Share this Story: NHL trade deadline 2019 recap: Canucks make two trades while contenders load up NHL trade deadline 2019 recap: Canucks make two trades while contenders load up A recap and analysis of the Canucks' deadline-day moves and how other teams' trades might affect them, too. Photo by DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Article content Feb. 25, 2019, was the last day NHL clubs can make deals and have those players still available for the Stanley Cup playoffs. On a busy day around the league, the Canucks made a pair of trades: shipping Erik Gudbranson to the LA Kings for winger Tanner Pearson and trading prospect Jonathan Dahlen to the San Jose Sharks for another prospect, Linus Karlsson. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or NHL trade deadline 2019 recap: Canucks make two trades while contenders load up Back to video Catch up below with everything that went down on a busy Monday… 1:50 p.m. We’re all done here at Rogers Arena. Analysis to come from myself and Ed Willes. Ben Kuzma has tweeted out some highlights from his post-deadline conference. 12:47 p.m. The Canucks have also flipped Jonathan Dahlen to the Sharks for Linus Karlsson. Karlsson has 17 points in 47 games for Karlskrona of the second-division Allsvenskan in Sweden. That’s a far cry from what Dahlen posted last year for Timra, who he led to promotion to the Swedish Hockey League. 12:35 p.m. Canucks make a big move, unloading Erik Gudbranson for Tanner Pearson. More to come here. Gudbranson on time in Vancouver: Honestly, I'm not too proud of it. I don't think I played very well. I worked hard every single day, came to the rink and tried to get it together. — TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) February 25, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Getting Gudbranson, who has had a terrible go in Vancouver — the numbers put him as the worst defenceman in the NHL — and getting him off the books has to be scored as a coup for Jim Benning. Tanner Pearson is a solid middle-tier winger, just the kind of player the Canucks should be taking a look at. 12:10 p.m. Another ex-Canucks on the move. To St. Louis: Michael Del Zotto To Anaheim: Sixth-round pick Ducks have traded Michael Del Zotto to the St. Louis Blues. #NHLTrade — Irfaan Gaffar (@sportsnetirf) February 25, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Well the obvious take is to note that MDZ was traded for a seventh-round pick by the Canucks. (The pick was then flipped for Marek Mazanec, who sat on the bench for five games. Feels like you could have just signed an AHL free agent to do that…) Sixth vs. seventh round isn’t a big deal…but it’s still funny to contemplate. He gave Anaheim exactly one round of value over the last six weeks! 12:07 p.m. Big move for Nashville. To Nashville: Wayne Simmonds To Philadelphia: Ryan Hartman and a conditional 2020 4th round pick (if Preds win a round, it becomes a 3rd). Preds get a very handy winger who will fit in very well with the way they play. Canucks impact: Simmonds is a 30ish veteran on the move. Alex Edler, were he willing to be traded, would probably fetch a least a similar return. Hartman had 10 goals and 20 points this year. He is 24 and a former first-round pick (30th overall) with Chicago. Once scored 19 goals with Blackhawks. #Flyers — Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) February 25, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Noon The deadline has passed but trades are still likely to come. 11:50 a.m. Big, big trade for Ottawa. Mark Stone is on the move. To Vegas: Mark Stone To Ottawa: Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindbergh and second in 2020 A big pickup for the Golden Knights, who the Canucks face on Sunday. For the Senators, they get a super hot-shot prospect in Brannstrom. With Thomas Chabot already in the fold, the Sens are looking good on the blue-line in the future. Stone also is going to sign an eight-year, $9 million-ish AAV contract, reports say. Brannstrom was the best defenceman I saw in the Victoria side of the WJC draw. Not as flashy as Hughes but everything you want in an NHL D-man these days. — Ed Willes (@willesonsports) February 25, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Canucks impact: Well, there’s that game on Sunday; VGK will be tougher than ever. And then there’s the optics of the struggling Sens building a tantalizing young defence corps. The Canucks have struggled to find defencemen; they do have Quinn Hughes coming in soon and of course hopes are still high for Olli Juolevi, so this could be a moot discussion. Still notable. 11:40 a.m. And now a Granlund trade! Mikael Granlund (to Nasvhille) is very good offensively at both 5v5 and 5v4, a decent shot, a good penalty killer, with a good penalty differential, and ok defensively. Keven Fiala (to Minnesota) is better offensively at 5v5 and slightly weaker at 5v4 but otherwise similar. pic.twitter.com/9PYMqXDt0S — Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) February 25, 2019 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content To Nashville: Mikael Granlund To Minnesota: Keven Fiala A one-for-one move, with slightly different merits for each. The Wild do have scoring issues so Fiala probably helps a little more than Granlund was doing for them. Canucks impact: Not a whole lot. They’re still chasing the Wild. 11:35 a.m. Oh boy! A Pacific Division trade! To Calgary: Oscar Fantenberg To Los Angeles: 2020 fourth-round pick The Flames add some defensive depth; Fantenberg is a guy who has bounced back and forth between LA and Ontario.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email The Vancouver Canucks made a pair of moves ahead of the NHL trade deadline, the most notable of which shipped out defenceman Erik Gudbranson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Tanner Pearson. Both players have struggled in the 2018-19 campaign, and get to hit the reset button for their new teams. When asked Monday why it was time to move on from Gudbranson, Canucks general manager Jim Benning said, “The style of game we play maybe wasn’t a fit. I got to give him credit, he fought for our guys and he stuck up for our team.” Gudbranson struggled over his three years in Vancouver — his plus-minus sat at -48 in 139 games with the Canucks. The Canucks acquired Gudbranson for Jared McCann, a 2016 second-round pick, and a 2016 fourth-round pick in 2016. Story continues below advertisement Pearson, 25, is a former 24-goal scorer who spent 17 games with the LA Kings to start the year before he was sent to Pittsburgh for forward Carl Hagelin. He has nine goals and six assists on the year. The Canucks are hoping Pearson can finally give them the coveted scoring winger, to pair alongside centre Bo Horvat, that they’ve been looking for all season. Prior to his production drop in 2017-18, Pearson netted back-to-back 40-point seasons and had helped the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2014, adding 12 points in 24 playoff games. With the promise of top-six minutes Canucks fans should be excited to see what Pearson can do in a larger role, and if he can slot into the second power-play unit before the season ends. The Canucks also swapped prospect forwards with the San Jose Sharks. Linus Karlsson is now a part of the Canucks organization and Jonathan Dahlen will now reside in the Bay Area. Benning said Dahlen’s agent “asked me a couple weeks ago if we could move him.” The 21-year-old has 14 goals and 15 assists for the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets this season. Karlsson, 19, has four goals and 13 assists for Karlskrona HK in Sweden’s second-tier league. — With files from The Canadian Press Advertisement<doc-sep>VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s the NHL Trade deadline, where some clubs are hoping to make their teams better in time for the playoffs while others are trying to load up on prospects for next season. James Cybulski with Sportsnet 650 doesn’t expect the Canucks to be involved in the wheeling-and-dealing but admits one player could get some attention. “The one thing to watch for with the Vancouver Canucks is Alex Edler and his future with the organization. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer and they are talking right now about trying to extend his contract,” Cybulski said. “It’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t get done. But that’s the one that’s probably most likely to happen over any sort of major trade.” He points out there are a few other Canucks that clubs might be interested in. “Brandon Sutter could be somebody that I think teams would be interested in — a veteran centre. Chris Tanev would certainly be a guy that would be appealing for a playoff run. But here’s the problem: They’re hurt — again.” Cybulski says Canucks fans should look at today’s moves — or lack of moves — as an indication team brass is confident the future is bright for the club. “I think the idea of Vancouver trying to be buyers at the deadline has changed over the last week or so. When you look at where this team was two weeks ago — Now suddenly they wake up Monday morning on deadline, they’re five points out of a playoff spot … I don’t think you want to give up anything enticing or giving up draft picks because they’re hosting the draft this summer here in Vancouver.”<doc-sep>The Vancouver Canucks head into the trade deadline with few cards to play. Pending unrestricted free agents Anders Nilsson and Michael Del Zotto have already been traded, and a handful of players whose names regularly surface in trade conjecture – Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, Brandon Sutter, Jake Virtanen – are among the many injured Canucks. Factor in general manager Jim Benning’s stated refusal to trade picks from the 2019 draft that Vancouver hosts, and it looks like it could be an awfully quiet deadline on the far western front. Team needs: Scuffling along with the other turtles in the Western Conference wildcard race, the Canucks have been better and more competitive than anyone expected this season. But even with a few foundational pieces, soon to be joined by dynamic college defenceman Quinn Hughes, the Canucks still have a ways to go in their lineup construction. The defence hasn’t evolved nearly as much as the forward group, and recent injuries to Edler and Tanev underscore the need for more defenceman, generally, and better blue-liners at the bottom of the lineup. Up front, the team is strong down the middle, led by the one-two punch of centres Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson, but bereft of scoring wingers outside Brock Boeser. It hasn’t helped that Nikolay Goldobin has been erratic (and a frequent healthy scratch) and that Virtanen and Sven Baertschi are out with long-term injuries. But the Canucks need more wingers who can play in the top nine. Tape to Tape Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game. Pending free agents, age, salaries: RFAs: • Markus Granlund, 25, $1.475 million • Tyler Motte, 23, $925,000 • Josh Leivo, 25, $925,000 • Brock Boeser, 21, $925,000 • Nikolay Goldobin, 23, $863,000 • Ben Hutton, 25, $2.8 million • Derrick Pouliot, 25, $1.1 million • Thatcher Demko, 23, $925,000 UFAs: • Alex Edler, 32, $5 million • Luke Schenn, 29, $800,000 • Marek Mazanec, 27, $650,000 Potential Assets to Move: Nikolay Goldobin: He remains among the top five in Canucks scoring with 25 points in 52 games heading into the weekend, yet has become a semi-regular healthy scratch since Christmas. This illustrates the deficiencies coach Travis Green sees in other areas of Goldobin’s game. The 23-year-old has a ton of talent and a high offensive ceiling, which is why the Canucks’ preference is to persist in the Russian’s development. But he is a skilled, young winger who would generate interest from other teams — maybe enough for the Canucks to move on from him now. Markus Granlund/Derrick Pouliot: If there was a market for forward Granlund and defenceman Pouliot, Benning probably would have traded them by now. Granlund’s 19-goal season two years ago looks like a mirage, and Pouliot wouldn’t still be in the lineup were it not for injuries, including to minor-league prospect Olli Juolevi. As the Canucks evolve, it’s hard to see how Granlund and Pouliot could fit in, and if Benning can get something for them at the deadline he probably will. Draft pick: Benning is emphatic that he’s not trading picks from June’s draft at Rogers Arena. But he does have three selections in the sixth round, which gives him the ability to add a sweetener in trade talks. Sportsnet's Starting Lineup Kypreos: Gudbranson still has value despite ice time February 22 2019 Your browser does not support the audio element. Share Download Draft Picks: 2019: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 6th (OTT), 6th (WSH), 7th 2020: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th (ANA) One bold move the Canucks could make: Benning and Edler both want to sign an extension that will keep the Swedish veteran in Vancouver. But that doesn’t mean the Canucks can’t further help their future by renting Edler out at the deadline, then have him re-sign on July 1. OK, we know this strategy is far more popular among armchair GMs than real ones, and Edler would have to agree to waive his no-trade clause. But there would be a lot of interest in Edler as a rental, and the defenceman could help the Canucks – and himself if he re-signs – by fetching them a couple of assets. One move the Canucks shouldn’t make…: Having come a long way this season in their rebuild – and looking at the playoffs next year as a realistic goal for their young team, not just a bonus – the Canucks can’t afford to alter their game plan and trade young prospects or picks for players who could help their playoff push this spring. Stay the course.<doc-sep>
VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 23: Vancouver Canucks Defenseman Erik Gudbranson (44) skates to the play during their NHL game against the New York Islanders at Rogers Arena on February 23, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 4-0. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) The Vancouver Canucks appeared as though they would not make any moves before Monday’s trade deadline. But a few last-minute moves were made that saw the Canucks part ways with two players while acquiring two players in return. At 12 in the morning last night, I scrolled through Twitter as I laid in bed, eyes getting increasingly heavy. The name Brock McGinn was repeatedly popping up on my timeline. Mike Commodore, who broke the Gustav Nyquist trade in a rather unusual way, roughly an hour before it was made official — sent out a similar tweet; only this time, said that McGinn was heading to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Ryan Spooner. As I kept reading more tweets I saw that the Canucks apparently were sending late-round picks in next year’s draft along with Spooner as well. McGinn’s Wikipedia page had already been altered to say his current NHL team was the Canucks. I suppose that’s why all our teachers in high school told us we couldn’t use Wikipedia as a source — because no trade ended up occurring. Then Jimmy Murphy of CLNS reported that there was serious interest in Chris Tanev from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The truth is, Tanev is damaged goods in the eyes of other general managers, and even if the Canucks did trade him, the return would be rather lacklustre. Just as it was looking as though the Canucks would not make any moves on Monday, my phone began buzzing with tweets saying that the Canucks had dealt Jonathan Dahlen — who I just wrote an article on — to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Linus Karlsson. Karlsson is two years younger than Dahlen and is currently playing in the Allsvenskan hockey league in Sweden. Prior to his draft year in 2018, Karlsson led the SuperElit — the Swedish junior league, in goal scoring. He is six feet tall and is listed at 187 pounds on EliteProspects. Being younger, it is obviously too early to tell if Karlsson will be an effective player for the Canucks — but it does hurt to see Dahlen go. He had chemistry with Elias Pettersson, and as I mentioned before, Pettersson was likely looking forward to his friend playing alongside him in Vancouver. However, Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy reported that general manager Jim Benning said that Dahlen’s agent reportedly asked for a move from the Canucks. Murphy added the deal was a result of Dahlen being “unhappy that things weren’t moving quicker for him while the Canucks didn’t feel he worked hard enough for opportunities.” I mentioned previously that Dahlen was struggling to find his 200-foot game in Utica but was actively working on it. The trade was made because Dahlen isn’t getting any younger, and may not be a player that fits into head coach Travis Green’s system — thus a trade request was made. Nonetheless, I am saddened to see Dahlen go. Then the Canucks dealt Erik Gudbranson. The fan base on Twitter was clamouring for Gudbranson to be traded today — and they got their wish. TSN’s Bob McKenzie announced on Twitter that Gudbranson had been dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Tanner Pearson. Pearson will likely see time with Pettersson in his first couple games with the Canucks. At 26 years old, Pearson will look to find the scoring touch he once had with the Los Angeles Kings, whom he once netted 24 goals for in the 2016-17 season. This trade likely means that Tanev is close to being healthy, as both he and Alex Edler skated today. Ashton Sautner also appears to have earned a spot on the team. It will be interesting to see where the Canucks go from here. The trade dumps Gudbranson’s contract, as no salary was retained, and is replaced with Pearson’s deal that — as per CapFriendly, currently has three years left on it, with an average annual salary of $3.750 million. The Gudbranson era in Vancouver has come to an end, as did the Dahlen era before it could even begin. What do you think of the Canucks moves at today’s trade deadline? Let me know in the comments!