Despite being one of the hottest teams in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks aren’t standing pat. The team just announced it had acquired All-Star center Elias Lindholm in a trade with the Calgary Flames.

Lindholm, set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, was considered one of the most sought-after players on the trade market. The Canucks ended up making the best offer that included winger Andrei Kuzmenko, prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, as well as a first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Lindholm is considered to be a great fit for Canucks, especially as he fills out the need for a right-hand center. He also vastly improves the team’s power-play units while being able to respond in defensive situations.

In 49 games with the Flames this season, Lindholm had nine goals and 23 assists for a total of 32 points. While this represents a drop-off compared to his previous seasons, the 29-year-old player showed at various points that he can still be a difference-maker on ice on any given night.

The Flames, on the other hand, are getting quite a haul for a player who could have walked away for nothing in the summer. They get an influx of youth players and draft assets, while Kuzmenko can immediately step in to contribute. Kuzmenko has eight goals and 13 assists in 43 games in 2023-24.

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The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Nikita Zadorov in a trade with the Calgary Flames. The Canucks gave up a fifth-round pick in 2024 and a 2026 third-rounder in exchange for the 28-year-old player.

Zadorov has one goal and five assists for a total of six points in 21 games he played for the Flames in 2023-24.

Zadorov asked the Flames to trade him back in November after a series of games in which his ice time was diminished. He is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and probably wants to put together a strong season in order to position himself for a better contract. It was reported at the time that the Toronto Maple Leafs was his preferred destination.

The Canucks likely acquired Zadorov to add depth to their roster and give themselves an opportunity to maintain a strong start to the season. The team currently owns a 15-8-1 record and sits in second place in the Pacific Division.

The Flames, on the other hand, get something in return from a player that they were unlikely to resign at the end of the season. It also provides them some cap flexibility, as they are moving on from Zadorov’s $3.75 million salary.

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The Vancouver Canucks announced on Tuesday the acquisition of defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Ty Glover in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canucks are sending defenseman Jack Rathbone and forward Karel Plasek to Pittsburgh in exchange for Friedman and Glover. There were no draft picks included in the trade.

Friedman is expected to boost Canucks’ blue-line depth, something the team has been looking for since the start of the 2023-24 NHL season. The 27-year-old player played 65 games in the NHL and has 12 career points. Glover, on the other hand, is more of a project, considering he has yet to make his NHL debut.

The Penguins, on the other hand, get a talented prospect in Rathbone. The 95th overall pick in 2017 was a standout performer during his time at Harvard University, but his transition to the pros was bumpy as he struggled with inconsistency and injury. He has five points in 28 NHL games with Canucks.

 Finally, Plasek will play in the United States for the first time this season. He played in his native Czech Republic last season, contributing six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 31 games with HC Olomouc.

“I would like to thank Jack for all the time he spent with our organization and always pushing hard when competing for a spot,” said Canucks’ general manager Patrik Allvin in a statement. “It has been a tough couple of years for him, and this will give him a fresh start. The two players coming back in this trade will add to our depth as we continue to look at ways to improve our organization.”

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The Vancouver Canucks added depth to goaltender position on Wednesday by acquiring veteran goalie Casey DeSmith in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens will receive forward Tanner Pearson and a third-round pick in 2025 in exchange for DeSmith.

DeSmith will be leaving the Canadiens without playing a single game with the franchise. The Montreal team acquired the 32-year-old in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins back in August.

During his five years with the Penguins, DeSmith played in 134 games, including 115 starts. He posted a record of 58-44-15 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.81 goal-against average.

The Canucks likely made a deal for DeSmith to provide injury-prone starter Thatcher Demko with a capable veteran backup. They also get some salary cap flexibility by moving Pearson’s contract, which pays the 31-year-old player $4.2 million in full salary.

It remains to be seen how Pearson fits into the Canadiens’ plans. Injuries limited him to only 14 games and five points in 2022-23. However, he is a proven leader and someone who can provide mentorship to the young Canadiens team. It won’t be a surprise if Pearson manages to bounce back in Montreal and deliver a solid campaign this upcoming season.

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The Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko signed a two-year contract extension, the team confirmed on Thursday. The contract extension has an average value of $5.5 million.

Ranking second in the team in both goals and power-play goals (nine), Kuzmenko leads all first-year NHL players in almost every offensive category, including goals, assists, points, and points per game. He also ranks second in the team for his 24.7% shooting rate; a figure that sees him rank third overall in the NHL in that category.

Kuzmenko spent the first eight years of his professional career in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he played for CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg. There, he scored 200 points (85 goals and 115 assists) in 315 regular season games. Last season, the Yakutsk native attained career-high figures with his 20 goals, 33 assists, and 53 points overall.

At 26 years old, Kuzmenko has made 37 international appearances for the Russian national team, during which time he has scored 10 goals and grabbed six assists. He joined Vancouver on July 13 last year, when he signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the team.

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The Seattle Krakens defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-1 on Wednesday night; their first-ever win over the Canucks in their history. With this victory, the Krakens surpass their entire win total from last season.

Seattle finished last season 27-49-6 in what was their inaugural campaign in the NHL. With a record of 28-14-5, The Krakens have done a complete turnaround, keeping themselves in contention for the Pacific Division title.

“It’s a different team that’s definitely figured some things out this season,” Oliver Bjorkstrand, the scorer of two goals against the Canucks, said. “We’re on to some good stuff. Consistency is a huge thing and I think throughout the season for the most part, I think we’ve been pretty consistent.”

While the Kraken now sits in 1st place on the Pacific Division standings, the team suffered an injury setback during the Canucks game when rookie center Matty Beniers knocked his head on the ice after being hit from the side by Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers. Beniers’ injury status remains unclear as Kraken coach Dave Hakstol simply revealed that he would not be returning for the third period of the game.

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The Vancouver Canucks are willing to listen to offers for their captain Bo Horvat according to The Athletic. The Canucks made the decision to put Horvat on the trade block after he rejected their latest extension offer. 

Horvat is currently in the final year of his six-year, $33 million contract he signed back in 2017. The Canucks reportedly offered him a new deal in late November but were rejected by the 27-year-old player.

The details of the Canucks’ offer are kept under wraps, although sources told The Athletics’ Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal that it “was well shy of $8 million” in terms of average annual salary. Considering this is a number that became a norm for top-level centers, it doesn’t surprise that Horvat’s representatives think he can get a much better offer on the free-agent market.

Horvat’s trade isn’t imminent, although Vancouver would like to seal the deal sooner than later. They communicated to interested teams that they are looking for “multiple young players” in return, with centers and right-handed defensemen being preferred.

Bo Horvat, ninth overall pick in 2019, played 572 games with the Canucks since his debut in the 2014–15 NHL season. He has 170 goals and 196 assists for a total of 366 points. Horvat, who has an All-Star appearance from 2017, is considered a face-off specialist with a 58% success rate.        

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The Vancouver Canucks are well underway with their training camp, but their defenseman Travis Hamonic still hasn’t joined the team. This sparked rumors that Hamonic will opt out of the 2021-22 NHL season, but according to Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning, this isn’t the reason behind the player’s absence.

Benning shared a statement on social media late last week in which he said the team received a confirmation that “Hamonic will not be opting out this season.” According to the statement, the 31-year-old player is currently at home and is dealing with some “personal matters.”

Hamonic previously decided to opt-out in 2020 after NHL staged a return following a pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He then remained a free agent until January before inking a deal with Vancouver and contributing with three goals and seven assists for the remainder of the campaign.

The Canucks were pleased with what they saw from Hamonic and ended up signing him to a two-year, $6 million contract over the summer. He was expected to be among the team’s top choices at defenseman for 2021-22.

Hamonic previously also played with the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames. In 675 games in the NHL, Hamonic had 40 goals and 158 assists for a total of 198 points.

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes in what were both restricted free agent deals, a source close to the matter confirmed on Friday. These deals come just two weeks before the Canucks got their 2021-22 season campaign underway.

According to the undisclosed source, the 22-year-old Pettersson signed a three-year deal with an average annual value of $7.35 million against the salary cap. Furthermore, Pettersson will remain a restricted free agent at the end of his contract. The 21-year-old Hughes, on the other hand, agreed to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $7.85 million; the highest on the team. He will become an unrestricted free agent during the 2026-27 season.

Since arriving in Vancouver, Pettersson has scored 153 points in 165 games. Last season, he managed to rack up 21 points in just 26 regular-season appearances. Pettersson was the fifth pick overall during the 2017 draft and was named the NHL rookie of the year in 2018-19.

Hughes has managed to amass 97 points in 129 NHL games in his career. He finished runner up to Colorado’s Cale Makar in the race for the award of NHL’s top rookie in 2019-20.

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The Calgary Flames certainly have a thing for former Vancouver Canucks.

After already signing three former Canucks this offseason, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, and Louis Domingue, they have just added Josh Leivo as well.

The left-winger has signed a one-year contract with Calgary worth $875,000.

Leivo wasn’t able to get on the ice much during the 2019-2020 season because of a serious knee injury. He ended up only playing 36 games after fracturing his knee in late December. Even though the injury was only supposed to keep him off the ice a couple of months, it kept lingering and forced him to sit out the rest of the season, playoffs included.

However, it could still be an excellent trade for Calgary if Leivo is able to get healthy. He is only 27 years old and in 85 games with the Canucks, was able to produce 17 goals and 37 points.

Leivo is also a very versatile offensive weapon and can play both right and left-wing, which gives the Calgary coaching staff more options when putting together lines and figuring out where Leivo can help them most.

Leivo has also proven to be excellent at killing penalties and saw some time on powerplays with Vancouver as well. While he is not an elite stick handler, Leivo has an absolute laser beam of a shot that is both extremely powerful and accurate.

He can also offer strength, size, and physical play, which is something the Flames haven’t had enough of in recent years.

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Despite being one of the hottest teams in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks aren’t standing pat. The team just announced it had acquired All-Star center Elias Lindholm in a trade with the Calgary Flames.

Lindholm, set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, was considered one of the most sought-after players on the trade market. The Canucks ended up making the best offer that included winger Andrei Kuzmenko, prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, as well as a first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Lindholm is considered to be a great fit for Canucks, especially as he fills out the need for a right-hand center. He also vastly improves the team’s power-play units while being able to respond in defensive situations.

In 49 games with the Flames this season, Lindholm had nine goals and 23 assists for a total of 32 points. While this represents a drop-off compared to his previous seasons, the 29-year-old player showed at various points that he can still be a difference-maker on ice on any given night.

The Flames, on the other hand, are getting quite a haul for a player who could have walked away for nothing in the summer. They get an influx of youth players and draft assets, while Kuzmenko can immediately step in to contribute. Kuzmenko has eight goals and 13 assists in 43 games in 2023-24.

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The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Nikita Zadorov in a trade with the Calgary Flames. The Canucks gave up a fifth-round pick in 2024 and a 2026 third-rounder in exchange for the 28-year-old player.

Zadorov has one goal and five assists for a total of six points in 21 games he played for the Flames in 2023-24.

Zadorov asked the Flames to trade him back in November after a series of games in which his ice time was diminished. He is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and probably wants to put together a strong season in order to position himself for a better contract. It was reported at the time that the Toronto Maple Leafs was his preferred destination.

The Canucks likely acquired Zadorov to add depth to their roster and give themselves an opportunity to maintain a strong start to the season. The team currently owns a 15-8-1 record and sits in second place in the Pacific Division.

The Flames, on the other hand, get something in return from a player that they were unlikely to resign at the end of the season. It also provides them some cap flexibility, as they are moving on from Zadorov’s $3.75 million salary.

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The Vancouver Canucks announced on Tuesday the acquisition of defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Ty Glover in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canucks are sending defenseman Jack Rathbone and forward Karel Plasek to Pittsburgh in exchange for Friedman and Glover. There were no draft picks included in the trade.

Friedman is expected to boost Canucks’ blue-line depth, something the team has been looking for since the start of the 2023-24 NHL season. The 27-year-old player played 65 games in the NHL and has 12 career points. Glover, on the other hand, is more of a project, considering he has yet to make his NHL debut.

The Penguins, on the other hand, get a talented prospect in Rathbone. The 95th overall pick in 2017 was a standout performer during his time at Harvard University, but his transition to the pros was bumpy as he struggled with inconsistency and injury. He has five points in 28 NHL games with Canucks.

 Finally, Plasek will play in the United States for the first time this season. He played in his native Czech Republic last season, contributing six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 31 games with HC Olomouc.

“I would like to thank Jack for all the time he spent with our organization and always pushing hard when competing for a spot,” said Canucks’ general manager Patrik Allvin in a statement. “It has been a tough couple of years for him, and this will give him a fresh start. The two players coming back in this trade will add to our depth as we continue to look at ways to improve our organization.”

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The Vancouver Canucks added depth to goaltender position on Wednesday by acquiring veteran goalie Casey DeSmith in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens will receive forward Tanner Pearson and a third-round pick in 2025 in exchange for DeSmith.

DeSmith will be leaving the Canadiens without playing a single game with the franchise. The Montreal team acquired the 32-year-old in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins back in August.

During his five years with the Penguins, DeSmith played in 134 games, including 115 starts. He posted a record of 58-44-15 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.81 goal-against average.

The Canucks likely made a deal for DeSmith to provide injury-prone starter Thatcher Demko with a capable veteran backup. They also get some salary cap flexibility by moving Pearson’s contract, which pays the 31-year-old player $4.2 million in full salary.

It remains to be seen how Pearson fits into the Canadiens’ plans. Injuries limited him to only 14 games and five points in 2022-23. However, he is a proven leader and someone who can provide mentorship to the young Canadiens team. It won’t be a surprise if Pearson manages to bounce back in Montreal and deliver a solid campaign this upcoming season.

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The Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko signed a two-year contract extension, the team confirmed on Thursday. The contract extension has an average value of $5.5 million.

Ranking second in the team in both goals and power-play goals (nine), Kuzmenko leads all first-year NHL players in almost every offensive category, including goals, assists, points, and points per game. He also ranks second in the team for his 24.7% shooting rate; a figure that sees him rank third overall in the NHL in that category.

Kuzmenko spent the first eight years of his professional career in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he played for CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg. There, he scored 200 points (85 goals and 115 assists) in 315 regular season games. Last season, the Yakutsk native attained career-high figures with his 20 goals, 33 assists, and 53 points overall.

At 26 years old, Kuzmenko has made 37 international appearances for the Russian national team, during which time he has scored 10 goals and grabbed six assists. He joined Vancouver on July 13 last year, when he signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the team.

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The Seattle Krakens defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-1 on Wednesday night; their first-ever win over the Canucks in their history. With this victory, the Krakens surpass their entire win total from last season.

Seattle finished last season 27-49-6 in what was their inaugural campaign in the NHL. With a record of 28-14-5, The Krakens have done a complete turnaround, keeping themselves in contention for the Pacific Division title.

“It’s a different team that’s definitely figured some things out this season,” Oliver Bjorkstrand, the scorer of two goals against the Canucks, said. “We’re on to some good stuff. Consistency is a huge thing and I think throughout the season for the most part, I think we’ve been pretty consistent.”

While the Kraken now sits in 1st place on the Pacific Division standings, the team suffered an injury setback during the Canucks game when rookie center Matty Beniers knocked his head on the ice after being hit from the side by Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers. Beniers’ injury status remains unclear as Kraken coach Dave Hakstol simply revealed that he would not be returning for the third period of the game.

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The Vancouver Canucks are willing to listen to offers for their captain Bo Horvat according to The Athletic. The Canucks made the decision to put Horvat on the trade block after he rejected their latest extension offer. 

Horvat is currently in the final year of his six-year, $33 million contract he signed back in 2017. The Canucks reportedly offered him a new deal in late November but were rejected by the 27-year-old player.

The details of the Canucks’ offer are kept under wraps, although sources told The Athletics’ Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal that it “was well shy of $8 million” in terms of average annual salary. Considering this is a number that became a norm for top-level centers, it doesn’t surprise that Horvat’s representatives think he can get a much better offer on the free-agent market.

Horvat’s trade isn’t imminent, although Vancouver would like to seal the deal sooner than later. They communicated to interested teams that they are looking for “multiple young players” in return, with centers and right-handed defensemen being preferred.

Bo Horvat, ninth overall pick in 2019, played 572 games with the Canucks since his debut in the 2014–15 NHL season. He has 170 goals and 196 assists for a total of 366 points. Horvat, who has an All-Star appearance from 2017, is considered a face-off specialist with a 58% success rate.        

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The Vancouver Canucks are well underway with their training camp, but their defenseman Travis Hamonic still hasn’t joined the team. This sparked rumors that Hamonic will opt out of the 2021-22 NHL season, but according to Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning, this isn’t the reason behind the player’s absence.

Benning shared a statement on social media late last week in which he said the team received a confirmation that “Hamonic will not be opting out this season.” According to the statement, the 31-year-old player is currently at home and is dealing with some “personal matters.”

Hamonic previously decided to opt-out in 2020 after NHL staged a return following a pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He then remained a free agent until January before inking a deal with Vancouver and contributing with three goals and seven assists for the remainder of the campaign.

The Canucks were pleased with what they saw from Hamonic and ended up signing him to a two-year, $6 million contract over the summer. He was expected to be among the team’s top choices at defenseman for 2021-22.

Hamonic previously also played with the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames. In 675 games in the NHL, Hamonic had 40 goals and 158 assists for a total of 198 points.

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes in what were both restricted free agent deals, a source close to the matter confirmed on Friday. These deals come just two weeks before the Canucks got their 2021-22 season campaign underway.

According to the undisclosed source, the 22-year-old Pettersson signed a three-year deal with an average annual value of $7.35 million against the salary cap. Furthermore, Pettersson will remain a restricted free agent at the end of his contract. The 21-year-old Hughes, on the other hand, agreed to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $7.85 million; the highest on the team. He will become an unrestricted free agent during the 2026-27 season.

Since arriving in Vancouver, Pettersson has scored 153 points in 165 games. Last season, he managed to rack up 21 points in just 26 regular-season appearances. Pettersson was the fifth pick overall during the 2017 draft and was named the NHL rookie of the year in 2018-19.

Hughes has managed to amass 97 points in 129 NHL games in his career. He finished runner up to Colorado’s Cale Makar in the race for the award of NHL’s top rookie in 2019-20.

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The Calgary Flames certainly have a thing for former Vancouver Canucks.

After already signing three former Canucks this offseason, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, and Louis Domingue, they have just added Josh Leivo as well.

The left-winger has signed a one-year contract with Calgary worth $875,000.

Leivo wasn’t able to get on the ice much during the 2019-2020 season because of a serious knee injury. He ended up only playing 36 games after fracturing his knee in late December. Even though the injury was only supposed to keep him off the ice a couple of months, it kept lingering and forced him to sit out the rest of the season, playoffs included.

However, it could still be an excellent trade for Calgary if Leivo is able to get healthy. He is only 27 years old and in 85 games with the Canucks, was able to produce 17 goals and 37 points.

Leivo is also a very versatile offensive weapon and can play both right and left-wing, which gives the Calgary coaching staff more options when putting together lines and figuring out where Leivo can help them most.

Leivo has also proven to be excellent at killing penalties and saw some time on powerplays with Vancouver as well. While he is not an elite stick handler, Leivo has an absolute laser beam of a shot that is both extremely powerful and accurate.

He can also offer strength, size, and physical play, which is something the Flames haven’t had enough of in recent years.

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