Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
Nucks Fan Rebuild & Retool Center - Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
The NHL continues to quietly drift in the Dog Days of Summer. Sure, there have been a couple interesting signings, with two future superstars agreeing to five-year deals. But otherwise? Not a lot going on with the stuff fans generally care about - the on-ice talent. Still, there are bits and pieces of news trickling out through our now-annual smoky haze.
Elias Pettersson the Forward appeared on the ice in Los Angeles this week, which is nice. Being on the ice in August is expected of most top-end players nowadays, but this is still pretty dang early. No surprise he's doing it away from Vancouver, because could you imagine the circus of bored hockey watchers? Sportsnet may have left town, but Canucks fans haven't.
Hopefully, he's taking his opportunity to rebuild his reputation seriously this year. It could absolutely be the perfect set of conditions for him: zero pressure for the team to succeed, all pressure on him to. He doesn't have to lead squat, he just has to put his head down and play. And no, I don't think there's much of a chance of his being traded before the season starts.
The biggest topic of conversation locally is probably still the hope of a practice facility. There was a memorandum of understanding regarding the sheet at Britannia a week ago, and it might already be dead. The problem isn't one of ability or even economics. It's about public relations.
While the former White-Collars were seen touring the facilities way back when, the announcement was still a surprise. Reaction quickly went from "Finally!" to "Oops!" when it was revealed that it would just be a facility, not an additional sheet. And that the team would be claiming prime skating time from the public currently using the ice. And that they hadn't actually considered the effect on the neighbourhood.
Oops!
Hastings Park has also been mentioned as a possible location for creating a new facility with another ice sheet the team can claim as their own. Heck, they'll probably get a lot of benefits from the city no matter where they build - and some good PR if they let the public in on their off days. Handy enough, what with it being a straight shot down Hastings. But I'd love it if they thought bigger.
Over 26 years, the Richmond Night Market has become an institution, but now they're closing up. The lease is up, and there doesn't seem to be any plans to replace it. The space has been empty for ages, and it really should get put to work for the good of the city. There's a lot more space available than an ice sheet and training room would need, should any development partners be interested...
We mentioned before the ripple effects of contracts signed by other teams. There was another one to add to the list, especially given the Canucks plans for the near future.
Ville Koivunen is not the sort of player you'd expect to sign an eight-year deal. In fact, I'd be surprised if you had heard of him, unless you were a big Jake Guentzel fan. Koivunen was one of the many players involved in the Guentzel trade, a 20-year-old centre prospect who hadn't reached North America yet.
Koivunen got an eight-game sample in 2024-25, picking up seven assists in just eight games. Great start! The next year, he played 39 NHL games and scored two goals and seven points, with a lot less average ice time. And he didn't play centre either of those years. Obviously a candidate for a maximum term, right? And $4 million per season?
This isn't the first time we've seen lengthy contracts handed out to bottom-six players. Casey Cizikas is on the final year of his six-season deal with the Islanders, and there was never an expectation of his rising through the ranks. The difference is that Cizikas signed when he was a 30-year-old free agent, and he was taking a pay cut from his previous contract.
Koivunen, on the other hand, has played all of 47 NHL games and is just 23 years old. He's put up good numbers in the AHL, but nothing that projects he'll be a star. On the other hand, he's got plenty of room to grow with a team that can see its doom approaching. This wouldn't be a bad guy to have around when Sidney Crosby and Co. are no longer there.
Should Koivunen produce like a middle-six forward during the next eight years, the Penguins can decide what to do with him then. At just $4 million, he'd be an affordable addition to a competing team, and with a guaranteed term, yet. That's a lot to pay for the fourth-line winger he was last year, but it's a perfectly reasonable amount for a middle-sixer. And in three years, it might not be all that much to pay a fourth-liner.
If he slips, or if injuries happen along the way, Koivunen has $32 million in his pocket by the time he's 31 years old. He's getting a $2 million bonus payment to kick off this year and next, just to get himself comfortable in Pittsburgh for now. It doesn't look like there's any trade protection, but even if there were, it wouldn't kick in until 2030-31. That would be well into their Crosbyless Years, so presumably mid-rebuild.
That's a pretty good deal to make for everyone involved - assuming the player doesn't think he's going to be a star. Or if he does, that he's satisfied to wait until he's 30 years old to cash in. Which, given what the salary cap might be by then, could hit a jackpot. Add an additional team or two to the league bidding for talent, and it's not an unlikely scenario.
The Canucks have quite a list of young players they will be counting on in the coming years. Whether they think of signings like this, I don't know. But the temptation is there, isn't it?
Zeev Buium wouldn't go near this, as his ceiling is as a top-pair defender. But Elias Pettersson the Defender? He might stick, he might not, but if he does, it won't be as high as Buium. I'm not entirely sold on Jonathan Lekkerimaki as a first-line producer just yet, but if he agreed to a deal like this, I'm tempted. Same with Liam Öhgren.
There's risk involved with signing any player to a long-term deal, as any Canucks fan knows. One of the larger risks in Vancouver's case is having enough room for younger players to move up when they've earned their shot. If, say, Anthony Romani continues to improve and shows up ready for the NHL in two years, it would be a bit awkward to have a bottom-six full of contracts in his way.
Still, fun to consider who might work out six (or seven, or the last chance for eight) years from now on a contract signed today.
If I told you that the biggest trade of the past two weeks was Sean Farrell for Sasha Pastujov, could you tell me which teams were involved? Or for the biggest one in the two weeks before that, moving Tyler Kopff for Zac Funk? It hasn't exactly been exciting times in the NHL of late, is what we're saying. We talked about John Marino's new contract, fer cryin' out loud!
After a fairly lively draft day and an interesting free agency opening, the league has gone awfully quiet. The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed a couple essential, if brief, deals with Cole Sillinger and Jet Greaves. The Chicago Blackhawks launched a thousand eyerolls by bringing Patrick Kane back, so that's something. Jason Robertson Watch extended from a month to a year with his $12 million deal a week ago.
Otherwise? Oof.
So let's take a page from the history books and talk about the state of Canucks' goaltending. Because it has a whole lot of diverging paths out there, and which one gets walked isn't entirely up to Vancouver.
Who is what, here?
Y'all know Thatcher Demko, but let's recap. One of the Core Players that Jim Benning, then Jim Rutherford, was banking on. Alas, recurring injuries requiring repeated surgeries have left Demko on the shelf more often than he has been on the bench. He's in year one of a new, three-season contract worth $8.5 million per and comes with a full no-move clause.
He made a name for himself in the Bubble Season of 2020, turning in a masterful series against the Vegas Golden Knights, and followed that with two very good years. There was plenty of reason to believe the goaltending portion of the team was in good hands. He had a nightmare start to 2022-23, but after missing two months with another injury, he closed out the year strong.
That rolled into 2023-24, where he played most of Vancouver's games, banking enough points before getting knocked out in March that the Canucks made the playoffs again. He came back with two games left, won his playoff game against Nashville, then was out once again.
The past two seasons have not been great, statistically or health-wise. In 2024-25, Demko didn't start until December and missed another month besides. There were flashes of brilliance - including a ludicrous comeback game against Dallas - so hope was he could build on that.
Unfortunately, this past season, he missed a week in November, played one period, then was gone for another month. He came back for four more weeks before shutting down mid-January for good. And now the 30-year-old is starting with a rebuilding team.
Teams like to be secretive about injuries, so it's a little hard to track exactly which injuries Demko has had in his career. We do know he's had at least three knee injuries; two concussions; surgery on both hips (one twice); at least one groin injury; a few "lower body injuries", which could be anything; a back injury; and COVID-19.
It may seem unfair to describe Kevin Lankinen this way, but this way also perfectly describes Kevin Lankinen. Signed late into the 2024-25 off-season when it looked like Demko wouldn't be coming back to start the year, Lankinen is a perfectly capable goalie who held the fort. He wasn't supposed to, as Arturs Silovs was supposed to split duties with Demko that year. Alas, the young goaltender stumbled badly under the weight, and Lankinen took his job.
Lankinen played well enough that he signed a five-year contract that February, and Silovs was shipped off to the Penguins. That was several months before Demko signed his deal on July 1st, which must have made for an interesting dynamic. Lankinen's deal comes with a full no-move this season, and a fifteen-team one for the next three years.
With Demko only playing 20 games in 2025-26, Lankinen once again got the lion's share of starts. His numbers slipped from the previous year, but whose didn't? He did provide a statistical highlight for the team, stopping 21 of 22 shots against him in the post-overtime skills competition. Macklin Celebrini scored against him in April, and the Canucks still won the game.
Nikita Tolopilo is a very interesting case. The 6'6" Belarusian played well enough for his experience level in the NHL last year, getting into 21 games and starting 18 of them. The team has some confidence in him, even if it is just as a backup to the backup for now. He has only played three years in North American pro hockey, and may well improve beyond his current markers.
Vancouver is in the odd circumstance of needing a third goalie who is reliably available, but the most obvious choice isn't waiver-exempt. Tolopilo is interesting enough that he will likely get plucked from waivers if the team moved him back and forth to Abbotsford. Whatever team takes him would need to put another player on waivers, and that probably won't be someone the team needs.
There is a legitimate case to be made for carrying three goaltenders this season, at least until Demko gets injured. The twist in the tale is that he's an unrestricted free agent once the 2026-27 season ends. Given the age of the team overall, is he good enough to keep, or might he bring something back if he plays well enough this season?
Should Tolopilo stay with Vancouver, it would be music to the ears of Aku Koskenvuo and Ty Young. Both goalies split time between Abbotsford and their ECHL affiliate in Kalamazoo. Koskenvuo took the NCAA route before turning pro, while Young played CHL hockey in Prince George. Both are fifth-round picks, the Finn in 2021 and the Canadian in 2022.
Jiri Patera would absolutely have the starter's role on the farm if he re-signed, which explains why he didn't. But with him and potentially Tolopilo out of the way, that clears the track for Koskenvuo and Young.
While you'd think the age difference would give him the advantage, Koskenvuo actually has less pro experience than Young. His 31 total games are well back of Young's 63, but neither one is what you could call a grizzled veteran. This could be a September signing, bringing in someone with experience who wouldn't mind playing third fiddle in the AHL. That goes double if the team manages to trade any of their top three goalies, or if Demko's season comes to an early end.
The Canucks are all too familiar with the risks involved in relying on a young goaltender too soon. And yes, I do still wish we had Michael DiPietro available, but at least he serves as a warning. Neither one of these guys should see the light of day in Vancouver this season, even if it means getting an extra body.
Goaltending is just one of many threads to follow in what's going to be a potentially brutal season. The situation could easily change between now and the end of September. But until news comes out about something other than a lack of White Collars on the administrative side of the team, it's something to ponder for now.
Three recently signed contracts all carry implications for the Vancouver Canucks in the coming years. Only one was signed with Vancouver, but you can bet the other two got their attention.
Let's start with the fun one: Connor Bedard signing on with the Chicago Blackhawks for another five years. At $15 million per year - $9.8 million in bonus money - that's probably a reasonable amount for both sides. Chicago is paying for the future, but after scoring 75 goals and 203 points in his first 219 NHL games, odds are he'll live up to it.
More interesting is that it is only for five years. Bedard has clearly taken a page from Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, both signing for shorter terms than the maximum eight seasons. McDavid handed the Edmonton Oilers an incredible discount, but only for two seasons. Matthews signed a five-year, then a four-year contract that now has two seasons remaining.
The message with all three is unmistakable. Show me progress, or I walk. And who can blame them? Matthews will be 30 when his deal expires, McDavid 31. Bedard will only be 25, but if Chicago seems to be improving to his liking, he'll likely sign another deal yet.
It looks like he told them of his intention before he signed, as they did what they could to improve the defence the instant free agency opened. Getting someone like Bowen Byram was essential, as Louis Crevier - the defenceman who went the other way - was Chicago's leading defensive scorer last year. It cost them substantially, and they doubled down by doubling Byram's paycheque with a 6 x $12.5 million deal.
They kept adding, giving Cole Smith a 3 x $3 million deal, and Ian Cole $4 million for one year. That's three pieces of the defence replaced, and fr good reason. Giving your kids some ice time is good and all, but Wyatt Kaiser and Anton Levshunov probably shouldn't have had as much as they did. Not just yet, anyway. And having a bodyguard like Jordan Greenway
The bottom line is that after five years of scraping the league floor, it's time to move up. Bedard's deal let them know that in no uncertain terms. And if they do, well, sorry Canucks fans who dreamed of his early return. That probably won't happen in 2031. Call again in 2036.
It's probably not entirely fair to call John Marino "average". He's certainly in the top half of most six-man squads in the league, and top-pair on a few. The Utah Mammoth needed him to step up before they got MacKenzie Weegar out of Calgary, and he did. But a second-pair role is probably where he fits best. Which begs the question: is that where teams should put $6.75 million?
There is a premium for the position as a right-handed defenceman, certainly. And again: he's a perfectly acceptable player. But even with an increasing salary cap, that deal seems a little optimistic. He's not a power play specialist; he hasn't scored five goals in a season since he was a rookie; and he doesn't inspire fear in the opposing forwards. I'm fine with him going out there in the last minute when we're up a goal, but probably not when we're down one.
I'm asking for a friend I happen to know who has a couple young defencemen coming up. They're looking for their second contracts, and frankly, no one's completely sure where they're going to end up as players. Zeev Buium is probably going to be an excellent offensive player; Elias Pettersson the Defenceman will probably be a solid defensive one with a bit of offensive pop. What would $6.75 million on a long-term deal look like to them?
Buium has played one NHL season, and Pettersson just 98 games over two. If the Canucks could get Buium's name on a long-term deal at anything close to Marino's numbers, then his agent is either asleep or has been told to do it. Pettersson might never reach the minutes per game Marino has, but brings very different qualities. In three years, or less, that might well be his number.
Given ownership's reluctance to pay full value right now* the odds of any player being handed a long-term deal seem remote. But if any of them want the stability of an eight-year contract, they'll have to do it before September 16th. And that might be worth waving in front of them.
The Canucks did finally get their man in Abbotsford, signing Ryan Papaioannou this week. Papaioannou has won titles in the AJHL and BCHL, and reached the conference finals in the ECHL last year. That being said, last year was his first year at the professional level. He has a typically short contract, running through 2027-28, but is probably going to get a lot of leeway for those years.
We don't know how much he'll be paid, but that's likely a reason for the short deal, too. If he succeeds with Abbotsford, he's going to want a raise or an opportunity. And fair enough, that's what the AHL is for, both with coaches and players.
The notable thing about this hiring is that apparently the OHL's Coach of the Year, Memorial Cup winner Jussi Ahokas, was interviewed and turned the job down. It had nothing to do with the opportunity, and everything to do with the money. The offer, according to sources, was below what he was making with Kitchner. Ahokas is now with Colorado's AHL squad, and Papaioannou is in Abby.
This definitely tells fans what the team's priorities are for the next few years. Ownership wants cuts, and not just the on-ice payroll. Compared to last season, the team's about $12 million below last year's cap-bumping level. If they want to lower it by another $8-10 million, then that pretty much puts the kibosh on bringing in bad salaries to juice up the return in trades.
Last time Vancouver put saving money as a top priority, the disastrous 2020-21 season was the result. Every free agent was allowed to walk after the COVID-shortened 2019-2020 season, and it showed the next year. What had been an optimistic return to the playoffs and pushing Vegas to seven games became a crash-and-burn return.
This time, the savings are being reflected in off-ice decisions. That's not a great sign, even if Alexander Edler is essentially volunteering to work with the kids. Enthusiasm isn't expertise, and while he played over 1,000 NHL games, that doesn't mean he can teach the skills that let him.
Going to be worth watching. It's one thing to want the prospects to develop, and it's another to pay for it.
*Foreshadowing!
Radio stations vanish, schedules drop, and rumours abound (kind of)!
That's a pretty up-and-down week for local Canucks - and sports - fans in and around Vancouver. We got the schedule release, which is always fun to comb through, and some actual rumours to play with. Well, one rumour. Well, more of an incidental statement. But it involved the Canucks, so it counts!
But I guess the biggest news is that the news has stopped. News 1130 was among the six radio stations that Rogers has decided to abandon, including Sportsnet 650. And much like when Bell pulled TSN 1040, they didn't bother telling their employees. Instead, workers there found their passwords non-functional or the equipment simply disconnected. A coward's retreat.
Rogers still owns FM stations in town, so they might broadcast games through Jack FM or somewhere similar. Whatever broadcast team they put together likely won't travel, recording from monitors when the team is on the road. Calgary has been completely abandoned, with broadcasts dropped in their entirety.
There has been some talk of people somehow getting together to start a sports radio station in Vancouver. It's obviously an underserved region, but the costs are HIGH. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the frequency, though much less to keep them annually. The idea is to follow the lead of CHEK TV, which is North America's only employee-owned television station.
Obviously, folks are plenty angry about how employees were treated by Rogers (and Bell), but Don Taylor's hopes of a private owner seem faint. Personally, I think the CBC has an opportunity to do the funniest thing right now...
The league has released their full schedule, and there are a few points of interest for Canucks fans. They have 13 home games on a Saturday, for one. Owners who are clearly nervous about lowered gate revenues next season can relax a bit. Though in a slightly odd statement, the team's release says there will be "eight Saturday night games starting at 8:00".
Whether that means 8 PM for us locally, or it's an announcement intended to warn those areas which do not have the daylight-savings changes we do, I don't know. On the calendar, it says the usual 7:00 start time. It's not every night game, either, as 11 home games are scheduled for the 7:00 start time, with one at 4:00 (guess who that is) and an early afternoon game against Anaheim.
One change this year is the increase in the number of games from 82 to 84. Not my dream of scratching ten to get to a more livable 72, but there it is. That's causing a domino effect throughout the year: the Canucks start the season in September for the first time in team history, opening against Edmonton on the 29th. They finish April 10th, in what both teams no doubt hope is an entirely meaningless contest.
It's not much of a year for "revenge games" with the team in an acknowledged rebuild. Boo Quinn Hughes on October 25th if that's your thing, but otherwise, the only special days are when your second/least favourite team is in town.
Another effect of the extended schedule is reducing the number of pre-season games. So much the better, but if you're curious, they only have two at home: September 24th against Edmonton and the 26th against Seattle. The Oilers match could be an interesting precursor to the season opener three days later.
Speaking of Seattle...
Didja hear Shane Wright likes Vancouver? He said he did, and that's great! He wouldn't block a trade here, so obviously-
Quick intervention, here. He's on year three of his entry-level deal, and he's a right-shot centre. Wright's got no trade protection for a very in-demand position. Seattle ain't selling him cheap, and he can't force a move. Back to our regularly scheduled wishcasting!
-there's a deal to be made, right? Of course! It's just a matter of whether either side wants to make it.
Wright is a young, contract-controlled, right-handed centre who hasn't yet broken through. He was a fourth-overall pick in 2022* and got a couple eight-game dry runs before joining the team full-time in 2025-26. He had a very good rookie season, slipping back statistically in the boxcars a bit in his second year. Under the hood, though, he slightly outperformed his teammates at even strength.
Wright is clearly a little frustrated, limited to bottom-six minutes, but he has only been in the league for two years. A bit of patience from him now could pay dividends later. On the other hand, Matty Beniers and Chandler Stephenson are definitely ahead of him to start 2026-27, and it's hard to improve your offence from the third line.
The pressure on Seattle is to start making the playoffs regularly now, after just one appearance in five years. They have taken big swings at free agents, both in the market and with offer sheets, but haven't had a taker yet. Using Wright as a trade chip to bring in a more reliable veteran is a bit of a last-resort move, but one they might feel they have to make. And the NBA returning soon isn't helping.
Jake DeBrusk is a good hockey player.
DeBrusk is a consistent scorer, but only if you look at the year's end. He's going to score around 25 goals, though they might be six in one week, nothing for a month, seven in another week. He did mention that he doesn't want to go through a rebuild at thirty years old, and that's understandable. It's not what he signed on for when he accepted a seven-year, $5.5 million per deal.
He's a very good power-play producer, much to everyone's surprise. His 5-on-5 numbers were a nightmare last season, but whose weren't for the Canucks? He works great down low, but more to Seattle's liking, he can work with speed, too, and can do it from the second line. And he has five years remaining on what is a very reasonable contract. As a bonus, he's also said he wants to stay in the West, and you can't get much further West than Seattle.
Now, if there is a deal to be had involving these two players, Vancouver will need to give more up. Neither one is a real play driver, but a solid addition to one. DeBrusk has proven himself to a greater degree than Wright has, but by the same coin, Wright is six years younger. Add his positional premium, and DeBrusk isn't enough by a long shot. He'd provide the Kraken with a top-six scorer under contract for another five years when they need a star.
At first glance, it might seem like an awkward fit for the Canucks as well. They've fortified their centre position recently, and Wright would be starting again in the bottom six. That being said, one of the players above him is Filip Chytil, so it could be a matter of waiting a month for the opportunity to present itself. Or maybe moving Chytil to the wing, which sounds better.
Folks might hate me for saying it, but getting a young player is one of the reasons a team collects draft picks. Vancouver has two second-round picks next year, neither one theirs, and I'd be fine with them including one in a package for Wright.
I know, I know: trading a second-round pick for a younger, some would say "doubted" player can cause PTSD in this market. But not all second-round draft picks are the same: the ones we have are from San Jose and Dallas. San Jose can make the playoffs next season, putting their spot in the early-50s at best. The Stars' pick could easily be in the 60s. We're getting close to single-digit percentages whether a player drafted there will hit 200 NHL games, never mind one that scores 25 goals a season.
It's not a slam dunk for either team, but DeBrusk is expendable for Vancouver, and Wright might take too long for Seattle. The risk is heavier on Vancouver's side, where the younger player might not get beyond what we've seen, and the draft pick might strike gold. But that's the nature of being a rebuilding team, and I don't think the risk is unbearable.
If both Braeden Cootes and Caleb Malhotra work out as NHL centres, having Wright already here lets the team move other players. And if one of them doesn't, for whatever reason, he's a safety net. That seems worth the deal to me.
For Seattle, if they don't move up as they should, DeBrusk is still a tradable asset come the deadline, and they'll have a second-round pick plus what he brings back. Or maybe he's enough to get them past that playoff line, and they keep him - plus the second-round pick.
*Cue death glare
A half-dozen signings, a good-sized trade, and then - no offence to Matthew Steinberg - silence around the talent on the team. And that's fine, because lord knows there was enough to do off the ice as well. After taking some time off, let's look at the team and around the division.
The Vancouver Canucks needed coaches, both in Vancouver proper and for the AHL squad. They've rounded out their NHL roster with three-ish Abbotsford promotions and a former AHL head coach joining Malhotra on the big club.
Jordan Smith spent the past two seasons as an assistant on the bench in Abby, so his move is one of leagues, if not titles. Andrew Shaw (not the NHLer) moves from being Abbotsford's video coach to assisting Vancouver's Ian Beckenstein, so it's a promotion and demotion at the same time. I don't think he'll complain.
Jason Krog has been working with players in Abbotsford and Vancouver as a skills and skating coach, and is moving up to bench duties with Malhotra. He had a long professional career, mostly as an AHL All-Star but including four games with the Canucks. All three of these coaches were with Abbotsford for their Calder Cup win in 2024-25.
Ryan Mougenel is an interesting hire, as he was named AHL Coach of the Year in 2025-26. He's been the head coach of the Providence Bruins for the past five seasons, and an assistant there the previous two. The Bruins finished top-three in their division for every one of those years, but couldn't get past the division semi-finals in any of them. Well, he won't have to worry about the playoffs any time soon with his new job, anyway.
There have certainly been some interesting developments outside the Canucks.
The biggest is undoubtedly the offer sheet signed by Leo Carlsson and subsequently matched by the Anaheim Ducks. 'Sfunny how a player widely known as "The Little Ball of Hate" is a general manager that players and agents agree lives up to his nickname. Pat Verbeek and his staff developed a reputation for absolutely grinding any player who crossed his path come contract time. That engendered some resentment, it seems, and suddenly his star didn't want to go through it.
Daniel Briere is living up to his - or at least Philadelphia's - reputation, too. They are a team that has never been afraid of being hated by the rest of the league, and they'll drop offer sheets on stars if they think they can get away with it. It may not be the most effective approach - step up, St. Louis - but it's certainly fun to watch. And now a 21-year-old is being paid $18 million a season for the next five years, ending with him as an unrestricted free agent. You have to wonder if that's Philly's way of encouraging commissioner Gary Bettman's departure.
Cutter Gautier is still waiting for his contract, but Pavel Mintyukov had his on the table and signed VERY soon after Carlsson was resolved. Gautier had a 41-goal season in his third year, and whatever Anaheim decides to offer will be remembered at their next negotiation. Now, he's not a centre like Carlsson is, and isn't eligible for an offer sheet, but he's still a vital cog for a team that wants to improve this year.
The Ducks have $9 million in cap space, but their defence could use more than Nick Jensen to shore up their ranks. Jackson LaCombe has been a delightful surprise, but he's only on one side of the ice. It's definitely Anaheim's weak point. However, they might choose not to shore it up just yet, especially if the options are looking bad for a simple reason: they're in the Pacific Division.
The Pacific Division last season was a fine argument for eliminating the "pity point". The Los Angeles Kings managed twenty [20] overtime and shootout losses to squeeze into the final wild card spot. That meant the team with five fewer regulation wins than San Jose, six fewer than Nashville, and eleven fewer than St. Louis got in while the rest waited. That actually worked out okay for the Sharks, but still!
That the Sharks finished the season four points away from the playoffs and still won the first overall pick shows how weak the Pacific Division was last year. Anaheim and LA would have both missed the playoffs if the top-16 teams leaguewide played. Philadelphia had the fewest points of the Eastern playoff teams at 98, a mark no team in the Pacific reached.
San Jose certainly wants to get in this year, with their wild overpays on Jacob Trouba and Mason Marchment and trade for Darnell Nurse. They're going to be a very interesting team to watch again this year, at least. They can absolutely push into the top-three conversation.
Anaheim, of course, wants to stay in the playoffs now that they've finally made it back. Edmonton has the room to make a move or two with Nurse off the books. Interesting gambles in net, so maybe their eye turns to a bit more scoring depth up front.
And LA is... Okay, to be frank, I have no frikkin' clue what the Kings are doing this year. They made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, and only because the Pacific was so weak. It wasn't that long ago that they were considered to have one of the best prospect pools in the league. Unfortunately for them, either the players haven't panned out as hoped (Quinton Byfield), or the injury bug hit (Alex Turcotte), or they were moved on (Brock Faber). It's like they looked at their pool in 2020 and said, "Right! We're making a big push in five or six years!" and are determined to fit the timeline, reality be damned.
Seattle, of course, will want to get in there, too. They made big pitches to Jason Robertson and Artemi Panarin, so they're willing to take a swing. They have the money and the will, and there is plenty of time before the season gets underway yet.
Vegas, the supposed Cream of the Crop, didn't even hit 40 wins last year and still won the division. Their big signing so far was Rasmus Andersson, who is a very good player, but...that can't be it, right? That can't be all they're doing? Then again, they did just make the Stanley Cup Final, so maybe that is. A full year with Mitch Marner could do them wonders.
That pretty much leaves Calgary and Vancouver as teams that aren't all that bothered with making the playoffs in the Pacific. And outside Vegas and Edmonton, the rest of the division may be trying, but they don't look all that good yet. Sure, the Flames want to show their fans signs of progress as they gear up for the new arena, but that's probably going to be an incremental improvement. If the Canucks aren't careful, they could risk a wild-card spot by just playing better than last year!
Okay, probably not. But if they find a system that suits the team, they might hit 85 points, getting them well clear of the league basement, which they do NOT want to do just yet. Start the climb next season; let this one be another bottom-five finish.
The rule changes allow teams to send one of their 19-year-olds to the AHL. I have no problem if the Canucks decide to let Braeden Cootes cook for a year in Abbotsford. Heck, if they want Tom Willander to get top-pair minutes, he can go, too. Zeev Buium is probably here to stay, but otherwise, keeping the kids away from what's going to be a hard year? Livable.
Besides, if the kids are suddenly going to find their feet and take off? Let them do it where they can't risk Vancouver's draft position. For one more year, anyway.
That was a more interesting opening of the free agent market than I expected, gotta say. But between that and the start of the Vancouver Canucks opening development camp, the future is here for all to see.
After a straightforward draft day, including what was officially Ryan Johnson's first trade as the Vancouver Canucks general manager, little was expected today. And for the most part, it lived up to those expectations. A quiet start had the team picking up a couple AHL players in Trey Fix-Wolanski and Akil Thomas, adding to the farm's depth. Luke Schenn and Paul Cotter shore up the NHL team on one-year deals, and Jamie Oleksiak won a two-year deal for a very specific reason...
The big deal of the day for Vancouver was clearly moving Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers for a first-round pick. It's top-ten protected, but that's fine. It's still a LOT more than anyone expected Pettersson to return. The trick is who's going to be around to use it, since it doesn't happen for another four years.
Akil Thomas was a second-round pick back in 2018, 51st overall. He was a high-skilled guy who could fight for his ice, and pulled decent numbers in the AHL, but hasn't managed to break through into the bigs. He had a fine playoff run last year, but he is a veteran AHLer. That's not a bad thing, and having a championship-level AHL team when the NHL team is stumbling makes it a good place to grow prospects.
The same can be said of Fix-Wolanski, though the road he took to get to where he is today is radically different from Thomas'. The 5'7" Fix-Wolanski was drafted in the same year as Thomas, but in the seventh round, 204th overall. Built like a fire plug, he racks up points and penalty minutes in the junior circuit. If you think Vancouver is too depressing to watch, you might want to take a trip to Abbotsford. Add these guys to Braden Cootes finding his pro game, and they should be worth the drive.
Paul Cotter might not be a player you're all too familiar with, and for good reason. Cotter's a solid NHLer, but a fourth-line one. He's got great speed and good size, but indifferent hands. Think a slightly less points-productive Kiefer Sherwood. He's not going to take a lot of ice from the kids coming up unless Coach Malhotra decides to put him on special teams. Is just over $2 million a bit much for a fourth-line veteran? Probably not, after this season. That cap has gone up, baby!
Veteran and three-time Canuck Luke Schenn, you know. The 36-year-old has been in the league since he was 19, and not all have been good. But it could be argued that the best of those years happened in Vancouver, riding shotgun with a young Quinn Hughes. He is the embodiment of Been There, Done That and Here's How. He loves the city, loves the team, and knows perfectly well what he's getting into. Even if he's scratched, you know he's going to practice hard against the kids.
Got Mass? Jamie Oleksiak, brother of seven-time Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak, is a physical specimen. He stands 6'7" and weighs 250 lbs, increasing Vancouver's average size all on his own. He's spent the last five seasons in Seattle, spending a lot of time on the penalty kill there. That's going to let the younger players get what time they earn, instead of being forced into the role out of desperation.
Oleksiak has a two-year deal, front-loaded with a $1 million signing bonus in 2027, which is very tradeable. He has a 12-team no-trade list, but that leaves more than half the league to choose from. His cap hit is $5 million per year, but the actual cash outlay in year two is just $3.5 million. If a player comes up and forces the team's hand, they can find a place Oleksiak will be happy with. But until then, he's a solid player for the role.
Speaking of finding a spot on the defence, Marcus Pettersson gets moved out after just one year of his six-year contract. He's most comfortable as a middle pair, shutdown defender, but the Canucks was not a place to be comfortable last year. Pettersson played over 21 minutes a game, and he's just not what the team needs right now.
Some people are pretending he was awful, but that's simply not the case. His game doesn't show up in the boxcars the next day, but he was the best Canuck at shot suppression with a variety of defensive partners. That's valuable - just not here, not now.
The amazing thing is that he brought back a first-round pick, which is far more than expected. Even better, it's a first-round pick in 2030. Why that's a good thing is that the team is planning further ahead than the next three years. In three years, Vancouver should be planning to leave the league's basement. Yes, expect a bottom-five finish for a few seasons yet - if everything goes right.
At the end of the 2028-29 season, they will have an additional first-round pick one year away. That's as good as cash-in-hand for any deals they want to swing, assuming they haven't moved it between now and then. Or they can keep it, given that it belongs to the Rangers, a wildly unpredictable team. It's top-ten protected, which is a bit hilarious, but their next year might be even worse; you never know.
I expect at least two more veteran forwards to be moved (Jake DeBrusk, obviously, and...Drew O'Connor? Elias Pettersson? Someone.) before training camp. But even if they stop here, that's not a bad turnover from twelve months ago. Evander Kane, Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, and Nils Höglander are all gone up front; Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers, and, of course, Quinn Hughes have left the defence.
More on-ice changes will happen between now and the next step, whenever they take it. But if this is the team they start the 2026-27 season with, it's a pretty good start.
We got some picks, we got a trade, we're looking forward!
To be completely clear: I am not an NHL scout. Yes, I see some tape, but those tend to be highlight reels, which only show the best of a player, not the whole player. I read and heard a lot of scouting reports from folks who do the actual work, some public, some pay. What you're reading here is a combination of what I've read, heard, and seen, but it's other people putting in the real work. If you want more, hunt them down and definitely check out tape for yourself. It's fun!
Now, without further ado, what the Vancouver Canucks did done:
With the first draft under GM Ryan Johnson complete, what can we glean of their intent? Actions speak louder than words, and we haven't seen a whole lot of on-ice choices yet. This is, essentially, our first chance to see what the White Collars are thinking.
The odds-on favourite to go first to Vancouver went first to Vancouver. A lot of smoke was billowing in the week leading up to Draft Day, but when it cleared, Caleb Malhotra was their pick. There are loads of reasons to like Malhotra, on and off the ice. The phrase "future captain" comes up a LOT in his scouting reviews.
Clearly, the team decided to go to the centre instead of defence, but it is a rational decision. They didn't reach for him because there were a half-dozen players you could justify taking. Funny thing is, the player I thought of with last year's selection of Braden Cootes was "Bo Horvat light". With Malhotra, it's "imaginative Bo Horvat".
The same critique of Horvat sits on Malhotra: his skating. He knows where he needs to go, and he skates well enough to get there. And that's about it for criticism. He's very good defensively, proactive in breaking up plays and knocking people off the puck. He can pass it up and out, ideally following a teammate in and getting the return pass in the offensive zone. He protects the puck well, plays on the boards, and can score.
His floor is an excellent, third-line centre who desperate teams might move to the first. His ceiling is an excellent second-line centre that an average team has on the first. You know: Bo Horvat.
The Canucks got, possibly, a steal? Lots of scouting types were very happy with Vancouver picking up Adam Novotný at 24. Craig Button had him at 26, but the vast majority of pre-draft lists put Novotný in the mid-teens. He absolutely looks like an NHL player, little doubt there. Sturdy guy, decent skater, plays the body well, and his best offence is to get the puck off someone, skate in and shoot.
Hopefully, that straightforward game doesn't just translate well to the NHL but is the basis for some more imaginative play. Malhotra will occasionally take risks and try something different to see if he can pull it off, while Novotný takes a safer route. That "safer route" is for him, obviously, not his opponents. They're going to have a generally bad time getting past him/out of their zone if he catches them with the puck.
His NHL calling card might leave him in the bottom-six as a floor. With the right linemates, he can be the guy who plays puck retriever for the top line as his ceiling.
An 18-year-old giant at 6'7" and 236 lbs, it's a bit tough not to give Brooks Rogowski some grace. There's being awkward after a growth spurt, then there's being 6'7" at 18. At the start of the year, he looked like a guy who could reliably put in the work on the defensive side. As the season went on and he got more comfortable, he started doing things like controlling mid-air passes and no-look passes.
He's confirmed to Michigan State in two years, staying in Oshawa for 2026-26. Oshawa was lousy offensively last season and the worst team in the league. That situation can give Rogowski a lot of opportunities. It will be very interesting to see how he develops from here - and what his coaches ask of him.
Who's up for learning the Viking Row? Niklas Aaram-Olsen is the first Norwegian drafted by Vancouver, and if he makes it, will be the first to play for them. But he wasn't drafted for Pokémon reasons. Here's what he does:
I don't put a whole lot into the draft combine, but Aaram-Olsen shows up in the results repeatedly. Third in the Wingate power output test; third in the 10 metre sprint; first in the shuttle agility test, both left and right sides; seventh in bench press; tenth in hands-on-hips, no arm swing jump; and first in the standing long jump. The guy's got a physique, and he's not afraid to use it! But what's all that mean on the ice?
He's decently fast, but more than that, he's very quick. He breaks ankles when he's carrying the puck. He also has a variety of shots and gets it off at different angles, leaving goalies guessing. The risk is that he might think that those skills are enough. He played 16 SHL games last year and takes the defensive side seriously when lined up against men, but it came at the cost of his offence.
Dmitri Ivchenko played in the MHL (the Russian equivalent of the AHL) as a backup for a very good Omskie Yastreby team. He has a .922 goals against average, which sounds incredible until you realize that puts him 30th in the league overall. It's still good, but make sure you know what the stats mean when you read them.
His selling points are being a calm character. When he's in position, he has excellent control of his extremities, snapping his hands and feet into a blocking position. He does have issues outside the posts, losing track of the puck up high, and if he has to move side-to-side, he can go past his posts. Everyone remembers Arturs Silovs' second year, right? Thing is, we probably won't see Ivchenko for another three years - and that's if he agrees to go to Abbotsford. Who we'll see then is a bit of a mystery.
So first things first. Yaroslav Bryzgalov is not a good skater. And he also plays a fast game. These aren't the opposites they seem.
Bryzgalov is big in a phone booth, a player you can trust to win the puck when the battle takes place in four square feet along the boards. He's also a very good passer and knows where the puck should go before he gets it. If any opponent isn't paying attention, he'll make them play. One or two hits from him, and the entire team starts looking over their shoulders.
If he can get his foot speed up, even a little, he can get NHL minutes, though probably on the fourth line.
What's an NHL team without a Connor these days? Connor Davis is a perpetual motion machine, always skating after the puck. He likes to attack defencemen directly, and when the puck gets to the net, he'll buzz around it, looking for a jam, a wrap-around, any opportunity to get it across the line.
A re-entry, like Bryzgalov, he's a bit older than most players taken, so there's some concern he's as big as he's going to get. Still, 6' even is plenty big enough for an agitator, and he's heading to North Dakota next year to improve his skills.
When the draft gets past the 150-mark, you get players like Lucian Bernát. The 6'4", 200 lbs Bernát had an excellent statistical year in the Finnish U20 league for a rookie. His shoot-first mentality led to him being the second-highest scorer on the team. But that scoring dried up in the playoffs, and he ended up in penalty trouble instead of helping the team. He does love making contact as part of his game, but it's also a matter of timing.
We'll get a closer look this season when he joins Owen Sound.
"It's late, grab a big Swede and let's go."
-Imagined conversation among Canucks scouts at every draft
That's not entirely fair, but there are years when it feels like it. Eriksson is, indeed, a 6'6" Swede, and his focus is on defence. His first thought is to pin some poor forward that's fallen within his reach, but his second thought is to overthink it. His physical tools are plentiful, but his mind is not up to speed just yet. Practice and time might get him there, but he's drafted in the sixth round for a reason.
Yes, GM Johnson pulled off his first NHL trade on Day Two of the draft! It was:
A sixth-round pick from the 2026 draft, #161 overall, for a fifth-round pick in 2027, TBD
That is, technically, moving up in the draft. Eh, we'll take it.
Happy Draft Day(s), y'all!
The biggest event is, obviously, the draft itself and what the Vancouver Canucks will do with the third overall pick. The reason why teams want to draft as high as possible is for the options, and the Canucks have plenty.
But there's more going on than that, isn't there?
Everyone involved has finally accepted that the team is undergoing a rebuild, and they aren't hedging. The tricky part is believing management when they say so, given the past decade of desperate scrabbling for a playoff spot. There's plenty of evidence that ownership wants to cut costs, if not corners, and that raises alarms.
That being said, there is also plenty of evidence that management is unified in their determination to change. I thought Tyler Myers would never agree to leave, but off he went to Texas. Conor Garland heading out was less of a surprise, and both moves brought back draft picks rather than players. We like that.
As of this minute, Vancouver has ten picks this year, three of which are in the sixth round. That's fine, the more darts the better after the second round. They also have $22 million in cap space with 21 players signed to NHL contracts. There is zero pressure to sign anyone, improve the team for next season, or find any kind of quick fix. This is about as good a starting point as they could hope for.
Trades are fun! Everyone (except the players, usually) loves trades! But player trades might not happen before the draft starts tonight, and that's okay. It would be nice to see the team set up for the next few years in one weekend, but it's not essential. There's another draft next year, and getting picks for then is fine, too. We're looking at a long-term plan here, right? No need to force a trade just because one's available quickly.
The free agent pool is sparse. There are going to be opportunities for trades after July 1st and well before the season starts. Yes, they have to stay above the salary floor, and they're only about $5 million clear. They can overpay for a couple free agents, but you don't want to bring in players who might block the opportunity of the players you want to develop. And the players demanding the highest pay aren't likely to sign here.
We've talked about it plenty, but the team should be ready to move anyone. Literally any of their veterans should be available at the right price, and I do think they are. But selling all of them immediately is the wrong move. You do want someone who's been here to be, in effect, a guide to the city and the team. Player churn only works when you're moving secondary players around a successful core, and we don't have that yet.
Expect two of the bigger names to get moved this Summer, before the draft or after. More than that is pretty unlikely.
I know what I like here, and I like a pile of the defencemen. Assuming Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg go, then I have four defencemen ahead of any of the other forwards. Any of a half dozen players is fine at number three, though. We don't know how their careers will turn out, and the differences between them look really minute as far as skills go, but the styles are all over the map. No telling what teams' preferences will be until they draft!
Why do I like the defencemen? I think the upper result for, say, Caleb Malhotra or Viggo Björk is a very good second-line centre, where the defencemen I like are top-pair, if not #1s. Both are in demand, but of those two, I know which are harder to find. Plus, 2027 looks pretty stacked for centre options.
If the Canucks want to trade down, I'm more than happy for them to. Acquire more darts, even if you're taking a step back. The next few seasons are when they want the picks, so go get them.
It would be nice if they added some local colour in Mathis Preston or Ryan Lin or the Ruck twins, they shouldn't stretch for them. I'll be disappointed of they lose assets for the sake of getting the Rucks in the first round, for instance.
There's some fun in watching the breakdown of a team, like watching construction workers dismantle a house. A bit sad, but the foundation was rotting so it has to go. Hopefully, a much more stable one is getting built in its place.
Unlike houses, a hockey team can be built and torn down at the same time. We've seen some of the structure already, with Liam Öhgren, Zeen Buium, and Marco Rossi coming in from the Minnesota Wild trade. Next, we're getting a hit at the foundation.
Mostly what we all want to see is a design. Trades or no trades, that's going to start with the third overall pick today.
Well. Not exactly keeping the momentum going from the past week, but a few more deals worth talking about have happened since Tuesday.
Nothing yet on the Vancouver Canucks front. I can understand people being eager to see how the new White Collars will shape the team in their own image, but that might start in the draft, not before. Personally, I'm okay with that: I'd rather we get draft picks for the 2027 draft, all things being equal. But I'm looking forward to seeing what move they make for this season, too.
To Colorado Avalanche:
Fyodor Svechkov
To Nashville Predators:
2029 3rd round pick, TBD
Colorado seems to be looking to shore up their bottom-six cheaply, moving Drury out and letting Kirivanta walk. The new arrivals are both a bit younger than Drury, so maybe that's also playing a part. They have yet to live up to their first-round draft selections, and that can appeal to Colorado.
Drury is a solid, 25-ish point, fourth-line player looking for a new contract. He's good on the penalty kill, and VERY good in the circle. Bradley's had a cup of coffee in the NHL and had a great playoffs with the Colorado Eagles last year, so he could get a shot.
Effect on Vancouver:
Nashville clearly see themselves as competing for a playoff spot this season. Fewer sellers the better, say Cancuks fans!
To Buffalo Sabres:
2027 3rd round pick, TBD
To Washington Capitals:
The Sabres wanted to keep Tuch, obviously. After missing the playoffs for many, many seasons, they were hoping he would choose to return to the team he helped break that cycle. A bit of a shame, as Buffalo didn't just "make the playoffs" but smashed the 100-point barrier, winning their division with 109. They got what they could for his rights, negotiating a sign-and-trade to the destination of his choice.
As for the Capitals, I guess they're really doing this. Alex Ovechkin hasn't officially said he's retiring, and the team has $14 million in cap space left after bringing in Tuch and Jordan Kyrou. You don't offer big money to 30-year-old players for their seventh and eighth seasons.
Effect on Vancouver:
Making their own eight-year offerings to free agents look reasonable, I guess? Seeing Canucks Legend David Kampf is still in the league?
More seriously, Elias Pettersson's contract is already starting to look better with the sign-and-trade deals handed out. There may be a market for him building up out there. Given the increase in cap space, even though this is the least attractive year to trade him, maybe something happens.
The Pittsburgh Penguins place a minor bet on Hendrix Lapierre; the Florida Panthers add a hitter in the ancient Garnett Hathaway; the New Jersey Devils get defensive depth with Declan Chisholm and an awesome name in Amadeus Lombardi. Draft picks from the third round and later went the other way in all of these, and none of the players should be particularly impactful this year.
The Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets swapped their own "not yet"s in Hunter McKown and Luke Tuch (yes, related, brother). At least one interesting deal did go down today, though.
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
To Colorado Avalanche:
2026 2nd round pick, #43 overall
2027 3rd round pick, TBD
2028 5th round pick, TBD
Columbus and Colorado have very different goals in mind, here. The Blue Jackets are pushing for the playoffs after a six-year absence, and the Avalanche are looking for finishing touches on a Stanley Cup challenger. The pressure is on for Columbus, which has some very good young players coming up. They need to show those players that the team isn't irrelevant, and that means making regular appearances in the second season. Zach Werenski is also making noises, and fair enough.
Nichushkin isn't a star, but he is an extremely useful all-around player. He plays both special teams, adds 20 goals and 50 points to the middle-six, and will help fill the space with Mason Marchment likely gone. Colorado is running out of time for another Cup with their current roster, and this looks like a salary-clearing move. They're going to need more, though: that $11 million cap space doesn't look as good when you see they only have 17 NHL contracts on the books.
Effect on Vancouver:
Unless the Avalanche are going to make a pitch for one of the Canucks' players, not much. They're at wildly different parts of their cycles, so not a lot of relevance to each other just yet.
Okay! I think that's got us all caught up for now. At least for the next few hours, before things get interesting.
Well. THAT was interesting.
Nine - NINE - first-round picks changed hands in the past three days. go back to Friday, and it's been a half-dozen big moves in the days leading up to the 2026 NHL entry draft. The Vancouver Canucks haven't dipped their toes in yet, but you can bet they're paying attention.
Vancouver is probably the only team that is starting a rebuild this year. They should be pure sellers on talent, but they don't need to sell everything now. This is a long-term project, and the first phase of it will be done over a few years, not a few weeks.
That all being said, these prices have been something amazing. A relatively weak draft year plus a predictably increasing salary cap should have been plenty of impetus for trades, but this shit's crazy. This website being what it is, let's take a look at what those moves were and how they affected Vancouver's plans.
To Toronto Maple Leafs:
Darren Raddysh sign-and-trade
To Tampa Bay Lightning:
2026 5th round pick, #133 overall
So, most players who don't make it to the NHL until they're 25 don't get 8 x $8.5 million contracts. Raddysh has played three full seasons, and they've been good seasons. Last year was his breakout, getting 22 goals and 70 points with Tampa Bay. He's also 30 years old, which is an interesting age at which to sign an eight-year deal.
They got this one in early enough to get that eight-year deal, as the rules are changing for 2026-27. Tampa essentially got an agent's "finder's fee" for arranging the deal with Toronto. And now the Leafs can move the slightly older Morgan Rielly.
Effect on Vancouver:
If the Canucks do get a fortune offer for Filip Hronek, Rielly could fill in to some degree. But neither one of those is likely to happen. He apparently has given a list of four teams he'll agree to move to in the West, so I suppose that's an effect?
To Seattle Kraken:
To Florida Panthers:
2026 1st round pick, #25 overall
2027 2nd round pick, TBD
We covered this deal last column, and it's a swing by a team looking to make an impression soon. If Samoskevich pans out, that'll help Seattle. It's a bit hard to see him as a first-line guy, but if it worked for Vancouver getting JT Miller out of Tampa Bay, maybe the younger version will work for the Kraken.
Effect on Vancouver:
I mean, we're all expecting Seattle to be better than Vancouver for a few years, right? In an ideal world, Samoskevich is starring on a Kraken team trying to keep the Canucks out of the playoffs in three or four years. Otherwise? *shrug*
To Florida Panthers:
To Ottawa Senators:
2026 1st round pick, #9 overall
2026 1st round pick, #25 overall
2027 2nd round pick, TBD
2029 1st round pick, TBD, top-10 protected
For a forced deal, that's a pretty good haul for the Senators! They want to improve quickly, and draft picks this year aren't going to do that. But those same picks are cash money, as we'll see.
Effect on Vancouver:
Since the Canucks have neither a Brady Tkachuck, nor an interest in giving away picks, not much. A very specific situation at a very specific moment in time.
To Calgary Flames:
To New Jersey Devils:
Etienne Morin
2026 2nd round pick, #35 overall
2027 1st round pick, top-10 protected
2028 1st round pick, top-10 protected twice (it's complicated)
The Devils are losing a guy who isn't all that happy with them in 22-year old RHD Nemec. Fair enough, they keep bringing in better defencemen. Or at least ones they've given more opportunities to, which is where the unhappiness lies.
Tsyplakov is an interesting player. He's only been in the league for a couple seasons, starting his career on Long Island with a bang (and crash) before getting moved to New Jersey. From 35 points in his first year to just four in his second, we don't really know where he'll end up. He is a very physical player, strong on the boards and as a net-front presence.
Morin split time between the AHL and ECHL last season, but he is just 21. There's time for the young defender to course-correct yet.
Effect on Vancouver:
The Flames just got a bunch more annoying to play against. Great.
To Ottawa Senators:
Kasper Halttunen
Brandon Svoboda
To San Jose Sharks:
2026 1st round pick, #9 overall
I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, but Sharks general manager Mike Grier has, I think, done a phenomenal job with San Jose. His teardown of the team was remorseless when needed, but his thoughtfulness about protecting the young stars is also exemplary. He's taken swings when he can, but importantly he's had the resources to do so. We'll see how he continues with the tougher portion of the program: returning to contention.
Eklund is the draw here, obviously. Halttunen put in a good showing in the AHL, but he and NCAA forward Svoboda are still prospects. Eklund won't replace everything Brady Tkachuk brings, but that's for better and worse. He's a bit younger, a bunch cheaper, and not as prone to penalty trouble. But he doesn't have anything like Tkachuk's physical presence, and hasn't put up the same scoring numbers - yet.
Effect on Vancouver:
San Jose will almost certainly pick the best player available - they usually do - so Ivar Stenberg isn't making it to #3. Sorry, Canucks fans.
To Washington Captials:
To St Louis Blues:
Milton Gästrin
2026 1st round pick, #16 overall
Seriously? Kyrou FINALLY got traded? Smoke 'em if you got 'em, folks! It's been, what, five years he's been on the trade boards, either at the deadline or in the offseason? Maybe six? Well, he's got to be relieved that it's over, whether he wanted to get dealt away or not.
McMichael has been a decent young centre, but he's been passed on the depth chart by similarly-aged players. He should be a top-six centre with the Blues. Gästrin has played a single game in North America, so it's wait and see for him.
Effect on Vancouver:
The Blues moved Kyrou, which is great for the Canucks. But they also have four first-round picks this draft. They aren't finished yet.
To Chicago Blackhawks:
To Buffalo Sabres:
2026 1st round pick, #4 overall
2026 2nd round pick, #45 overall
Chicago certainly got tougher to play against, and their defence certainly improved a large amount. How much, you ask? Louis Crevier was the Blackhawks' highest defensive scorer last season, that's how much. Crevier isn't a bad player, exactly, but he's not going to be a needle-mover.
This looks like a deal where someone told management that Connor Bedard was considering how long to sign his second contract for and they panicked. Byram and Greenway make their team better, but they are both unrestricted free agents next year.
Effect on Vancouver:
Counting the days until 2030 when Bedard becomes a free agent. Still, maybe Chicago will improve enough that the Canucks won't accidentally pass them this season.
Alex Tuch to Washington? Hoo, boy. I'm gonna be doing a few of these this week, never mind a draft recap.
Hat tip to PuckPedia, of course
