Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
Nucks Fan Rebuild & Retool Center - Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
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.
