Canucks acquire defenceman Riley Stillman from Chicago in exchange for Jason Dickinson and a second round pick

The Vancouver Canucks have gone to the trade market to address some of their problems on defence.

During the first period of the Canucks’ game against the Arizona Coyotes, the team announced the acquisition of left-shot defenceman Riley Stillman from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Jason Dickinson and a second-round pick.

Stillman was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and has spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Stillman has 108 NHL games to this point in his career, and tallied two goals and ten assists through 52 games last season.

The biggest reason the Canucks made this trade — and why they had to attach a 2024 second round pick — is that they were able to get Jason Dickinson’s contract off their books.

The Canucks have clearly liked the play of Nils Åman, and it’s safe to assume that this move all but solidifies his spot on the final roster.

Stillman isn’t going to set the world on fire as a Canuck, but the Canucks add to a position of need while getting out of one of the more inefficient contracts on their payroll — which again, is the biggest reason they made this trade.

Stillman has two years (including this upcoming season) remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $1.35 million, while Dickinson takes up $2.65 million this season and next.

Essentially, the Canucks gave up a second round pick in order to gain $1.30 million in cap space over the next two seasons, while adding a depth piece in the process.

GM Patrik Allvin told media tonight that the club views Stillman as a third pairing defenceman.

It looks like Stillman possesses some fighting skill as well:

We’ll have a full deep dive into Stillman’s game coming tomorrow.