Canucks acquire Derrick Pouliot from Pittsburgh for Andrey Pedan and 4th round pick

The Canucks have made a trade ahead of the 2PM PT roster deadline, sending defenceman Andrey Pedan and a 2018 4th round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Derrick Pouliot

Andrey Pedan had been placed on waivers yesterday and had cleared before being sent to the Penguins. Pouliot was selected 8th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012. They acquired that pick, along with Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin for Jordan Staal.

The Canucks have long been rumoured to have interest in Pouliot and it makes sense given his ability to transition the puck and offensive play. He struggles at times in his own zone. With that being said, Pouliot has struggled to make that leap to the NHL after some decent AHL play over the last few seasons. He leaves you wanting more, he teases the potential that he has but never quite gets there.

New head coach Travis Green is very familiar with Pouliot having been the head coach of the Portland Winterhawks in 2012-13.

Giving up Andrey Pedan and a 4th round pick for Pouliot isn’t a terrible price to pay for a former first-round pick. It’s a risk on the Canucks part, as Pouliot does require waivers to be assigned to the AHL. But if he can finally put it all together, the Canucks give up a mid round pick and defenceman that clearly wasn’t in their long-term plans. If Pouliot continues to struggle at the NHL level, then the Canucks will have another player trend to zero value in Pedan.

With the 2pm roster deadline rapidly approaching, the Canucks will have to make some more moves to get under the 23 man roster limit. That may include finally assigning Olli Juolevi to Finland, or papering down players like Brock Boeser and Jake Virtanen. We will see how the next few hours shake out.

Pouliot is on a one-year, one-way deal that pays him $800,000. He will be an RFA at the end of year.