The Vancouver Canucks have a history of making trades during the final days of January.
As the Olympic trade freeze gets closer, the rumour mill has been working overtime when it comes to the Vancouver Canucks. Over the past few weeks, several players have found their names on trade boards now that the Canucks have officially entered a rebuild. While a trade can be announced on any day, history has shown that Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin like to pull off major moves at the end of January.
Over the last three seasons, Vancouver has made a trade on either January 30 or 31. All three years, the move has been substantial as the organization has either traded away or acquired a key player for picks and prospects. Here is a quick look at the three moves.
January 30, 2023
On January 30, 2023, the Canucks decided to trade away captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders. In return for the Olympian, the Canucks received Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty and a 2023 first-round pick. Of the three assets, only Räty is still with the team, as Beauvillier was later flipped, while the first-round pick was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a package for Filip Hronek.
January 31, 2024
Instead of trading an Olympian in 2024, Vancouver acquired one in center Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames. The Canucks sent a significant package to Calgary, which included Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. While Lindholm became a key piece of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs run, he left in the off-season and signed a long-term deal with the Boston Bruins.
January 31, 2025
January 31, 2025, featured two significant moves. The first was a deal that sent Erik Brännström, Jackson Dorrington and J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in exchange for Victor Mancini, Filip Chytil and a 2025 first-round pick. Mancini and Chytil and currently in Vancouver's lineup, while Miller has since been named captain of the Rangers.
The second move involved acquiring Drew O'Connor and Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In exchange for the two players, the Penguins received New York's first-round pick, Melvin Fernström, Vincent Desharnais and Danton Heinen. Fernström is the only player from the trade left in Pittsburgh, while both Pettersson and O'Connor have become key members of the Canucks organization.
Nov 14, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat (14) looks at the fans during warm up prior to a game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesAt this point, it is more a matter of when, not if, Vancouver makes a trade. The team sits 32nd in the NHL and has some unrestricted free agents that need to be moved to jumpstart the rebuild. If history has taught us anything, it is that a deal could be made before the calendar flips to February.
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