Rumour roundup: Canucks considering re-signing DeSmith, Mikheyev refused to go to San Jose, and more
3 days ago
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It’s been a busy news cycle the past few days in Vancouver Canucks land. We’ve seen Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua re-signed, Ilya Mikheyev moved for cap space, and more minor notes such as Zach Sawchenko heading for free agency.
The other things that have popped up today fall under the “minor” categories, and includes some speculation as well. Let’s dive into the latest news and rumours surrounding the Canucks!
Canucks considering bringing back DeSmith; Dhaliwal speculates that “something is up” with Canucks’ goalie situation
It certainly seemed like Casey DeSmith was not going to be re-signed ahead of July 1 free agency, but according to both Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dhali — The Team and Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, the Canucks are now considering back DeSmith.
Here’s what Dhaliwal had to say about the situation:
“There seems to be a change in philosophy this week on the goaltending situation from the Canucks, both in Vancouver and Abbotsford. I’m not sure if it’s that the Canucks are worried about Demko’s rehab or not. He’s coming off back to back serious injuries or what he’s going to look like at training camp, but it seems like they are in the market for a veteran NHL goaltender. I will not be surprised if the Canucks reconnect with Casey DeSmith’s agent at the NHL draft in Vegas. They haven’t talked to him in a long time, but again, philosophy has changed. Will Silovs start in Abbotsford? The Canucks are not re-signing their goaltender down there, Zach Sawchenko in Abbotsford, so lots of things have changed with the Canucks’ goaltending situation this week… I’m still trying to figure out all the pieces of the puzzle, but certainly I wonder if the Canucks are worried about Demko coming off of serious back to back injuries. As far as I was told, they were supposed to sign this Sawchenko kid, they basically said ‘we’re not going to sign him, we need an NHL veteran in here.’ I’m trying to piece it together, but something is going on with the Canucks’ goaltending situation.“I can’t report a Demko injury. I’m spitballing and wondering if something’s up with his rehab. They just changed philosophies this week and they were supposed to sign this Sawchenko kid and now they didn’t sign him, and now it looks like they’re going back to DeSmith, so something’s up, I’m trying to figure it out.”
Again, the news here is that the Canucks are going to consider bringing back DeSmith as that veteran NHL goaltender they’re after. The speculation from Dhaliwal is about why they’re doing that. We’ll see where this goes, but one thing is certain: the Canucks remain very busy with the draft and free agency looming.
Ilya Mikheyev refused to waive NTC to go to San Jose
As you know by now, Ilya Mikheyev agreed to waive his 12-team no-trade clause in order to allow the Canucks to deal him to the Chicago Blackhawks.
But according to Dhaliwal, the Canucks also asked him to waive for San Jose, which Mikheyev refused to do. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston first reported last night that there were multiple teams involved in the Mikheyev trade talks.
Dhaliwal also said that somebody told him the Canucks would not have had to retain any salary in the Sharks deal, had Mikheyev waived to go to San Jose.
Instead, the Canucks moved down two rounds in the 2027 draft, as they dealt a second round pick and Sam Lafferty along with Mikheyev in exchange for a 2027 fourth round pick. They also retained 15% of Mikheyev’s contract, a bit under $750,000 on their books for both this upcoming season and 2025-26.
Earlier this week, the Sharks acquired Jake Walman from the Detroit Red Wings and got a second round pick to do it, a deal that hasn’t become any less confusing in the days since. Walman is a serviceable top four defenceman, and reports have suggested that had the Red Wings shopped Walman around, they would have been able to get assets in return, rather than attaching an asset to the 28-year-old left shot defenceman.
“Growing momentum” between Hurricanes and Guentzel
On Thursday’s edition of the Jeff Marek Show, Elliotte Friedman said that he believes there is growing momentum between the Carolina Hurricanes and Jake Guentzel. Friedman added that he heard Carolina is “really trying” to re-sign Guentzel by the draft. The draft is tomorrow, so this will certainly be an interesting to follow for Canucks fans.
Guentzel is without a doubt the NHL’s biggest free agent heading into July 1st, and the Canucks are reportedly very interested in signing the top line winger. That being said, until July 1 hits, there is only one team that can negotiate with Guentzel, and that’s the Hurricanes, who traded for him ahead of the March trade deadline.
As the team with his rights, the Hurricanes also have the advantage of being the only team able to offer Guentzel an eight-year contract as opposed to seven.
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