Even though the Vancouver Canucks haven’t played a game since their Jan. 27 5-4 overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, they have been in the news. From a blockbuster trade to six players and a coach in Toronto for All-Star Weekend, there has been plenty to talk about across social media and in the blogosphere. With that, here is the latest edition of Canucks’ 3 Up, 3 Down.
Plus One: Canucks Snag Top Center on the Trade Market
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word break. Last year on Jan. 30, he dealt captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders for a 2023 first-round pick, Aatu Raty, and Anthony Beauvillier. This year, on Jan. 31, he was at it again, acquiring Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick.
Fresh off signing a multi-year extension with the Canucks, Allvin got right to work and grabbed arguably the best center on the trade market. And despite everyone thinking it was a massive overpay for what could be a rental, he avoided trading any blue-chip prospects and top youngsters like Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podkolzin. That’s a win in my books. While it’s still a lot to give up, Brzustewicz and Jurmo are not blue-chippers, and the first-round pick will likely be in the 25-32 range (hopefully 32), so it’s not that big of a package when you think about it.
Related: Canucks, Oilers, Jets & Maple Leafs: Building for the Playoffs
Regardless of the cost, the Canucks upgraded their top-six and now have three versatile top-line centers in J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Lindholm that can play in all situations, score goals, and make plays. That’s valuable when you enter the playoffs where teams try to play the match game and shut down the stars. Head coach Rick Tocchet must be salivating at all the options he has with Lindholm on the roster now.
Minus One: Kuzmenko Gets Traded Amid Sophomore Slump
After a rookie season where Kuzmenko finished with a shooting percentage of 27.3 (first in the NHL), a drop-off was likely expected. However, I don’t think anyone saw this coming. This season, that number has dropped to 12.7 percent, and instead of 20 goals at the All-Star Break, he only has eight. He is on pace for a paltry 14 goals and 37 points, 25 goals and 37 points fewer than last season. He also took up residence in Tocchet’s dog house multiple times and seemingly could not get into the good graces of a coach that demands hard work at both ends of the ice.
So, after months of trying to get Kuzmenko on the same page as his head coach, the Canucks gave up and dealt him to the Flames. He had to waive his no-trade clause to be sent to Cowtown and hopefully, for his sake, he can get into the good books of Ryan Huska and return to the player that took the league by storm last season.
Plus Two: All-Star Weekend Had Distinct Canucks Flavour
The Canucks had six representatives at All-Star Weekend in Toronto as Pettersson, Miller, Lindholm, Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko, and Quinn Hughes were part of the festivities. At the All-Star Player Draft on Thursday (Feb. 1), Hughes, Pettersson and celebrity co-captain Michael Buble chose every Canuck except for Lindholm to be on their team along with Nikita Kucherov, Jesper Bratt, Frank Vatrano, Brady Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, and Cam Talbot. The highlight of the night was Pettersson selecting Boeser only to have CBC’s David Amber usher him away saying that Team Hughes had to choose their final goaltender before their next pick. Boeser in turn had to do an about-face and skate back to his bench. He eventually joined his teammates after the commercial break, but it was a funny moment nonetheless.
The All-Star Skills competition on Saturday was highlighted by Pettersson winning the passing challenge and Miller making it to the final obstacle course to have a chance at winning $1 million. Connor McDavid eventually won it, but it was nice to see at least one Canuck make it to the end. Other highlights included Hughes narrowly beating Cale Makar in the Fastest Skater event (14.088 – 14.089), Demko having a pretty good run in the one-on-one challenge and Miller blasting a 102.3 mph shot in the Hardest Shot, beating Pettersson’s mark of 98.4.
“Beat Petey in the hardest shot,” said Miller when asked his goal for the Skills Competition. “Made my night. That’s worth a million bucks to me.”
“It was just a one hundred dollar bill,” said Pettersson. “He got it this time…I had over 103 last year, so he can brag about this but I still got the record if we’re going to be picky.”
In the actual All-Star Game, Team Hughes went up against Team Matthews in Game 2 and lost in the shootout 6-5 with Pettersson scoring a goal and Hughes notching three assists. Boeser finished with a turnover to Filip Forsberg and was a minus-3 while Miller was a minus-2. Pettersson and Miller were featured in the shootout, but both of them couldn’t solve Igor Shesterkin.
Minus Two: Flames Want First-Round Pick For Tanev
The Canucks almost had a homecoming on Wednesday in the form of Chris Tanev. But it wasn’t meant to be, as the Flames reportedly have set the cost for him at a first-round pick. Allvin tried to have him added to the Lindholm trade, but GM Craig Conroy wasn’t budging on his ask.
Tanev is highly respected in the Canucks organization, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he will wear the blue and green again. Unfortunately, unless the Flames move off the price or Allvin is comfortable giving up another first-round pick, fans might have to wait until July 1 to see him back in Vancouver.
Plus Three: Pettersson Named 3rd Star of January & Boeser Hits 30
After a scorching hot January where he scored 14 goals and 21 points in 13 games, Pettersson was named the NHL’s third star of the month behind Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche. He is now up to 27 goals on the season and is on pace for his second-straight 100-point campaign, which would make him the first Swede to do it in the history of the NHL. He is also on track to score 45 goals, shattering his career-high of 39 that he set in 2022-23.
Boeser also had a January to remember as he hit 30 goals for the first time in his career. The milestone came in the comeback win against the Blue Jackets on Jan. 27, where he recorded his third hat trick of the season and second four-point game. The man they call the “Brockstar” is feeling it this season as he is on pace for 50 goals and 87 points.
Minus Three: Ilya Mikheyev’s Slump Continues
From the scorching hot to the Arctic cold, Ilya Mikheyev only wishes he was on a streak like Pettersson’s. The speedy Russian’s last goal came way back on Dec. 17 against the Chicago Blackhawks, making it 17 games since he put one by a goaltender not named Demko or Casey DeSmith. He also only has six points in those 17 games and he’s been playing in the top-six and second-unit power play.
The Canucks need to see more production from Mikheyev if he’s going to continue playing in the top-six. With Lindholm replacing Kuzmenko on his line with Pettersson, his point totals might get a boost. If not, he could be replaced by Nils Hoglander and be shuttled down to the fourth line with Sam Lafferty and Nils Aman.
Canucks Have a Strong Roster For the Stretch Run
Now that Lindholm is in the fold, the Canucks are ready to take the unofficial second half by storm. According to Tankathon, they have the fifth-toughest schedule with three games against the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets coming up in the next three months. They will have their work cut out for them, but with one of the strongest, deepest, and most versatile lineups in the NHL right now, Tocchet has all the weapons at his disposal to not only challenge those teams but show them that they are indeed a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. That journey starts on Tuesday, as they face the team that drafted Lindholm, the Carolina Hurricanes.
