Matt Irwin Sent Back To Abbotsford
- One day after recalling him, the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Matt Irwin was sent back to AHL Abbotsford. Aside from two short stints with Vancouver where he didn’t play, the 36-year-old has played exclusively in the minors where he has 10 points in 46 games so far. Carson Soucy is believed to be nearing a return from his hand injury so this assignment could suggest that the blueliner is ready to suit up.
Trade Deadline Primer: Vancouver Canucks
The calendar has now flipped to March which means the trade deadline is now just days away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Vancouver Canucks have been the surprise of the season, battling for first in the league all year long on the back of fantastic performances from Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser. Everything is clicking for the Canucks and they’re leaning into it, already making two major trades – both with the Calgary Flames. Vancouver acquired Nikita Zadorov for a pair of draft picks in late November and then sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, a first-round pick, and more to the Flames for Elias Lindholm on January 31st. And their front office isn’t slowing down one bit, signing Elias Pettersson to a jaw-dropping, eight-year extension and emerging as candidates for some of the trade market’s biggest names. Vancouver will continue their exciting season at the Trade Deadline, entering with the wind behind their sails, success in the standings, and an eagerness for trades.
Record
38-17-7, 1st in the Pacific Division
Deadline Status
Eager Buyers
Deadline Cap Space
$2.6MM of cap space on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2024: VAN 3rd, VAN 4th, VAN 6th, SJS 6th, VAN 7th
2025: VAN 1st, VAN 2nd, VAN 4th, VAN 5th, VAN 6th, VAN 7th
Trade Chips
Conor Garland once again headlines Vancouver’s assets, with the team granting him permission to find a trade in October – though ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported at the time that Vancouver would likely need to retain some of Garland’s $4.95MM cap hit in a deal. But Garland still had a trade market, with the Washington Capitals interested in acquiring him if they ever found a trade Anthony Mantha. The two are, in fact, quite comparable, with Mantha offering slightly more goal-scoring than Garland, but also sitting two years older and carrying a slightly pricier $5.7MM cap hit. Both players provide reasonable depth scoring, though their consistency can come into question. The Canucks will hope Garland can fetch Mantha’s level of return, or that they can reignite Washington’s interest, though Garland’s hefty salary through the 2025-26 season could prove to be tough to move out.
They could also add to the long list of highly-touted, but unproven, 22-year-olds with Vasily Podkolzin, who hasn’t played in the NHL this season but has managed 28 points in 44 AHL games. Podkolzin would likely come at a cheaper price than his trade-market peers – including Philip Broberg, Arthur Kaliyev, and Kaapo Kakko – but he was previously highly regarded, getting selected 10th-overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and scoring a modest 14 goals and 26 points in 79 games as a rookie in 2021-22. But he hasn’t found much of a groove since then, spending most of the last two seasons in the AHL. He’s still young, and may be victim to a mismatch with Vancouver’s system. Those facts, as well as his previous draft selection, could be enough to earn him high regard. At least, that’s what the Canucks will be hoping for, though it seems unlikely that Podkolzin serves as much more than an additional piece to a bigger offer.
Ultimately, there aren’t many areas of excess in the Canucks lineup – with their wealth of depth forwards being an important safety measure for the playoffs and their defensive depth being tested by injuries all season long. That makes it difficult for any lineup pieces to be moved out and, because of that, draft capital will have to be what Vancouver leans on. They managed to acquire Lindholm without sending away too many picks, still boasting their first and second round picks in the 2025 and 2026 drafts. A first-round pick has been the focus of much of the market this season, and Vancouver will need to be ready to sacrifice future capital if they want to get involved in more big-name acquisitions.
Team Needs
1) Add Depth On Defense – Injuries have plagued the Vancouver Canucks defense all season long, with both Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy currently out week-to-week. And they haven’t had a great answer for it, leaning on options like Noah Juulsen or Mark Friedman to slot into top-four roles. While it’s worked well enough through the season, Vancouver will certainly want more security in the postseason. Luckily, the Philadelphia Flyers are selling off maybe their best defensive pairing this season – Nick Seeler and Sean Walker. Walker signed with the Philadelphia Flyers this summer, moving to a new organization for the first time in his career after six seasons in Los Angeles. And he’s come into his own quickly, offering strong value in all three zones and recording 22 points in 62 games, just two shy of the career-high he set in 2019-20. He’s played over 600 minutes with Seeler this season, and the pair carry a combined $3.425MM cap hit. Better yet, they’re both set to become free agents this summer, giving Vancouver plenty of flexibility. Walker would provide a serious boost to the Canucks’ everyday lineup, while Seeler would be a great injury fill-in – and they offer the unique chance to buy already-established chemistry. A deal likely wouldn’t be cheap, with the Flyers reportedly hoping for a first-round pick for Walker, but reeling in one or both Flyers defenders could go a long way towards solidifying the Canucks lineup.
2) Take A Chance On Top-Line Wingers – Things are working plenty well for the Canucks offense, which boasts both the top-end scoring and bottom-end depth needed to win a lot of games. But enough is never enough, and if the Canucks can bring in top market names like Jake Guentzel or Pavel Buchnevich, they absolutely should. Both players will come at a hefty price – likely requiring multiple first-round picks or top prospects – but they each bring point-per-game scoring potential on the wing. The Canucks still have room for competition in their top-six, with Ilya Mikheyev and Nils Hoglander each falling a bit short of their linemates. Both Guentzel and Buchnevich would offer a major upgrade, likely bringing even more of a boost to Pettersson, Lindholm, and Miller – while giving Vancouver more options for their bottom-six. While the Canucks have been red-hot this season, it’s still not clear if they have enough to overcome titans like the Vegas Golden Knights or Boston Bruins. This could be the Trade Deadline, and the trade targets, to fix that – if Vancouver can stomach the inevitably high costs.
Canucks, Golden Knights Among “Legit Suitors” For Jake Guentzel
The Canucks and Golden Knights are among the teams making serious offers for star Penguins winger Jake Guentzel ahead of the trade deadline, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports Monday. The two Pacific Division squads are among at least six “legit suitors” for his services.
Pittsburgh was viewed as a team with uncertain status heading into deadline season a few weeks ago, but three straight losses now have them 10 points out of a playoff spot and hurtling toward seller status. As such, the likelihood of them parting ways with Guentzel this week has skyrocketed, with the team reportedly preferring high-end prospects in return rather than first-round draft picks.
If that’s the case, Vancouver has the much stronger arsenal to deal from. The team recalled 2019 top-10 pick Vasily Podkolzin from AHL Abbotsford over the weekend, and he made his season debut yesterday against the Ducks, speculatively as a showcase for a trade. Offers centered around him, such as 2022 first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimäki or 2023 first-round pick Tom Willander, are likely to draw the attention of Penguins GM Kyle Dubas.
In comparison, Vegas’ potential offer could center around 2020 late first-round pick Brendan Brisson or 2023 selection David Edstrom, the last pick of the first round, who grades out as a potential high-end third-line center.
Importantly, neither team has the long-term flexibility to ink the pending UFA to an extension. The Golden Knights are averaging less than a $1MM cap hit in space for every open roster spot next season, while the Canucks need to allocate a significant chunk of next season’s spending to their defense – only Quinn Hughes and Noah Juulsen are signed through next season or longer. Guentzel’s $6MM cap hit would also pose an insurmountable salary cap hurdle for Vancouver and Vegas, so the team must retain half of his salary in any potential deal.
Both teams could use the top-line help, however. Canucks star center Elias Pettersson is currently flanked by Nils Höglander and Pius Suter, both of whom are better suited for middle-six roles. Vegas, meanwhile, is still looking to shoulder the loss of captain Mark Stone for the rest of the regular season, and potentially the playoffs, due to a lacerated spleen.
While also injured, Guentzel is nearing a return from an upper-body injury that’s kept him out since mid-February and should be ready to return shortly after the deadline. He has 22 goals and 52 points in 50 games this season, set to eclipse the point-per-game mark for the fourth time in the last five years.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Vasily Podkolzin, Matt Irwin
The Vancouver Canucks have recalled forward Vasily Podkolzin and defenseman Matt Irwin from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, per a team announcement. The news comes shortly after the team reassigned Arshdeep Bains down to the AHL, and announced that Tyler Myers would be out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.
Neither Podkolzin nor Irwin have suited up for a game in Vancouver yet this year, with both having only played in Abbotsford. In now his third season with the Canucks organization since being drafted by the team with the 10th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, Podkolzin has yet to make any serious headway in climbing the ladder of the organizational depth chart.
This season, Podkolzin has played in 44 games for Abbotsford, scoring 15 goals and 28 points throughout the year. In his complete tenure in the Canucks organization at the AHL level, Podkolzin has played in a total of 72 games, scoring 22 goals and 46 points overall.
Irwin, on the other hand, is in his first year with the Canucks organization, coming over as an unrestricted free agent from a two-year stint with the Washington Capitals. Primarily used as a bottom-pairing defenseman throughout much of his career, Irwin has scored three goals and 10 points through 46 games in Abbotsford this season.
It is unlikely that either player will get much playing time at the NHL level, but there is an avenue for both of them. If Vancouver is looking to give any top-nine players a rest, Podkolzin could certainly fill that role for a short period. With Myers also out, the team will now have Irwin and Mark Friedman to choose from to fill in the void.
Western Conference Notes: Eichel, Myers, Vilardi, Stankoven
Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel won’t make his return from injury on Saturday, says head coach Bruce Cassidy. His next chance to return will come when Vegas visits the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Eichel has been out since January 11th, missing the team’s last 18 games with a knee injury that required surgery. He made his return to the team’s practices on Wednesday, quickly upgrading to a full-contact jersey and nearing a return.
Eichel’s return will offer major relief to a Vegas lineup that’s gone 2-5-1 in their last eight games – with opponents outscoring the Golden Knights 31-to-27. Eichel is the only Golden Knight scoring above a point-per-game pace this season, with 44 points in 42 games. Vegas has set a much more commanding 24-13-5 record in games Eichel has been healthy for.
Other notes from around the league:
- Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers has been designated as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. Mark Friedman will slot into his spot in the lineup. That will bring Friedman up to 21 NHL games this season, spending much of the year as an injury fill-in. He’s managed just one assist alongside 21 penalty minutes and a +5. Myers has so far appeared in all 62 Canucks games this season – a feat that, impressively, eight different Canucks have managed, including three defensemen.
- Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has returned to Winnipeg to seek further evaluation for an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s Thursday night loss to the Dallas Stars. Vilardi left the game after just 10 minutes of ice time. He missed Winnipeg’s Saturday morning win over the Carolina Hurricanes and will now miss one more game as the Jets round out their road trip on Sunday. Vilardi has scored 16 goals and 30 points in 38 games this season, though he’s been heavily limited by a string of injuries. The Jets have gone 26-10-2 in games Vilardi has appeared in this season.
- The Dallas Stars have recalled impressive rookie Logan Stankoven, who was briefly sent down to the minors after the team’s Thursday night game. But with this recall, Dallas shows that move was purely transactional, and that Stankoven will indeed continue in an NHL role after recording three goals and four points in his first four career games. Stankoven has also recorded 57 points in 47 games this season, battling for the league’s top scorer title all season long.
Canucks Sign Elias Pettersson To Eight-Year Extension
There was a recent push on extension talks between the Canucks and center Elias Pettersson and it appears that push helped get a deal over the finish line. The team announced that they’ve inked Pettersson to an eight-year contract extension.
GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement on the signing:
This is a very important signing for the Vancouver Canucks. Elias is one of the top players in the National Hockey League and is a key member of our leadership group. We know his best days are ahead of him and with his high end skill and desire to be the best, we look forward to seeing Elias succeed and grow. This signing is another example of our ownerships’ unwavering commitment to do what ever it takes to help us be a successful organization.
Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed by the team but Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the deal is worth $92.8MM in total for an AAV of $11.6MM. Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that $47MM of the payout is in the form of signing bonuses while the contract carries a full no-move clause once he’s eligible for the 2025-26 season. CapFriendly has the full breakdown which is as follows:
2024-25: $2.5MM salary, $12MM signing bonus
2025-26: $4.5MM salary, $10MM signing bonus
2026-27: $11.0MM salary
2027-28: $9.45MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2028-29: $7.25MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2029-30: $3.7MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2030-31: $3.7MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2031-32: $3.7MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
Vancouver drafted the 25-year-old in the first round (fifth overall) back in 2017 and since then, he has gone from being a key core piece to a legitimate franchise player. Pettersson won the Calder Trophy in his rookie campaign in 2018-19 where he had 66 points and followed that up with 66 more the following season. However, an injury-riddled 2020-21 season ultimately resulted in the two sides settling on a three-year bridge deal, one that was set to expire this summer where he would have been a restricted free agent with salary arbitration eligibility and a year away from unrestricted free agency.
Pettersson made a big jump on the offensive side of things last season, setting new career highs across the board with 39 goals and 63 assists, finishing tenth in NHL scoring. That fuelled speculation that the two sides would work out a long-term agreement last summer and put any speculation to rest. However, Pettersson and his camp had repeatedly indicated that his preference was to wait until the offseason before making a determination on his next contract.
This season, Pettersson’s per-game averages are down just slightly as he’s on pace for 38 goals and 61 assists, numbers that are still upper-tier league-wide while he is an all-situations player. That had only helped spur on speculation about his willingness to sign long-term with the Canucks since he was still wanting to wait until the offseason to put pen to paper on his next contract. That speculation got to the point where Vancouver and Carolina reportedly entered into serious discussions about a potential trade before both Vancouver and Pettersson took a step back and opted to take a real run at hammering out a new deal, talks which clearly proved fruitful.
The contract is by far the richest in franchise history, an outcome that shouldn’t come as much surprise considering Pettersson’s recent performance and the high demand for top-end centers. The deal will make him the fifth-highest-paid player AAV-wise in the NHL next season behind only Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Artemi Panarin.
Vancouver now has a little over $60MM in spending on the books for next season per CapFriendly to just a dozen players with Filip Hronek headlining their crop of restricted free agents. Of note, only two full-time regular defensemen are under contract for 2024-25 so Allvin will need to allocate a lot of their remaining money to filling out the back end. Meanwhile, Pettersson is now one of just three Canucks under contract past the 2026-27 campaign, joining center J.T. Miller and blueliner Quinn Hughes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Canucks Reassign Arshdeep Bains
The Canucks have assigned left-winger Arshdeep Bains to AHL Abbotsford, GM Patrik Allvin said Friday. Bains had been on the roster since a Feb. 17 recall, the first of his NHL career.
The 23-year-old didn’t record a point in his first five NHL outings, posting a -3 rating and three shots on goal while averaging 12:57 per game. He spent a little over a third of his 5-on-5 ice time with Conor Garland and Elias Lindholm, although the trio struggled to maintain possession with a 38.1% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck. Individually, Bains posted poor possession numbers with a 45.5 CF% at even strength and an expected rating of -1.6, although starting 61% of his shifts in the defensive zone likely didn’t help matters.
That showing shouldn’t detract much from a promising season for the Surrey, British Columbia native, though. An undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks from the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels in 2022, Bains has broken out for nine goals and 30 assists for 39 points in 42 games in his sophomore season with Abbotsford, leading the team in scoring. His +13 rating is also a team-high.
Bains doesn’t yet require waivers for a minor-league assignment, and it’ll be a while before he does. He must play two more professional seasons or 75 NHL games, whichever comes first, before his waiver exemption lapses.
He now returns to Abbotsford, where he’ll earn his minor-league salary of $70K compared to his NHL salary of $775K. He has one more season remaining on his entry-level contract, with a cap hit of $816.7K. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry in 2025.
Canucks Were Finalists For Chris Tanev
Among the finalists for Tanev were the Avalanche, Canucks, Maple Leafs, and Oilers, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said on Thursday’s episode of “Insider Trading.” Toronto was in conversations later than other teams, as LeBrun reports Leafs GM Brad Treliving had discussions with the Flames’ front office as late as hours before Tanev was dealt to Dallas.
Canucks, Hurricanes Discussed Elias Pettersson Trade Before Extension Talks
The Vancouver Canucks came close to trading star centerman Elias Pettersson, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Friedman shared that Vancouver was engaged in trade talks with the Carolina Hurricanes that advanced a serious enough point that Vancouver was forced to make a decision – ultimately opting to take another pass at extending the top-scoring 25-year-old. News of the trade talks was enough to inspire Pettersson to allow his representative Pat Brisson to continue discussing a new deal in Vancouver. The two sides remain steadfast on finding an extension, as reported earlier this week.
While Pettersson rumors have swirled around in light of few extension talks, there has yet to be serious weight to any trade talks. That’s now changed, as the Canucks inched towards dealing their star to one of the NHL’s premier teams. There’s no doubting that any deal involving Pettersson would go down in history. The young forward has 29 goals and 75 points in just 61 games this season, scoring at an 82-game pace of 39 goals and 101 points. That would fall just narrowly short of the career-high Pettersson recorded last season, when he managed 39 goals and 102 points in 80 games.
Pettersson’s scoring this season leads all U26 players in the NHL, ahead of major names like Cale Makar, Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, and Tim Stutzle. Speculating a price for such one of the league’s top players is never an easy feat – and Pettersson’s case is made even more difficult by the lack of clear assets on either side. The most recent comparable deal is likely when the Calgary Flames traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a first-round pick.
But that trade swapped one 100-point scorer for another, something that Carolina neither has nor
would be willing to part with. The Hurricanes’ greatest value sits in 26-year-old Sebastian Aho, 21-year-old Seth Jarvis, and 23-year-old Andrei Svechnikov. One of these names would likely need to move in a Pettersson deal – both to add value and create lineup space – though Carolina would still likely need to add value. That could come in the form of reliable centerman Martin Nečas, who has come into his own in recent seasons, or defense depth such as Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, or Dmitry Orlov. Carolina also has their first-round pick in each of the next three drafts, all of which could have come into play.
Vancouver is, for now, aiming towards extending Pettersson – likely poised to offer him a record-setting contract. If they do, they’ll lock up their forward of the future to lineup alongside defenseman of the future Quinn Hughes, who has three more seasons left in a six-year, $47.1MM contract signed in October of 2021.
Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson Making Progress On Extension
According to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, the Vancouver Canucks and forward Elias Pettersson are making progress on a contract extension that would keep Pettersson in British Columbia for the next eight seasons, and it could be announced within the next several days. This marks a significant change in attitude from Pettersson, who appeared adamant about not wanting to discuss an extension with the Canucks during the season.
It will be interesting to see what the eventual dollar amount that Vancouver will give to Pettersson on this new contract. Heading into the offseason, the Canucks will have approximately $35.74MM available to them in cap space, with a total of nine players set to become unrestricted free agents, and another two set for restricted free agency, including Pettersson. Comparing Pettersson’s production and recent contracts given out to similar players, Pettersson could earn anywhere between $11MM-$13MM on this new deal.
Over the last two years, Pettersson has taken his production to another level, scoring 68 goals and 177 points in his last 141 games in Vancouver. Currently sitting 10th in the league in scoring on a team contending for the President’s Trophy, there is every reason to believe that Pettersson will finish much higher than 18th in Hart Trophy voting like he did last season.
Unfortunately, with the Canucks being tight to the cap ceiling even with the salary cap set to increase to $87.7MM next year, this likely means that Vancouver will be unable to extend recently acquired Elias Lindholm to a new deal. With Lindholm reportedly seeking an AAV of $9MM on his next contract, it would be rare to see a team sign their first- and second-highest-paid forward in the same offseason.
Nevertheless, this will set the Canucks core in place for the long haul, with the trio of Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes locked up until at least the 2026-27 season. Now that everything is clicking in Vancouver, the Canucks will now be able to reallocate money to supplement their core for the future.