Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!
The Vancouver Canucks are coming off an impressive win against the Colorado Avalanche to leapfrog them in the Wild Card standings with three games in hand.
However, the Canucks are still chasing the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific division standings, trailing them by one point but do have a game in hand. Speaking of the Oilers, they nearly made one of the biggest trades in NHL history with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Leon Draisaitl/Nikita Kucherov swap?
On his new shot, The Sheet, on Daily Faceoff, Jeff Marek shared that there were conversations about trading two of the league’s top superstars, Leon Draisaitl, for Nikita Kucherov:
“That year, there were conversations — and I’ve had this confirmed — there were conversations between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers and the two primaries changing were Nikita Kucherov for Leon Draisatil. That was the conversation… I’m not sure how close they got. I think Edmonton may have also wanted Anthony Cirelli, and that’s when things kinda ‘Mehhh well that’s not going to happen.’ It’s not as if they didn’t consider massive change because that was the conversation between those two teams.“As a hockey fan, forget being an Oilers fan… Just imagine Kucherov playing with McDavid for a second. Draisaitl is an incredible player. I think Tampa was thinking ‘We go up the gut with Stamkos and Draisaitl, yeah that looks pretty nice thank you very much.’ But the thought of about Kucherov playing beside Connor McDavid, that’s juicy.”
That would have shaken up the hockey world. Having a pairing of McDavid and Kucherov – who both put up 100 assists last season – would have been a scary duo for the Canucks to face three times this season and have to worry about come playoff time.
Now, the Oilers are very happy with the play from Draisaitl this season, as he currently leads the NHL in goals with 23 and is tied for second in points with Kirill Kaprizov and Mikko Rantanen with 47. However, Nikita Kucherov is hot on their tail with 46 points despite missing two games with an injury.
Is Kucherov for Draisaitl an even deal as it is? Potentially. They have had similar success; Draisaitl has six 100-point seasons in his last seven years, while Kucherov has four at the same time, but has the higher point total season with the 144 mark he hit just last year. Draisaitl is two years younger, which could lean the trade value more in Edmonton’s favour.
However, adding a 27-year-old Anthony Cirelli seems like a bit of a stretch. At the time, Cirelli hadn’t fully developed into the shutdown centreman he is today.
While this would have been a fun move, it’s one that never happened. And we’re left wondering whether or not the Lightning would have had two Stanley Cups had they made this move and would have been the tipping point for the Oilers last year in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers last season.
Kaapo Kakko speaks on healthy scratching
The New York Rangers made the difficult decision to scratch Kaapo Kakko for their most recent game against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. And it’s safe to say the 23-year-old Finnish forward didn’t agree with the decision, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post:
“I was surprised, yeah,” said Kakko, who looked as dejected as he’s ever been since the Rangers drafted him second overall in 2019. “I know you’ve got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out. That’s how I feel, to be honest.
“I have not been the worst guy,” he said. “But that was me out of the lineup.”
The Rangers have struggled lately, to say the least. They have dropped 11 of their last 14 games and have fallen out of a playoff spot. Granted, they’re out just one point from regaining the playoff spot. So, there is time for them to jump back in. But there hasn’t been a lot of positivity surrounding the team, especially after how the Jacob Trouba trade went down.
While surprised by his scratching, it’s not like Kakko has done much to warrant being a lineup lock. So far this season, Kakko has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 13:23 minutes of ice time. However, he is an impressive plus-10 on the season, which is good for the best plus/minus rating on this Rangers team.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette replied to Kakko’s comments:
“There’s been older players who have sat out, as well,” Laviolette said. “The decisions that I make, they’re tough decisions. Our team, Kaapo, our team — we need to play better. We’re 3-10 in our last 13 games and that’s not good enough. We need to play a better brand of hockey, all of us.”
Kakko will have his opportunity to redeem himself as he will return to the lineup for tonight’s game against the Nashville Predators.
Hurricanes shopping for a goaltender
The Carolina Hurricanes are in the market for a netminder. They have narrowed down their targets to a trio of goaltenders: Ottawa Senators’ Anton Forsberg, Utah Hockey Club’s Karel Vejmelka and Calgary Flames’ Dan Vladar.
Usual starting goaltender Frederik Andersen has struggled to stay healthy this season. He has suited up in just four games this season, not suiting up since October 26th in a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. They have had to rely on 25-year-old goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to lead the crease.
Kochetkov has an impressive 12-5 record with a 2.61 goals against average (GAA), but with the Hurricanes being one of the most successful shot suppression teams, he has a disappointing .895 save percentage (S%). Currently, the Hurricanes have 35-year-old Dustin Tokarski serving as Kochetkov’s backup. He’s played just one game this season, coming out victorious against Columbus Blue Jackets, stopping 27 of 28 shots on goal.
The targets the Hurricanes are going after all make sense. Linus Ullmark has been re-signed for three seasons after this, Connor Ingram has stepped up as the main netminder for Utah while Duston Wolf has emerged as one of the top Calder trophy candidates this season.
Forsberg, 32, has a 4-6 record on the year, a 2.95 GAA, and a .889 S%. He is currently battling an injury and will not be with the team on their road trip, but he would provide a solid backup option for Kochetkov once he is healthy. Forsberg is in the final year of his current $2.75 million contract.
Vejmelka, 28, has served as the team’s backup before the injury to Ingram. He has now surpassed Ingram in starts, holding a 6-7-2 record with an impressive 2.40 GAA and a .915 S%. He has proven he can be relied upon if need be and would serve more as a 1A/1B situation if traded to the Hurricanes. Vejmelka is in the final year of his $2.725 million contract.
Vladar, 27, holds a 6-6-4 record on the season, with a 3.08 GAA and a .885 S%. The emergence of Wolf has made Vladar available. The Flames are having a better season than most expected and are certainly safely in the playoff race. However, having Wolf – the Flames’ goaltender of the future – role with the majority of the starts moving forward would be ideal for his development. Vladar is in the final year of
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