Canucks ‘good enough to compete’ after quiet trade deadline: GM
— After browsing the league, the Vancouver Canucks found themselves with an empty shopping cart as the NHL’s trade deadline came and went on Friday.
General manager Patrik Allvin had ample conversations with his colleagues, but found prices were too high and salary cap constraints too limiting to make any additions to his team.
“I guess you need another partner in order to make a deal. We were in, talking to teams that made their players available. But sometimes the fit is not there,” Allvin told reporters.
“If there was a player available for the right price, we definitely would have jumped in there.”
The Canucks (41-17-7) went into Friday sitting atop the Western Conference and were widely expected to make moves as they gear up for playoffs.
But in order to bring in a new face, Vancouver would have to ship a body out, and with salary cap crunches across the league, many teams weren’t willing to take on an extra contract.
“We felt that the team we have is good enough to compete here,” Allvin said.
There was a “big demand” from other teams for Vancouver’s young prospects, the GM added, but the Canucks weren’t ready to give up players they believe will be the future stars of the team.
“I think this is a process that we started getting [hired] here two years ago. We’re not finished, we’re not satisfied, we’re always trying to get better and improve,” Allvin said. “Would I like to have another player here today? Yeah, sure.”
Many believed Vancouver would ink veteran NHLer Phil Kessel to a contract ahead of Friday’s deadline. The 36-yearold forward started skating with the franchise’s American Hockey League affiliate in Abbotsford, B.C. last month.
Allvin said there were a few reasons the deal didn’t materialize, including salary cap constraints.
While the Canucks didn’t complete any deals on Friday, the front office has been busy in recent months.
The club acquired defenceman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary in November for a pair of draft picks. The hulking 28-year-old Russian has since amassed two goals, six assists and 68 penalty minutes for Vancouver.
The Canucks then sparked this year’s trade season on Jan. 31, picking up coveted forward Elias Lindholm from the Flames. Calgary received forward Andrei Kuzmenko, a firstround pick in the 2024 draft, a conditional fourth-round pick and a pair of prospects in return.
Other teams busy trading
The Winnipeg Jets secured the services of Tyler Toffoli from the New Jersey Devils, while the Vegas Golden Knights continued to add following an already busy stretch by getting Tomas Hertl in a blockbuster from the San Jose Sharks just before Friday’s 3 p.m. ET cutoff.
“We knew going in the West was tough,” Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said. “We knew coming out the West was going to be tougher. “But that’s hockey. That’s the exciting part.”
Vegas also made significant moves for defenceman Noah Hanifin and forward Anthony Mantha in the days leading up to the deadline. The Jets added depth to their defence by getting Colin Miller in a separate Friday deal with New Jersey.
Calgary traded Hanifin to the Knights after also dealing fellow blueliner Chris Tanev to Dallas. The Flames shipped centre Elias Lindholm to Vancouver last month and traded Nikita Zadorov to the same club back in December.
The Jets made the day’s first significant move — Friday culminated with 23 trades involving 33 players — when they got Toffoli from the Devils following the deal for centre Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens in February.
New Jersey received a second-round pick in the 2025 draft and a 2024 third-rounder for the 31-year-old pending unrestricted free agent. The Devils also retained 50 per cent of his $4.25-million US cap hit.
Edmonton pushed its chips in Thursday by adding forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim.