The NHL Trade Deadline has come and passed and according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Vancouver Canucks are done for the day.
The Athletic’s Thomas Drance also confirmed the news:
The Canucks held onto their three pending UFAs, forwards Brock Boeser, Pius Suter and defenceman Derek Forbort.
Boeser was the only one of the trio that generated steam on the trade market today. After the Carolina Hurricanes traded recently acquired Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars, Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal highlighted the Hurricanes as a player to watch for Boeser:
However, a deal never matieralized between the two clubs and Boeser remains a Canuck. Dhaliwal shared after the deadline that the Canucks and Boeser’s camp were still not close on an extension as early as this morning.
There were minimal rumours around Suter and Forbort moving today. However, the Canucks did make a trade on Thursday, sending defenceman Carson Soucy to the New York Rangers in exchange for San Jose’s 2025 third-round pick. The moves, or lack thereof, come as a shock to many as the club worked all season to accrue cap space during the season.
The market at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline indicated that it was a “seller’s market”. There were five first-round picks, seven second-round picks, six third-round picks, and three fourth-round picks traded within the previous two days, with even more starting to trickle in.
This marks the second straight season for the Canucks that they did not make a trade on deadline day. Last season, they got their work done early, trading for Nikita Zadorov in November and acquiring Elias Lindholm at the end of January. They did a little bit of the same this year when they traded JT Miller to the New York Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a 2025 conditional first-round pick – which was later flipped to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor.
Vancouver currently sits on the outside looking in of the playoffs, trailing the Calgary Flames by one point with a game in hand. The Canucks have 21 games remaining on the schedule to make their final push toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.