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 have returned to action on their five-game road trip. It wasn’t the ideal start for the club as they scored just one goal in each of their back-to-back games against the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club for a pair of losses.
Their road trip continues with another set of back-to-backs against the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. However, the big talking point throughout the league is the fast-approaching trade deadline on March 7.
We’re starting to hear rumours about some high-profile players potentially on the move, while one-star player made an appearance on a high-profile late-night talk show. There’s lots of news to cover; let’s get into it.

Penguins willing to move off Karlsson

Not even two years after the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Erik Karlsson, it sounds like the club is ready to move off of him.
In an article from the Athletic’s Josh Yohe, he shared that sources told him that if he could, Kyle Dubas would trade Karlsson “in a heartbeat.”
Yohe added that an Eastern Conference executive shared that Karlsson’s name is out there.
The Penguins acquired Karlsson – along with Rem Pitlick, Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round pick – in a blockbuster three-way trade that sent Mikael Granlund, Jan Rutta, Mike Hoffman and a 2024 first-round pick to the San Jose Sharks and Jeff Petry, Casey DeSmith, Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens.
Karlsson was coming off a 101-point campaign with the Sharks before he was acquired. It was just the 15 time a defenceman reached the century mark and the first since Brian Leetch with the New York Rangers in the 1991-1992 season.
In his first year with the Penguins, Karlsson tallied 11 goals and 45 assists for 56 points. He has followed that up with a strong offensive season, scoring six goals and 34 assists for 40 points through 59 games.
It may be difficult to trade Karlsson with his expensive $10 million AAV contract for the following two seasons. But it seems like the Penguins GM is hoping to capitalize on Karlsson after a strong tournament. That same NHL executive shared that Dubas would have to retain on any deal, but that’s to be expected.
The Penguins are on a back-nine of their run with an aging core and the bare prospect cupboards, currently sitting last in their division. Dubas will likely have no problem retaining to return the best possible return to help the club’s inevitable rebuild.

Bruins receiving calls on Marchand

It hasn’t been a fantastic season for the Boston Bruins thus far, as they are on the outside looking in for the Eastern Conference playoff picture. And it isn’t going to get much easier for them as their top two defencemen, Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, are out of the lineup for the foreseeable future.
With the Bruins potentially losing out on their playoff hopes, all eyes point to next season, and it looks like they may be moving off of some of their upcoming unrestricted free agents. Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau look to be on the move, but questions about their captain, Brad Marchand, and whether he’ll remain with the team is in question.
Elite Prospects Cam Robinson shared this today on X:
Marchand reaffirmed his decision to remain a Bruin and wanting to finish his career in Boston. However, does that align with the Bruins’ stance?
Like the Penguins, the Bruins are weak prospect-wise, considering they’ve been a perennial contender. Is it time for Boston to start a re-tool and build around David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy?
We’ll have to wait and see until the March 7 trade deadline to see if he moves.
Now, let’s put on our Canucks glasses. I posed this question on X, would Canucks fans welcome a Marchand trade if he became available? Let us know in the comments below!

Matthew Tkachuk on the Tonight Show

From Stanley Cup Champion to the opening 4 Nations Face-off fight at puck drop, Matthew Tkachuk has been all about the headlines over the past calendar year. And he made some more on Monday night as he joined Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show.
Tkachuk spoke about how excited he was to play with his brother for the first time:
“We played an All-Star game together, but that’s fake. It was our first ever opportunity. We grew up always competeing against each other. We always dreamed about playing with each other and it finally came true.”
The Florida Panthers forward added how special it was for him to represent his country at such a high-level tournament:
“It really was such a big tournament, such a huge stage, something that I’ll never forget. The thing that I’m most proud of with that team was how much pride we showed representing our country and being American and being so lucky to represent this great country.”
Unfortunately for Tkachuk, he would get hurt in the tournament and is set to miss some time for his club. While there was some speculation he would be out for the remainder of the season, his coach doesn’t believe that’s the case.

A pair of suspensions

Trevor Zegras
Anaheim Ducks’ forward Trevor Zegras has been suspended for three games on February 24 for a hit to the head on Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen.
The hit occurred at the 17:17 mark of the second period and made direct contact with Rasmussen’s head far after the play. Zegras was not assessed a penalty on the play. This is the first suspension of Zegras’ career, and according to the report, he will lose out on $89,843.76.
He will miss Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks and Saturday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Zegras returns in one week’s time against the Edmonton Oilers, three days before the NHL trade deadline.
Ryan Hartman
Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman was suspended for 10 games on February 3 for roughing Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle off the faceoff.
Hartman puts his arm on top of Stutzle’s head and drives him down to the ice face first. Stutzle was left bleeding from his upper left eyebrow. Hartman was assessed a match penalty for the incident.
However, Hartman appealed the 10-game suspension, and the league lessened the suspension to eight games.
This marks the fifth suspension of Hartman’s career. Here are the previous four:
One game suspension for interfering with Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers in 2023.
One game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Colorado Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg in the 2023 playoffs.
Two game suspension for a dangerous trip on Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat later in 2023.
Three game suspension for throwing his stick at an official in 2024.
Hartman has missed four games already and will miss the following four games against the Red Wings, Utah Hockey Club, Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins. He will return in one week’s time against the Seattle Kraken, three days ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

Red Wings trade Husso to Ducks

On February 24, the Detroit Red Wings traded goaltender Ville Husso to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for future considerations.
Husso is in the final year of his $4.75 million contract he signed with the Red Wings in the 2022 offseason after a very strong 2021-2022 campaign. The Finnish netminder pushed Jordan Binnington for the starting job in the St. Louis Blues, finishing with a 25-7-6 record with a 2.56 goals against average (GAA) and a .919 save percentage (S%).
However, his play has really fallen off since joining the Red Wings, highlighted by a 1-5-2 record, 3.69 GAA and a .866 S%. His struggles resulted in him being demoted down to the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Husso has found a bit of his game again in the AHL, holding an 8-4 record with a 2.70 GAA and a .912 S%.
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