The Vancouver Canucks’ work at the NHL Trade Deadline was a whole lot quieter than fans had hoped for, and General Manager Patrik Allvin attempted to answer why.

In the lead up to today’s noon deadline, the expectation was that the Canucks would trade most – if not all – of their pending unrestricted free agents, but mostly crucially Teddy Blueger and Evander Kane. But once the clock struck twelve, a pair of deals for David Kämpf and Lukas Reichel arrived, but nothing for the team’s biggest assets.

It’s a story that feels like deja vu after last season’s trade deadline. Allvin and the Canucks didn’t like the offers for then-pending UFAs Brock Boeser and Pius Suter and kept both past the deadline. While they managed to sign Boeser to a new contract on July 1, Suter opted to sign with the St. Louis Blues in free agency instead.

Speaking to the media this afternoon, when asked about comparisons between last year’s trade market and this year’s, Allvin called the market “very unpredictable”.

“I didn’t get any offers. So, I was a little bit surprised,” Allvin said. “Those two guys have been playing really well for us. Teddy has been here for a couple of years now and is a good player on the ice and a good player off the ice for us as well. Evander Kane is a veteran player in the league. We all know that roster spots and cap space flexibility play into it.”

The supposed lack of interest in either player, particularly Blueger, is odd when you consider some of the players the Canucks were able to move. Kämpf was a midseason signing that the Canucks turned into a sixth-round pick from the Boston Bruins, after a relatively quiet stretch in a depth centre role. Conor Garland was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets on the eve of the deadline, despite being on a 20+ game scoring drought and carrying a six-year contract extension that will kick in next year. One would expect Blueger to garner a lot of interest as a solid depth middle-six centre and ideal playoff rental. But according to Allvin, that market never materialized.

Kane’s future is likely set in stone, with the 34-year-old expected to leave in free agency. But discussions with Blueger are expected to move towards signing him to a contract extension. Whether he’ll want to stay with a last-place franchise is anybody’s guess, but Allvin feels some confidence they can get a deal done.

“We know that he likes it here. It’s too early to tell where things are going here,” Allvin said about Blueger’s future. “I mean, again, Teddy has been playing really well for us. He’s a good character guy.”