Trade deadline day recap: Vancouver Canucks part ways with Gudbranson and Dahlen
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.
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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.
Next. Crucial points at stake vs. Anaheim Ducks. dark
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!