Anthony Beauvillier was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks by the Vancouver Canucks for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old forward has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 22 games this season. He had 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 33 games for the Canucks last season after being acquired in the trade that sent center Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders on Jan. 30.
Beauvillier can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
“I really like him as a person and a player," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said Wednesday, "and with the competition we have here we couldn't provide him with the ice time that I believe he deserved to be a top-nine player in the League that he's shown over the years.
"So with the internal competition down in Abbotsford (of the American Hockey League) and the way the roster is constructed right now, I felt there was an opportunity for him to move on to get his game back to where it belongs.”
A first-round pick (No. 28) by the Islanders at the 2015 NHL Draft, Beauvillier has 237 points (113 goals, 124 assists) in 512 regular-season games with the Canucks and Islanders, and 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 49 Stanley Cup Playoff games, all with New York.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson worked with Beauvillier previously in 2017-18, when he was an assistant coach for the Islanders.
“I was there with him for a year,” Richardson said. “I believe it was his second year -- still a young guy. I just found out that after [tonight’s] game as well. I know he's definitely a little spitfire out there. He can skate, he can shoot, he brings energy. My first year when I was there, he played some time with (Mathew) Barzal, so he can play up the lineup [or] he can play in a working role.
“He's played some time on the power play, and I think he had a fairly good, balanced year last year. I want to say he had eight or nine goals both with the Islanders and with Vancouver. Hopefully he brings some consistency and maybe some extra scoring, which we could use right now.”
Chicago placed forward Corey Perry on waivers earlier Tuesday for the purpose of terminating his contract.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers and independent correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this report
