, found themselves on the league’s list after testing positive on arrival to their respective teams after the NHL All-Star break in Las Vegas. Because of the break, Hughes hasn’t suited up for the Canucks in two and a half weeks, missing the team’s first three games post-All-Star break. Vancouver’s last game was a 3-2 win this past Saturday against Toronto.

The 22-year-old defenseman has been Vancouver’s best player this season not named Thatcher Demko. With two goals and 32 assists this season, Hughes’ 34 points are best by far among Canucks defensemen and second on the entire team behind J.T. Miller’s 48 points. While Hughes isn’t exactly a defensive defenseman, he’s continually improving and developing in his own end, a trend that’s continued into this season.

Hughes will slide back into the Vancouver lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks, likely alongside Luke Schenn considering usual partner Tucker Poolman remains out with an undisclosed injury.

Jack Rathbone Discharged From Hospital, Will Travel With Abbotsford

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It was a scary scene in the AHL last night when Abbotsford Canucks defenseman Jack Rathbone was hit into the end boards in a game against the Bakersfield Condors. Rathbone was eventually stretchered off the ice after a long delay and taken to the hospital for further evaluation. Thankfully, it’s good news. Rathbone was not only discharged last night but is also expected to travel with Abbotsford to Colorado today. The Canucks play the Colorado Eagles over the weekend.

Recently the AHL player of the week, the 22-year-old defenseman was also ranked as the Canucks’ top prospect by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic last month. Selected 95th overall in 2017 he exploded onto the college scene at Harvard during 2018-19 and is having an outstanding year–when healthy–for Abbotsford. With 21 points he sits fifth on the team in scoring despite playing only 19 AHL games, as he’s had to deal with a COVID diagnosis, shoulder injury and time bouncing back and forth from the NHL squad.

If in this case, he has avoided major injury, Canucks fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Hopefully, he can jump back into the lineup soon, or even make another appearance at the NHL level. His last game with Vancouver came in November when he logged 16 minutes against the Colorado Avalanche.

“No Urgency” For Canucks As Deadline Approaches

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When the Vancouver Canucks started the season poorly, costing Jim Benning and Travis Green their jobs, players all across their roster started being included in trade speculation. J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and others were all in the news as potential deadline deals, with the rumor mill expecting a clean sweep of the Vancouver roster. The new president of hockey operations is here to tell you that may not happen.

Jim Rutherford spoke with Scott Burnside of Daily Faceoff and explained how because none of those players are pending unrestricted free agents, the team doesn’t feel any pressure to make moves before this year’s deadline.

Well, we’re in a position that we don’t have to feel any pressure this year because we don’t have top players where they’re going to be UFAs. So there’s no urgency here to make those kinds of decisions. Our decisions will be made step by step as to what we think is best for the franchise now and in the future.

While that’s technically true, it is a bit disingenuous, to say the least. Boeser is a restricted free agent this summer and is owed a qualifying offer that far outpaces his 2021-22 production. Miller has just one more year before unrestricted free agency, meaning his trade value will likely decrease substantially if the Canucks wait until the summer to deal him. Horvat too is a UFA after next season, and though his name isn’t brought up as often because of his role as captain, a decision will have to be made sooner or later on his future in Vancouver.

So perhaps there is no risk of slow-playing these assets because they aren’t walking in the summer, but there is also a very real chance that they would be costing themselves value by holding on through the deadline. Of course, that value loss has to be weighed against the rest of this season, one in which the Canucks are not actually out of the running in the Western Conference yet. The team has performed better under Bruce Boudreau and sits just five points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the final wildcard spot. With Edmonton and Dallas–the two teams between them–not really inspiring much confidence as Stanley Cup contenders, there’s always a chance a late-season run could catapult the Canucks into the playoff picture.

For a new management group taking over, any time you have to gather information is extremely important. After March 21, the offers disappear for a while, with no guarantee they are back on the table in the summer. Patrik Allvin and his new staff have just over four weeks to make decisions that could change the direction of the franchise. No pressure.

Brandon Sutter Unlikely To Play This Season

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Canucks center Brandon Sutter hasn’t played this season as he deals with long-term COVID symptoms and it doesn’t sound like he’ll suit up at all as head coach Bruce Boudreau told beat reporter Jeff Paterson (Twitter link) that he doesn’t anticipate the veteran returning to play at any point this season.

The 33-year-old has been with Vancouver since being acquired in a draft day trade back in 2015 and after playing out his five-year, $21.875MM contract last season, he opted to not test the market, instead inking a one-year, $1.125MM contract at the start of free agency.  The deal made lots of sense from a value standpoint as Sutter’s defensive game and faceoff prowess made him a quality fourth-liner but unfortunately, he had to shut his offseason training down soon after signing.

Sutter was among the many Vancouver players who contracted the virus last March that resulted in a lengthy shutdown for the team.  He was able to return in April but things have certainly worsened for him since then and he currently is on long-term injured reserve (joining winger Micheal Ferland and defenseman Brady Keeper).  He’ll once again become an unrestricted free agent in July but at this point, his focus will simply be on recovering over trying to find a contract for 2022-23.

Halak Does Not Want To Be Traded

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  • Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been clear that he doesn’t want to be traded, according to Elliotte Friedman who joined Rick Dhaliwal on CHEK TV today. While Halak’s name continues to be in the rumor mill, the goaltender holds full control of his future with a no-movement clause and will not be traded without his approval. The 36-year-old has a .903 save percentage in ten appearances and will earn a substantial performance bonus for his next start.

Travis Hamonic Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Vancouver Canucks have officially activated Travis Hamonic from injured reserve, adding him back to the roster for the first time since partway through December.

Hamonic, 31, has played in just nine games this season between the injury and his earlier inability to travel with the team due to vaccination status. His last appearance was on December 8 against the Boston Bruins, meaning he has only barely even played for head coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over a few days earlier.

Signed to a two-year contract in the offseason that carries a cap hit of $3MM, Hamonic is going to be needed if the Canucks are going to make any kind of second-half noise in the Pacific Division. The physical stay-at-home defenseman is coming up on 700 games in his NHL career and at his best, he can be a stabilizing force on any blue line. The Canucks haven’t seen much of that best though, with Hamonic playing just 47 games total since the start of 2020-21.

Halak Still Hasn't Hit Performance Bonus Threshold

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  • There was a misunderstanding in the performance bonus clause for Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. It was widely reported that Halak had reached the 10-game threshold to earn a $1.25MM bonus the other night but that clause is actually for 10 starts not appearances. Halak has started just nine games so far this season.

Brad Malone, Justin Dowling Clear Waivers

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Feb 11: Malone and Dowling have both cleared, according to Friedman. They can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Feb 10: The waiver wire has two players on it today, as Brad Malone of the Edmonton Oilers and Justin Dowling of the Vancouver Canucks are both available for claim according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. If Malone’s name surprises you, it should; the veteran forward had been playing on an AHL contract but has now signed a one-year, two-way, NHL deal with the Oilers. In order to return to Bakersfield for the time being, he needs to clear waivers after signing the new deal.

Malone, 32, is the captain of the Condors, meaning he likely has a close relationship with Jay Woodcroft, who is now taking over as head coach of the Oilers after Dave Tippett was let go earlier today. That isn’t necessarily the reason for this contract though, as reports had surfaced much earlier in the year that Edmonton wanted to sign Malone to an NHL deal but couldn’t for salary cap reasons. Still, Woodcroft’s promotion could certainly mean that there is a bit of NHL playing time in Malone’s future, depending on what happens with the rest of the roster.

If he does come back up at some point, it certainly wouldn’t be a new experience. Malone has more than 200 NHL games under his belt to this point, including some playoff contests back when he was with the Colorado Avalanche organization. He played 16 games with the Oilers in 2018-19, his last appearance in the NHL.

Dowling meanwhile has played in 22 games with the Canucks this season, including last night’s loss against the New York Islanders. He has just two goals and four points in those matches, while usually seeing less than ten minutes of ice time. Because he’s in just the first season of a two-year, one-way contract, it seems unlikely that another team would claim him unless they feel he can make an immediate impact in the lineup. The 31-year-old has just 18 points in 98 career regular season games.

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