In what’s been a quiet NHL Trade Deadline for the Vancouver Canucks, they dip their toes into the waiver wire pool with an hour to go before the deadline.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared via social media that the Canucks have claimed Tampa Bay Lightning forward Curtis Douglas off NHL waivers.

Douglas, 26, is a 6’9″, 242-lbs enforcer, who was drafted in the fourth-round (106th overall) of the 2018 NHL draft by the Dallas Stars. Since his draft year, Douglas has bounced around the American League over the past six seasons with the Belleville Senators, Toronto Marlies, and Tucson Roadrunners. Throughout those years, Douglas has appeared in 261 AHL games, scoring 37 goals and 61 assists for 98 points.

In 2024, Douglas signed a two-year, $1.55 million contract with the Utah Mammoth, carrying a league-minimum $775,000 annual salary. This past offseason, Douglas was claimed off waivers from the Lightning.

The Oakville, Ontario, native has split the season between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In six games with the Crunch, Douglas picked up one assist with zero penalty minutes. In the NHL, Douglas has appeared in 29 games, picking up a pair of assists and 92 penalty minutes, with eight fighting majors.

His eight major penalties have him in a tie for second in the league this season – with Mathieu Olivier and Arber Xhejak – trailing only Ross Johnston of the New York Islanders. According to HockeyFights.com voters, Douglas has a 4-5-1 record in his fights this season, including preseason tilts.

Despite the large frame, Douglas has not been as physical as expected. Throughout his 29 games, he has just 32 hits this season. His 11.09 hits per 60 ranks 115th in the NHL this season, fifth on the Lightning, and would be the fourth highest on the current Canucks roster.

As of this writing, we are 30 minutes away from the official NHL Trade Deadline, and the Canucks still have all three pending unrestricted free agents – Teddy Blueger, Evander Kane and David Kämpf – on the roster. Make sure to keep up to date on all the latest trades on our CanucksArmy live blog!