Add another Vancouver Canucks forward to the recent trade rumours surrounding the organization.According to Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal, teams have started calling the Canucks on Swedish forward Nils Höglander.
“Nils Höglander is a name out there right now,” Dhaliwal shared. “Teams are calling on him. No points in 13 games, [playing on the] fourth line; if the Canucks are willing to trade short-term deals, that’s a guy they could move. $3 million per year. [He] doesn’t seem to be getting any traction under Adam Foote. Foote is the fourth coach that has had trouble with Höglander: [Travis] Green, [Bruce] Bourdreau, [Rick] Tocchet as well. This kid might need a change of scenery. He’s had one good year [in Vancouver] two years ago, when he scored 24 goals. Since then, not so great.”
Höglander, 25, was drafted by the Canucks in the second round (40th overall) of the 2019 NHL draft, held in Vancouver. The 5’9″ winger was injured in the Canucks’ second preseason game in the Abbotsford Centre – now Rogers Forum – against the Calgary Flames when his foot got twisted up along the wall in the neutral zone. The injury required surgery, which held Höglander out for the first two months of the season.
He has appeared in 13 games this season, but is still searching for his first point of the season. Outside of a handful of periods, Höglander has been glued to the fourth line for this team, averaging just 11:47 minutes of ice time – the lowest of his career. In those limited minutes, he has a minus-one rating, 11 shots on goal and four penalty minutes.