Canucks Players Navigate Choppy Waters as Trade Deadline Nears

The Vancouver Canucks have been busy heading into the NHL trade deadline, and the possibility of more moves was hung in the air at Rogers Arena on Thursday night. 

Kirill Kaprizov was in full-on superstar mode, scoring both goals for the visitors in a 2-1 win for the Minnesota Wild, the seventh in their last eight games. 

Brock Boeser was the only Canuck to beat Marc-Andre Fleury. On a first-period power play, he converted an impressive feed from Vitali Kravtsov, who picked up his first point with his new team in his second game.

Acquired from the New York Rangers last Saturday in exchange for winger Will Lockwood and a seventh-round pick in 2026, Kravtsov showed some chemistry with linemates Sheldon Dries and his 2019 world juniors teammate, Vasily Podkolzin on Thursday. 

Often criticized for his tentative play during his time with the Rangers, the ninth overall pick from the 2018 draft showed his offensive smarts while setting up Boeser's goal and didn't hesitate to step in and support Podkolzin during a net-front scrum.

On Thursday, Canucks fans had to settle for Kravtsov as the only new face in the lineup. One day earlier, Allvin shook up the deadline narratives around his team when he dealt the conditional first-round pick acquired from the New York Islanders in the Bo Horvat trade, along with a second-rounder from the upcoming 2023 draft, to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for defender Filip Hronek.

In terms of need, Hronek should fill a gaping hole on the Vancouver blueline. At 25, he's the right age to be part of the roster that Allvin and Jim Rutherford have said they want to build out around Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. And he's a solid two-way defender who can put up points and play with some snarl.

But it was an unexpected pivot for the Canucks to suddenly part with some significant draft capital for the stacked class of 2023. And Hronek suffered what's being called a minor injury in his last game with Detroit on Tuesday, so it's currently unclear when he'll make his debut in Canucks colors. Coach Rick Tocchet said Thursday he expects Hronek to get to Vancouver and be assessed by team doctors by the weekend.

Hronek's acquisition came after the Canucks sent out two other defensemen earlier in the week. 

On Monday, Allvin traded Riley Stillman less than five months after acquiring him, sending him to Buffalo in exchange for 19-year-old OHL forward prospect Josh Bloom. Then, on Tuesday, impending UFA Luke Schenn was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a third-round pick.

Those trades, on top of injuries to Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ethan Bear and Travis Dermott, have opened up opportunities for AHL players and blueliners who are typically on the roster bubble. 

Kyle Burroughs had just five NHL games on his resumé when he signed a two-year free-agent contract with his hometown team in the summer of 2021. As a right-sider who's willing to hit and play a physical game, he has stuck with the big club. But he has been a frequent healthy scratch, getting into just 27 games so far this season.

On Thursday, Burroughs played 17:41, threw six hits and scored a knockout in a third-period fight against rugged Brandon Duhaime in what Tocchet called a "gritty" night for the 27-year-old. 

After the game, Burroughs said he's doing his best to fill the considerable void left by Schenn's departure.

"It's been the same all year," he said. "Come to work, work hard, show my best self every day and show what I can bring to this team.

"Losing Luke, it's tough to replicate that as a leader in this room and what he brought on the ice. And for me, the last year and a half, I've been trying to learn from him and pick his brain a lot."

But the six-foot, 193-pounder doesn't think of himself as an exact replica of Luke Schenn.

"I don't have the physical attributes to mold myself after him," said Burroughs. "But if I can bring kind of the heart and the way that he played, I think that will do me good in the end."

Will more roster spots open up in Vancouver before the deadline officially passes at 3 p.m. ET on Friday? In the midst of another disappointing season, there has been noise around the team all year. Allvin showed he wasn't afraid to pull the trigger on a big deal when he moved the captain, Horvat, to the Islanders a month ago.

Deep in the rumor mix for the second-straight year, J.T. Miller abruptly landed on the injured list with a lower-body issue that was deemed 'week-to-week' on Monday. He was back in action against Minnesota on Thursday and looked to be in full form, with more than 20 minutes of ice time. 

"He told me after he skated, 'I want to go,' and we talked to the doctor and it was safe for him to come back," explained Tocchet post-game, without shedding much light on the reason for Miller's absence. "I like that. He wanted to come back and play, and it shows a lot. Instead of just sitting out, he wants to be part of this."

Brock Boeser's name has also been in the rumor mill for months. He reiterated Thursday night that he doesn't think he'll be moved. 

"But whatever happens, happens," he conceded. "It's out of my control."

Traded five times himself during his 18-year NHL career, including four times in-season, Tocchet understands the strain players can feel around deadline time, especially when there's an underlying belief that management could be open to just about anything.

"Yeah, I can tell some guys are feeling bugged by it," he said. "But these (days) aren't, we just pack it in and wait for next year.

"It's almost like we're starting a training camp now, how we do things," Tocchet added. "We have to have a mindset of 'It starts now, for next year.' "

After Friday, he'll know exactly who he'll be working with as the Canucks play out the string outside the playoff picture for the seventh time in the last eight years.

Schenn will be back at Rogers Arena on Saturday, on the other side, as the Maple Leafs make their only visit of the year.

Frequent partner Quinn Hughes expects the hard-hitting Schenn will show his former teammates no mercy. 

"I don't think he's going to give anyone any freebies," he said Thursday morning. "Even me."

"It's crazy that it's so quick," said Burroughs. "It's going to be weird but it's going to be exciting to see him again. It's going to be different."