Canucks acquire Jason Dickinson from the Dallas Stars

The Vancouver Canucks have found their third-line centre for next season.

Earlier today, it was announced that the team acquired forward Jason Dickinson from the Dallas Stars, in exchanged for a third-round pick in the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft. The trade apparently went down to the wire, and was submitted moments before the scheduled roster freeze at 12pm PT.

On paper, this seems like a good transaction for both sides.

The exit of Dickinson makes it much easier for General Manager Jim Nill to finalize his list of protected forwards. It’s expected that the first three spots will be taken by Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov, all of whom have NMC in their contracts, with veteran Joe Pavelski rounding out the fourth slot. After those selections, Nill only has three spots remaining, and would’ve had to have chosen between players like Dickinson, as well as Roope Hintz, Radek Faska, Denis Gurianov, Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano.

With the trade, Nill no longer has to worry about losing a key piece in his roster for nothing, and can allocate his final spots to the younger players in Hintz, Faska and Gurianov. Cogliano turned 34 last month, while Comeau will be turning 36 next year, and it wouldn’t be surprising if both veterans were left exposed.

The Stars will also have less stress on their cap space with the loss of Dickinson, who was due for a contract extension this summer, especially with the signing of RFA defenceman Miro Heiskanen to a monster 8-year deal earlier today.

For the Canucks, they’ve finally acquired a player to address their centre depth issues.

Dickinson, who just turned 26 years old, registered seven goals and eight assists in 51 games last season. He usually found himself on the third line in Dallas, and is expected to do the same in Vancouver behind Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson, but is also able to play in a top-six position if needed, both at centre and wing.

Although he was typically rolled out as a defensive forward in Dallas, Dickinson has been known to show offensive flashes here and there, including this OT winner:

https://twitter.com/ChrisFaber39/status/1416494539934629890?s=20

Dickinson also has experience with special teams.

Over the past two seasons, he led the Stars’ forwards in total penalty kill minutes, and averaged 1:41 shorthanded minutes last year. Moving forward, he should be an upgrade from the likes of fellow centres Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle, and could also take on more even-strength defensive responsibilities that normally fell on Horvat’s shoulders.

Dickinson spent his whole career in Dallas after being drafted by them 29th overall in 2013 NHL Entry Draft. So far, he has recorded 25 goals and 38 assists in 221 career games. He also has a handful of playoff experience, having suited up for 40 postseason contests over the past two years. This includes Dallas’s most recent playoff bubble run last season, where they eventually lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Dickinson suited up for all 27 playoff contests that year, registering two goals and two assists. Both of those tallies occurred during the Finals.

Analytically-speaking, Dickinson should fit in quite nicely in the Canucks’ bottom-six. He fills the heft card at 6’2″ and 200 pounds, and brings strong forecheck and sound defensive fundamentals to the table. He finished last season with a faceoff winning percentage of just 47.91%, but has steadily improved over the past two years. Dickinson also registered 40 blocked shots, 21 takeaways and 12 drawn penalties over 51 games, while he posting a CF/60 rating of 50.1 in all situations.

Dickinson has also shown strong leadership qualities. During the bubble, he stood alongside other Western Conference players, including Horvat, to take a stand against systemic racism. He was also one of the few players who knelt during the national anthem prior to a contest against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Dickinson is just coming off of a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.5 million. He will be an arbitrary eligible RFA this offseason, but the Canucks should be able to sign him to a new contract without breaking the bank.

With this trade, it’s expected that Vancouver will now add Dickinson to their list of protected forwards, along with Horvat and Pettersson, as well as J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Motte.

All teams were required to submit their final protected lists by 2pm PT on the 17th, with Seattle set to reveal their picks during the NHL Expansion Draft on July 21st at 5pm PT.

What are your thoughts on the Dickinson trade? Make sure to drop a comment below!