It’s trade deadline day and, for once, the Vancouver Canucks aren’t sellers.
The trouble is, the market is running out of players to buy. Teams around the NHL were extra active in the week leading up to the deadline, with many of the biggest names already on the move over the last few days.
Will Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin pull the trigger on Tyler Toffoli? Will they make a move for a different winger like Jason Zucker? Will they make any other deals to add depth as they aim for a long playoff run? What about Phil Kessel — will they sign him before the deadline to ensure he’s eligible for the playoffs?
Those are the questions that will be answered today and Pass it to Bulis will be following along all day in this liveblog.
So, here we go. Refresh early and often: new updates will appear at the top.
1:15 p.m. | The trade deadline is over, the Canucks press conference has ended, and the gathered media have gone their separate ways. Three lone sandwich triangles remain on the buffet table, along with a largely untouched tray of salad and a collection of croissants.
The Canucks have done nothing at the trade deadline but watch other teams in their division and conference get better but Patrik Allvin seemed unfazed.
"Looking at our team and where we are, sitting here today with 89 points with the group we have here...we felt that the team we have is good enough to compete," said Allvin.
We'll end the liveblog with that statement. The Canucks feel they're good enough with the team they've already gathered together, including the trades they have made during the season to add Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm. Are they right? Only time will tell.
I will have a wrap-up article coming of the press conference with some more thoughts on what the Canucks did today by not doing anything but this is sayonara for the liveblog. Thanks for following along!
12:04 p.m. | The deadline has passed but there could still be deals in the queue with the NHL that could trickle out over the next half hour.
But, according to The Athletic's Thomas Drance, a Phil Kessel contract or a last-minute trade for the Canucks won't be one of those deals. They're done.
There's no getting around it: this is disappointing. The Canucks had a distinct need for a top-six winger and were in on conversations with a bunch of them, but never got a deal done. On top of it, they won't be adding Kessel at no asset cost as playoff depth.
11:56 a.m. | I'm hearing the Canucks are closing in on a top-six winger but I don't have details at the moment. But the Canucks might actually make a trade here just before the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Tomas Hertl. That's a massive, massive move. Holy smokes.
The Vegas Golden Knights keep adding and adding. Yes, the Canucks handily dealt with them Thursday night, but they're going to be a problem down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Even better, the biggest deal of the day was broken by the GOAT, Bob McKenzie. Incredible.
Also, Jack Roslovic has gone to the New York Rangers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. So, that's neat.
11:40 a.m. | Matt Dumba is on his way from the desert to Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Lightning added the right-shot defenceman from the Arizona Coyotes for a 2027 fifth-round pick — three years in the future. The Lightning also get a 2025 seventh-round pick in the deal.
Do I have any compelling thoughts about this trade? I do not. But the bulgogi wrap is really hitting the spot.
There are too many rhymes in this update. I apologize.
11:20 a.m. | The Canucks have actually done something!
They've assigned Vasily Podkolzin to the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL.
Now, is this a precursor to another move — a trade, signing Phil Kessel, anything — or is this just a paper transaction so that Podkolzin is eligible to play in the AHL playoffs?
It could be both. We'll see.
11:12 a.m. | We have a trade to announce!
I have acquired a ham and cheese sandwich, Korean beef bulgogi wrap, and a chocolate chip cookie from the Canucks in exchange for future considerations.
11:00 a.m. | One hour remaining until the trade deadline. This is when things can get spicy.
As of yet, the Canucks have done nothing. Will that change? Who knows! I sure don't!
The Boston Bruins have added Andrew Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets, a right-shot defenceman who is not very good. They traded away Jakub Zboril, an older, left-shot defenceman who has spent the season in the AHL. Thrilling!
10:45 a.m. | Thrilling trade deadline action!
The Montreal Canadiens have traded Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional third-round pick, which can become a second-round pick if he plays enough games.
Allen has an .892 save percentage this season. He had an .891 save percentage last season. He's signed for another season at $3.85 million, but the Canadiens are retaining 50% of his salary.
I'm not so sure that he's a solution to the Devils' goaltending woes.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators have swapped Denis Gurianov and Wade Allison. The Predators have already added Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier; adding Allison makes them a little bit deeper and stronger heading into the playoffs.
Finally, Erik Johnson is heading to the Flyers from the Buffalo Sabres for a fourth-round pick. I guess he fills in for Sean Walker as the Flyers continue to push for a playoff spot despite sort of being a seller.
10:25 a.m. | TSN, in their endless endeavour to fill time on trade deadline day, is doing a full-on draft lottery show, with Jeff O'Neill flipping cards with logos on them like he's Bill Daly.
It's...not great content. NHL teams executing a bunch of major moves in the week leading up to the deadline has hurt the deadline day broadcasts a lot.
10:15 a.m. | I have been informed that the Canucks are making a major move: they're providing sandwiches for lunch.
We'll have to see if they're a fit in the room.
9:30 a.m. | The Canucks missed out on Jake Guentzel and Tyler Toffoli. Now Jason Zucker is off the market too.
Zucker is heading to the Nashville Predators, who already added Anthony Beauvillier yesterday. They're in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and are shoring up their roster for a playoff run, it seems.
The return for Zucker? Just a sixth-round pick, with no salary retention. Maybe the Canucks' rumoured interest in Zucker was not that serious. Either that or the Coyotes had zero interest in retaining salary, which would have made Zucker a non-starter with his $5.3 million cap hit.
The question for the Canucks is who's left among forwards? In terms of rentals, it's basically Reilly Smith, Max Pacioretty, and Lars Eller. If the Canucks want a player signed through next season, Frank Vatrano and Pavel Buchnevich are on the trade block but could be costly and would require creativity to make fit.
9:10 a.m. | We've got the return on the Tyler Toffoli trade and it seems a little surprising the Canucks couldn't match that deal.
The Winnipeg Jets sent a second-round pick in 2025 and a third-round pick in 2024 to the New Jersey Devils for Toffoli, with the Devils retaining 50% of his salary.
Really, the Canucks should have been able to make that deal but the trouble for them is that they have no cap space. In order to fit Toffoli, even with 50% retained, they likely would have needed to send a contract back to the Devils or get a third team involved to retain more salary, both of which would have upped the asking price.
Those same obstacles exist for basically any trade the Canucks want to make, so we'll see if and how Patrik Allvin can navigate those obstacles.
8:59 a.m. | There have been a couple more trades, though nothing major.
The Florida Panthers have added veteran Kyle Okposo, who there wasn't much buzz for on the trade market. For their captain, the Buffalo Sabres got a 24-year-old AHL defenceman and a conditional seventh-round pick that becomes a fifth-round pick if the Panthers win the Stanley Cup.
The Anaheim Ducks acquired Ben Meyers from the Colorado Avalanche for a third-round pick. It's a bit unusual for a team at the bottom of the standings to trade away a pick at the deadline but there you go. Meyers is a 25-year-old AHL defenceman who has put up a lot of points in the AHL but hasn't been able to permanently crack the Avalanche's lineup.
Meanwhile, TSN has Jeff O'Neill strutting around in gold pants, dark sunglasses, and a wrestling belt. It's weird.
8:44 a.m. | The Boston Bruins have added Pat Maroon, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, from the Minnesota Wild.
I have added a couple of pastries, a yogurt, and some fruit to my plate from the refreshment table.
8:30 a.m. | Tyler Toffoli is off the board.
Toffoli was presumably the Canucks' primary target after Guentzel went to the Hurricanes but he'll instead be heading to another Canadian team: the Winnipeg Jets.
No word on the return yet — expected to just be draft picks — but this is disappointing for the Canucks, who will need to turn elsewhere for top-six help.
This is a big addition for the Jets, who are in the hunt for first in the Central Division, if not first in the Western Conference.
8:05 a.m. | I'm at Rogers Arena and all is quiet at the moment. No sign yet of the "refreshments" promised by the Canucks in their media advisory for trade deadline day. Personally, I'm hoping for some of Garland's homemade lobster rolls but maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up.
How much sleep did I get last night? Hahaha, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. The walls are only slightly closing in on me and I’m sure I can find some sort of scrap metal to jam between them before they crush me.
As for trades, the only deal that's gone down so far is the Carolina Hurricanes taking a chance on Evgeny Kuznetsov, sending a third-round pick to the Washington Capitals. The Capitals are retaining 50% of his salary and he has one more year left on his salary.
It's a big swing at a low price, both because Kuznetsov's production crashed this season and because he's coming off a stint in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. If he clicks in Carolina, however, that could be a huge addition for the Hurricanes. After all, he led the playoffs in scoring in 2018 when he helped lead the Capitals to the Stanley Cup.
As for the Canucks, nothing yet. ChekTV's Rick Dhaliwal is reporting that the Canucks signing Phil Kessel is dependent on them having the cap space to do it. That could depend on what other deals they do or do not get done before the trade deadline.
6:30 a.m. | Like Willie Nelson, I’m on the road again. The Canucks are opening Rogers Arena to the media at 8:00 a.m., which means an early morning start to get there on transit from Surrey for your friendly neighbourhood liveblogger.
It’s possible that the Canucks could make a trade while I’m commuting but things generally start off pretty slow on trade deadline day. Still, the pressure is on the Canucks to add to their roster, as the other top teams in the Western Conference have made some big moves.
The Canucks have already made two major additions this season, trading for Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames in two separate deals. In a way, they’ve already made their “deadline” deals. Also, getting Carson Soucy back from injury kind of feels like trading for a defenceman and they might add a forward without trading any assets by signing Phil Kessel.
Still, there’s the sense that the Canucks are not done in the trade market.
The one player they will no longer be targeting is Jake Guentzel. Late Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent the two-time 40-goal scorer to the Carolina Hurricanes, who were able and willing to part with the package of picks, prospects, and a roster player that the Canucks were not.
Guentzel would have been a great fit for the Canucks’ biggest need: a top-six winger to play with either J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson. With Guentzel off the market, Tyler Toffoli is the next best winger on the trade block and, with his proven chemistry with both Miller and Pettersson, he makes a lot of sense for the Canucks.
They won't be the only ones pursuing Toffoli, of course.
