Despite not making a trade to this point of the season, Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin has been working the phones to try and improve his team. While the rumours are about the Canucks acquiring a defenceman, they’ve also kicked the can on New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider.
According to Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal, who shared the news on Thursday’s show:
“Someone told me the Canucks called the Rangers about Chris Kreider. But my guess is Vancouver is probably on Kreider’s no-trade list – he’s got a healthy one, I think, 15 teams. Rangers sent out feelers that Kreider and [Jacob] Trouba were available, so every team called, including the Canucks. But the Canucks are out there working the phones. Vancouver and Pittsburgh [are] still talking too. It’s the job of the Canucks to call the Rangers and see what it would take to get a guy like Kreider.”
In late November, there was a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the Rangers were open to shopping veteran skaters Kreider and Trouba in hopes of shaking up the roster after a not-so-convincing start to the season. There are challenges when moving these players as Kreider is making $6.5 million for two more seasons after 2024-25 with a modified (15-team) no-trade clause, while Trouba is making $8 million for one more season after this and also has a modified (15-team) no-trade clause.
As of this writing, the Canucks have $6.3 million of cap space, with Filip Hronek moving to long-term injured reserve (LTIR). With some roster movements, Vancouver would have the amount of cap space to make a Kreider trade work.
By this time last season, the Canucks had made four trades. They acquired Casey DeSmith (from the Montreal Canadiens), Sam Lafferty (from the Toronto Maple Leafs), and Nikita Zadorov (from the Calgary Flames) and sent Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks. To this point, they have made two moves: acquiring Erik Brännström (from the Colorado Avalanche) and sending Daniel Sprong (to the Seattle Kraken).
The Canucks have been quieter on the trade front but continue to work the phones behind the scenes, as they did calling the Rangers on Chris Kreider.
