The Vancouver Canucks waited until the 11th hour to make an NHL-level trade.

Vancouver has consummated a surprising deal with the Calgary Flames for 22-year-old Swiss-born forward Sven Baertschi, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The cost of acquiring Baertschi is a second-round pick, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

Baertschi is undersized, but is very young, has solid two-way awareness, and has managed excellent results in the American Hockey League. His .71 points per game scoring rate in over 100 games of AHL action is suggestive of a player with top-six upside. 

A second-round pick is a steep price to pay for a player who has yet to establish himself as an everyday NHL player, but this is precisely the sort of deal that Jim Benning has been focused on making throughout his first year as Vancouver’s general manager. What’s the difference between this deal, really, and his trading of a second-round pick for Linden Vey? Or the Gustav Forsling for Adam Clendenning swap? 

Benning isn’t just willing to trade picks and longer-term futures for successful AHLers in their early 20s who are closer to, perhaps, contributing at the NHL level – its been a hallmark of his tenure so far. 

What’s more surprising about this deal, perhaps, is that the Flames and the Canucks completed a deal with one another. It’s the first time the two teams have consummated a trade since the Canucks traded for Dana Murzyn back in 1991, according to Ryan Pike of FlamesNation.ca.

Baertschi will report to the Utica Comets to start with, according to the Vancouver Sun’s Iain MacIntyre. He’ll be coached there by Travis Green, who was his coach with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks during his major junior career.