On the surface of the Vancouver Canucks' back-to-back trades on Monday, they did something rebuilding teams aren't supposed to do. 

They traded Nils Hoglander, a 25-year-old left winger with two years left on his contract, to the Nashville Predators for a 2029 third-round pick. 

Vancouver then acquired 34-year-old right winger Brendan Gallagher, who's coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for future considerations.

On paper, this would be the kind of move that makes no sense. Trading away a younger player with a higher ceiling for a modest draft pick, then acquiring a more expensive veteran in the last couple of years of his NHL career, doesn't scream rebuild to many.

Perhaps we should give Canucks GM Ryan Johnson some leash to work with here, however. These decisions do make sense upon a closer look, as the squad seeks to set the tone for culture and the standard. 

Let's start with Hoglander. 

The return of a third-round pick is underwhelming, but the hopes of Hoglander having a breakout season in a Canucks uniform seemed slim.

Hoglander notched a career-high 24 goals two seasons ago and has been trending sharply in the wrong direction ever since. He had eight goals and 24 points in 72 games in 2024-25, followed by two goals and five points in 38 games this past season before an injury ended his year early. 

Hoglander wasn't a building block for the Canucks anymore, despite having a relatively low $3-million cap hit for two more years. A late third-round pick is a fair reflection of the Predators taking a flier on someone who needed a change of scenery and may or may not find his game elsewhere with them.

The Gallagher addition isn't necessarily about production – although there is a chance he could produce. 

With seven goals and 23 points in 77 games and being a frequent healthy scratch in the playoffs, Gallagher won't be much of a difference-maker to the Canucks, at least not on the ice. 

Instead, this move is about culture, something Johnson has talked about frequently since being promoted on May 14.

"I think anybody that has worked with me, alongside me, players that have played with me, they understand there's some real non-negotiables," Johnson said at the time. "I always talk about the professionalism of how they approach every day and having a plan. But even more importantly, and probably guys that have played for me would tell you, my biggest challenge to them every day is, what is the quality of teammate that you could be for each other today?"

Gallagher was an alternate captain for the Canadiens for 11 seasons. He became a citizen of honor of Montreal last Thursday for having a lasting impact on Montrealers through their actions and commitment. Needless to say, he has positive qualities to impart to his new teammates.

At $6.5 million, Gallagher's cap hit would not have been worth it for the Canucks to acquire him, so Montreal retained 50 percent of it. Vancouver is only carrying a $3.25-million cap hit now for the final year of his contract.

If Gallagher can put up 20 goals as he did in 2024-25, or even 16 goals and 31 points as he did in 2023-24, then the Canucks have a trade asset at the deadline.

By that point, the Canucks could retain another $1.625 million of Gallagher's cap hit, which could make the player an attractive rental for a playoff squad.

For however long the Canucks have him, their players will benefit from what Gallagher can bring. He has a standard of compete that young teams genuinely benefit from.

The longtime B.C. resident doesn't just play hard; he wants to play hard in Vancouver. Not many players are saying that these days. 

Is it a perfect rebuild move? No. But as one of Johnson's first moves, he could do much worse.

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