The Canucks have cleared a roster logjam by shipping the veteran blue-liner to Orange County. Article content The Vancouver Canucks made a mid-game trade Wednesday evening, swapping blue-liners with the division rival Anaheim Ducks during the third period of their battle with the Edmonton Oilers. Michael Del Zotto has been sent to Anaheim, the Canucks announced. In return, Vancouver gets former fifth-overall pick Luke Schenn, and a 7th-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry draft. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canucks trade Del Zotto to Ducks, making room for Pettersson's return Back to video The defenceman was spotted outside the Canucks’ dressing room after the Oilers game and said he planned to speak to the media as a group on Thursday. Nonetheless, he was clearly delighted about the move. He’ll likely get plenty of ice time for the Ducks, who have been ravaged by injuries this season and have already gone through 11 defencemen on the season. Schenn, 29, has 716 games of NHL experience, but has spent most of the season with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, putting up 10 points in 22 games played. The Saskatoon native will remain in the minors: he will report directly to the Utica Comets, who moved into a tie for first in the North Division with a win Wednesday, despite a defence corps ravaged by injuries. Utica lost Olli Juolevi for the season last month, and are currently without Jalen Chatfield and Ashton Sautner as well, so they will welcome a healthy new body on the blue-line. The Canucks delayed media availability after the game so coach Travis Green could inform his players about the trade. “I like Delly a lot,” Green told the media afterwards. “He’s a good character leader in our room. It just didn’t work out this year. Bit of a timing thing. We started winning games when he came out of the lineup. I like him a lot, wish him nothing but the best. He’s been a good player for us.” Del Zotto played all 82 games for the Canucks in 2017-18, but he became a frequent healthy scratch. His teammates all credited him for his positive attitude even as the scratches started to pile up. “Always the first guy at the rink,” goalie Jacob Markstrom said, adding that he and Del Zotto had formed a strong friendship. Del Zotto, who is an unrestricted free agent at year’s end, was expendable. And with Elias Pettersson set to return from injured reserve, the Canucks needed to make room on the 23-man roster. The hotshot rookie is expected to play on Friday, when the Canucks host the Buffalo Sabres, so a move had to happen before Friday night’s faceoff. The Canucks will retain one-quarter of Del Zotto’s remaining salary on their salary cap.<doc-sep>VANCOUVER — Defenceman Michael Del Zotto was traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Anaheim Ducks late on Wednesday for defenceman Luke Schenn and a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL entry draft. Schenn will report directly to the Utica Comets, the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate. The 29-year-old Schenn has split his season between Anaheim and the Ducks' AHL-affiliate in San Diego. Schenn has played eight games with the Ducks this season and has two goals and eight assists in 22 games with San Diego. He has 30 goals and 113 assists in 716 career NHL games split between Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Toronto. He has two goals and an assist in 12 post-season games. Schenn was drafted fifth overall by Toronto in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.<doc-sep>The Ottawa Senators traded netminder Mike McKenna, forward Tom Pyatt and a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft to the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday for goalie Anders Nilsson and minor-league winger Darren Archibald. Nilsson, 28, had a 3-8-1 record with a 3.03 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage this season with Vancouver as Jacob Markstrom grabbed the reins as Vancouver's No. 1 goalie. Canucks general manager Jim Benning said on a conference call after the deal was announced that he had been in discussions with Senators counterpart Pierre Dorion, who is in Vancouver for the world junior hockey championship, for some time. "We've been talking about this for a while," Benning said. "This is a deal for us that, I think, gives us flexibility and keeps our options open." Archibald, also 28, had one goal and one assist in nine games with the Canucks to go along with 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 23 games with the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. After the deal was announced, Archibald was assigned to the AHL's Belleville Senators. McKenna, 35, was 1-4-1 with a 3.96 goal-against average with Ottawa this season, while Pyatt, 31, had two assists in 37 games. Benning said Pyatt, who cleared waivers before the trade was finalized, will join the Comets. The Canucks and Senators, who are currently without injured starting goalie Craig Anderson as he recovers from a concussion, were set to play in Ottawa on Wednesday night. Anders Nilsson blocks a shot as Vladimir Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues looks on. Nilsson was traded Wednesday to the Ottawa Senators. (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) McKenna will be backup Benning said McKenna would back up Markstrom against the Senators and again Thursday in Montreal when the Canucks visit the Canadiens. But Vancouver's GM indicated prized goalie prospect Thatcher Demko, 23, would likely be recalled from Utica soon. "We'll look at our options here the next couple days," Benning said. "But one of the things that we wanted to do was to make room to get Thatcher up here and get him going." The 36th pick in the 2014 NHL draft, Demko is 7-5-0 in the AHL this season with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Markstrom is 16-10-3 in 2018-19 with a 2.81 GAA and a .910 save percentage. He was 8-1 in December with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. The 28-year-old's rise means that Demko can ease into the NHL rather than get thrown into the fire. "We've been patient with (Demko's) development," Benning said. "He's been down (in the AHL) for 2½ years. He's playing really well down there right now. We just felt like the foundation for his game is set." "Now it's time for him to move up here so we can get a look at where he's at versus NHL competition."<doc-sep>RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 13: Micheal Ferland #79 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck during an NHL game against the Nashville Predators on January 13 ,2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) The Vancouver Canucks are looking to make a splash at the trade deadline and like several teams, they have set their sights on Micheal Ferland from the Carolina Hurricanes. The NHL trade deadline is a double-edged sword. We see the dualities of rebuilding and competitive teams strike deals that range from excellent to laughably horrific (usually the second one). A team needs to fully understand where they are in their development cycle and know when they need to become buyers or sellers. With the soft competition in the West, the Vancouver Canucks are in the hunt for a wildcard spot. Given the lighter schedule for the next few weeks, they shouldn’t have a problem coasting as a bubble team, especially when Elias Pettersson makes his return. This is where the trade deadline can burn teams. If we are being honest here, the only reason you should ever become buyers at the deadline is if you have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup. Not making the playoffs, since half the league does it every year. I refer to postseason teams as either contenders or pretenders. Should the Canucks make the postseason, they will be pretenders. So, when I read Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts and see that the Canucks are in on Micheal Ferland, I get a little nervous. Granted, a whole list of teams are in on the 26-year-old power forward. Friedman did feel that the Canucks were one of the teams worth mentioning. He certainly knows his audience. Now, Micheal Ferland is an interesting player. Aside from the countless times I will misspell his first name, he has done well since being moved to Carolina along with Dougie Hamilton. Ferland has 13 goals in 39 games this season and is fourth in points on the team with 25. Buyer beware The team acquiring Ferland needs to carefully examine what they are getting from him. He is a UFA on July 1st and is looking to cash in big. Ferland wants Tom Wilson-level money, which is north of $5 million per year on a long-term deal. Keep in mind that Ferland is two years older than Wilson, but he’s not as much of a scumbag as Wilson, so he has that going for him. His playoff pedigree comes from terrorizing the Canucks in the 2015 playoffs. And now it makes sense why the Canucks are in pursuit. I’m sure Jim Benning did not forget that series and while they expect that from Jake Virtanen, in his mind a player like Ferland will bolster their push for the playoffs. Ferland could impact that push, but the problem is the Canucks may not be able to afford his contract down the road. Getting immediate help can compromise your salary structure, putting the squeeze on when your young stars cash in. Remember, at 26, the Canucks would have to start winning now to get the best out of Ferland. But those are just the thoughts and consequences for signing him. Why I mentioned that teams have to consider what they are getting relates to how he will be acquired. The team that picks Ferland up has to ask themselves, am I paying for a rental or a core player for the next six to eight years? If it’s the former, you are entering dangerous territory. Carolina won’t let him go for cheap and I’m sure they would love to collect a first round pick. General Managers go blind when they see power forwards (or right handed defencemen) and price themselves out of sensibility. For the Canucks, I will give Benning the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think their first rounder is on the table. But, with how they are viewing Nikolay Goldobin lately, you have to wonder if the team will try to make him the centrepiece of their offer. Goldy is younger and you could always sell Carolina on a change of scenery. He’s an RFA and has the leverage of going to the KHL to his advantage, so the Canucks may just rid themselves of an uncomfortable situation they don’t want to deal with. At least he isn’t eligible for arbitration. Benning doesn’t play hardball with his players, so anyway to avoid a tough negotiation probably works to his advantage. Then again, Ferland isn’t exactly willing to play for league minimum. And that’s the scary part. We saw Benning grossly overpay once for Erik Gudbranson and I could see him make the same mistake again with Ferland. I said the first was off the table, but the Canucks have plenty of other picks. But let’s say Benning doesn’t move any picks. He has to offer something more than Goldy, so that brings us to prospects. Aside from the untouchables, do the Canucks do something foolish and dangle Tyler Madden in front of the Hurricanes. Or perhaps, do they give up on one of their struggling prospects in Utica, possibly the one that just bolted back to Finland? Something will have to give in that negotiation. If my speculating proves to be accurate, I do hope Benning doesn’t get tunnel vision and knows when to back out. The Canucks may have other trade options such as Ben Hutton, but I don’t think Carolina is interested in defencemen right now. They need help at forward and I don’t think Goldy is enough on his own to bring Ferland here. Not to mention the kind of bloated contract that Benning will have prepared for a coveted player archetype. The Canucks should tread carefully here, because this could backfire horrendously.<doc-sep>
VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 27: Michael Del Zotto #4 of the Vancouver Canucks checks Jakob Silfverberg #33 of the Anaheim Ducks during their NHL game at Rogers Arena March 27, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)"n On Wednesday night , the Vancouver Canucks traded defenceman Michael Del Zotto to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for fellow rearguard Luke Schenn and a 2020 seventh round pick. Here’s what the trade means for the Canucks. Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has swung another trade, sending defenceman Michael Del Zotto to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Luke Schenn and a 2020 seventh round pick. Sportsnet’s John Shannon broke the news of the trade. For Luke Schenn and a 7th round pick. https://t.co/833n3CZPw5 — John Shannon (@JSportsnet) January 17, 2019 The trade was announced during Vancouver’s home contest against the Edmonton Oilers, a 4-3 shootout loss. It’s the second trade Benning has made in the new year, having recently sent Anders Nilsson and Darren Archibald to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Tom Pyatt, Mike McKenna and a sixth round pick. Del Zotto, 28, is in the final season of a two-year, $6 million deal he signed with the Canucks in 2017. He has one goal and three assists in 23 games. Last season, the veteran blueliner had six goals and 22 points. Schenn is pointless in eight games for the Ducks this season, and he’s spent most of the season with their AHL team, the San Diego Gulls. There, Schenn has two goals and 10 points. The once highly-touted prospect was drafted fifth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but hasn’t been able to live up to expectations. What this trade means for the Canucks As Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre notes, Schenn will head to the Utica Comets, clearing a roster spot for rookie Elias Pettersson to return from his knee injury. The main story here, though, is Benning simply adding an extra draft choice. Benning wasn’t able to accumulate valuable picks despite being a seller at last year’s deadline. He’s already added two more picks from Ottawa and Anaheim. Del Zotto for Schenn is an even swap. The former wasn’t going to re-sign after struggling in Vancouver, so the Canucks get something for Del Zotto rather than lose him for nothing in free agency. Perhaps Schenn will be able to make some form of an impact if the Canucks call him up at some point this season. The reeling Ducks have lost 12 straight and needed to make some change, and the speedy Del Zotto should find more success under head coach Randy Carlyle. It’s a low-risk trade for both teams. There are likely to be more trades for the Canucks between now and Feb. 25, with Chris Tanev and Alexander Edler possibly on the move. We’ll see how things play out over the following weeks, but the Canucks are off to a good start in January, having added two additional picks for players that were headed for free agency in the offseason.