{"id":345832,"date":"2025-12-15T02:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T02:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/345832\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T02:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T02:00:08","slug":"after-hughes-trade-which-canuck-will-get-traded-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/345832\/","title":{"rendered":"After Hughes trade, which Canuck will get traded next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> are willing to trade their captain and franchise player, no one is safe.With the Quinn Hughes<\/a> trade to the Minnesota Wild<\/a>, the rebuild is officially on in Vancouver, with President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford<\/a> even using the long-dreaded word in the press release for the trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota,\u201d said Rutherford. \u201cThey will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if this is actually going to be a proper rebuild, Hughes is just the first of many players to be traded.<\/p>\n

The Canucks need to restock their prospect pool, and the only way to do that is by trading away veterans for draft picks and prospects.<\/p>\n

Right now, the Canucks have just one additional pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft: the first-round pick acquired from the Wild. They\u2019re also missing their third and seventh-round picks, which were traded to the Calgary Flames for Nikita Zadorov and to the New York Rangers for Vitali Kravtsov.<\/p>\n

If the Canucks want to kickstart a rebuild at the 2026 draft, they need to add a lot more picks.<\/p>\n

The only ones likely safe from being traded are the youngest players on the team, who are considered key pieces of the rebuild. Pretty much everybody else could be on the trading block.<\/p>\n

But who will be the next player moved after Quinn Hughes?<\/p>\n

Probably not these guys: the no-movement clause crew<\/p>\n

The Canucks trading Quinn Hughes means you can\u2019t rule out anybody getting moved. Still, there are a few players who will be a lot more complicated to trade: Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers, and Kevin Lankinen.<\/p>\n

All of those players have full no-movement clauses. While players with no-movement clauses do get traded, it\u2019s definitely an obstacle in the way of getting something done quickly, as there are all kinds of negotiations necessary to find a team that the player is willing to go to.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t rule out the Canucks trying to trade one or two of these players, but they\u2019re unlikely to be the next player traded after Hughes.<\/p>\n

Lukas Reichel<\/p>\n

This is the boring answer, but it might be the right one. The Canucks placed Lukas Reichel on waivers and has since cleared. He will report to the Abbotsford Canucks, but they have been shopping him on the trade market for a while.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it will be easier to move Reichel after he\u2019s cleared waivers and the team acquiring him can safely stash him on their own AHL team without needing to put him through waivers.<\/p>\n

If so, that\u2019s a trade that could happen in short order.<\/p>\n

Kiefer Sherwood<\/p>\n

Kiefer Sherwood leads the Canucks in goalscoring, is second in the NHL in hits, and has become an all-situations workhorse this season. He\u2019s also a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) with a dirt-cheap $1.5 million cap hit.<\/p>\n

With all that in mind, it would be shocking if the Canucks didn\u2019t\u00a0trade Sherwood.<\/p>\n

The Canucks should be able to turn Sherwood into a key piece for a rebuild, but it remains to be seen if they can get a first-round pick out of a team.<\/p>\n

According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Wild tried to get Sherwood and offered up Liam \u00d6hgren<\/a>, who was later included in the Hughes trade. The Canucks said no. So, it\u2019s safe to say that the Canucks\u2019 asking price is higher than \u00d6hgren, the 19th-overall pick in the 2022 draft, who hasn\u2019t been able to find his game in the NHL yet.<\/p>\n

If Sherwood was still in the midst of his goalscoring streak, getting a first-round pick might have been an easier sell, but his scoring pace has slowed. The Canucks might wait to see if that pace picks up again before trading him, but he\u2019s definitely a candidate to be the next player traded.<\/p>\n

Evander KaneIf the Canucks acquired Evander Kane in the offseason as part of a super-secret stealth tank operation<\/a>, with eyes towards trading him to a contending team looking for some sandpaper in the playoffs, then it sort of worked.<\/p>\n

The Canucks might have hoped that Kane was a better fit on the top line with Elias Pettersson and scored a few more goals to entice potential trade partners, but he still has 15 points in 30 games for the Canucks and has proven he can stay healthy after missing all of last season.<\/p>\n

The pending unrestricted free agent will almost certainly get traded, but will he be the next player moved? Maybe not. The Canucks might want to wait a little longer, hoping his shooting percentage bounces back from a career-low 6.4%, making his numbers look a little better and helping them secure a higher draft pick.<\/p>\n

Conor Garland<\/p>\n

The Canucks love Conor Garland and just signed him to a six-year contract extension worth $6 million per year. But he\u2019s also about to turn 30, which means he\u2019s in the wrong age bracket for the Canucks\u2019 rebuild.<\/p>\n

Garland has a no-movement clause on his next contract, but that doesn\u2019t kick in until July 1. If the Canucks are serious about tanking this season and rebuilding, the play-driving Garland could be on the move sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Canucks might see him as an ideal veteran to keep around to mentor the team\u2019s younger players. Maybe he doesn\u2019t get traded at all.<\/p>\n

Teddy Blueger<\/p>\n

If Teddy Blueger were healthy, he\u2019d be a prime candidate to be the next player on the trade block.<\/p>\n

Blueger is a toolsy bottom-six centre who kills penalties, wins faceoffs, and can chip in a little bit of scoring. He\u2019s exactly the type of player that contending teams love to add to bolster their centre depth as they prepare for a Stanley Cup run.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also 31 and a pending UFA.<\/p>\n

The return won\u2019t be huge for Blueger as a rental, but every piece added, whether a pick or a prospect, is another chance to find a key part of the future. As Jason Botchford used to say, you need an army.<\/p>\n

But until Blueger returns to the Canucks\u2019 lineup and proves he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s unlikely to be traded. Not only would other teams hesitate to acquire an injured player, but the trade return would also be a lot higher if Blueger is provably healthy.<\/p>\n

Drew O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n

The Canucks were quick to re-sign Drew O\u2019Connor after acquiring him and Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the Canucks might be just as quick to trade him, as he\u2019s on the wrong side of 25, an age that Patrik Allvin has cited multiple times.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor\u2019s $2.5 million cap hit for the next two years might prove an impediment to trading him if the Canucks decide to move him for futures, and he also has a partial no-trade clause that allows him to name 12 teams to which he can\u2019t be traded.<\/p>\n

With his speed and a pinch of scoring, O\u2019Connor could be desirable for a playoff team, but his cap hit and the extra year on his deal likely mean a trade is further down the line, if he gets moved.<\/p>\n

Nils H\u00f6glander<\/p>\n

The Canucks just activated Nils H\u00f6glander off long-term injured reserve; could he be the next player traded?<\/p>\n

About to turn 25 in a week, H\u00f6glander is still young and could be part of the team\u2019s youth movement. But this management group might have regrets about signing him to a three-year contract extension. He repeatedly showed up in trade rumours last season after his scoring fell off a cliff.<\/p>\n

So, could the Canucks send H\u00f6glander to another team in exchange for a younger prospect or a draft pick? It\u2019s not outside the realm of possibility.<\/p>\n

Thatcher Demko<\/p>\n

The Canucks aren\u2019t going to trade Thatcher Demko, right?<\/p>\n

Well, probably not. But his no-movement clause doesn\u2019t kick in until July 1, when his new three-year contract worth $8.5 million per year begins, so never say never.<\/p>\n

Aside from whatever assets the Canucks could bring back, the real reason to trade Demko would be to avoid rising out of the NHL\u2019s basement. The Canucks want a top-three pick in the 2026 draft, and trading Demko might be the best tanking move they could make after trading Hughes.<\/p>\n

Of course, an injury-prone goaltender \u2014 even one that is Vezina-calibre when he\u2019s healthy \u2014 might be a tough sell, especially with a significant raise on the horizon.<\/p>\n

If Demko gets moved \u2014 and that\u2019s a big if \u2014 I sincerely doubt he\u2019ll be the next one to go.<\/p>\n

Wild Card: K\u00e4mpf, Karlsson, Sasson, Joseph, Forbort<\/p>\n

I think the above-mentioned players are the most likely to be next to be traded by the Canucks, but let\u2019s consider some wild cards.<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs couldn\u2019t find a taker for David K\u00e4mpf at a $2.4 million cap hit; could the Canucks have more success trading him at a $1.1 million cap hit?<\/p>\n

Linus Karlsson and Max Sasson might be considered part of the youth movement for the Canucks, but they\u2019re at the older end of it at 26 and 25. Both could be UFAs if they don\u2019t play 23 more games this season. Maybe one of them gets moved for a younger prospect or a pick.<\/p>\n

Pierre-Olivier Joseph is a seventh defenceman for the Canucks, so he\u2019s unlikely to represent an upgrade for a playoff team, but maybe one acquires him as cheap depth? But that\u2019s more likely to happen at the trade deadline, if it happens at all.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Derek Forbort, who\u2019s still on long-term injured reserve with an unknown injury after missing a game for \u201cmaintenance\u201d two months ago. If he returns and establishes his health, he could get traded, but if he\u2019s the next Canuck traded after Hughes, that likely means they\u2019ve gone a long, long time without a trade.<\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY VIVID SEATS\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the Vancouver Canucks are willing to trade their captain and franchise player, no one is safe.With the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-345832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}