NHL Trade Buzz: Canucks shift focus after Pettersson contract
Markstrom, Hanifin expected in Flames lineup; Johnson knows Blackhawks could move him
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Vancouver Canucks
With forward Elias Pettersson signing an eight-year contract with the Canucks on Saturday, general manager Patrik Allvin can turn all of his attention toward the Deadline.
"It definitely gives us more clarity -- not just for next week, but moving forward here now,” Allvin said. “We can plan and project what cap space we have and how our core is going to be, which is very important and that's where you’re building the puzzles around the core. If there is a deal that makes sense for us here next week to improve our group, we'll definitely look into it as always. That's our approach.”
Vancouver (38-17-7) has lost five of its past six games (1-4-1) but still leads the Western Conference with 83 points. It is also 10 points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Pacific Division.
"Up to this point, I think the players have earned to be in this position and we're going through some adversity here as of late, and I think all the teams are doing that,” Allvin said. “That's how you want to see us getting out stronger and better, and I know the players and the leadership are taking ownership of it and I know that coaches are working on it."
Calgary Flames
Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in goal, and defenseman Noah Hanifin is expected to be in the lineup when the Flames host the Pittsburgh Penguins (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, TVAS-D, SN-PIT) on Saturday.
Markstrom has been rumored to be available heading towards the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline with goalie Dustin Wolf waiting in the wings for Calgary. Wolf is 20-9-3 with a 2.36 goals against average and .925 save percentage for Calgary of the American Hockey League and is the reigning AHL most valuable player and two-time goalie of the year.
Wolf is 1-3-1 with a 3.91 GAA and .878 save percentage in six games for the Flames this season.
Markstrom is signed through the 2025-26 season with a $6 million average annual value. He is 20-15-2 with a 2.56 GAA and .914 save percentage.
Calgary traded defenseman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars in a three-way deal involving the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, and center Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31.
“I think every player in here, I really respect them, everything that’s been going on and not going on how everyone has handled everything in this room has handled everything, I think has been really good,” Markstrom said Friday. “The whole situation and everything, am I happy about that? No, I’m not, and I think it could have been handled a lot different from up top.”
Hanifin, 27, is a pending unrestricted free agent and in the last of a six-year, $29.7-million contract ($4.95 AAV). He has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 59 games and is considered one of the top defensemen available prior to the Deadline.
Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Johnson knows he could be traded before the Deadline, but the forward said he is trying to focus on helping the Blackhawks.
"It's pretty hard to not completely think about it,” Johnson said before the Blackhawks played the Columbus Blue Jackets at United Center on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; BSOH, NBCSCH). “But right now, I'm just focused on our team and playing the best we can and trying to do whatever I can to help the team.”
Johnson is in the final season of the seven-year, $35 million contract ($5 million AAV) he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 10, 2017. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
The 33-year-old has only been traded once, when Chicago acquired him from Tampa Bay for defenseman Brent Seabrook on July 27, 2021. Johnson remembers in his rookie season when former Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, using then-GM Steve Yzerman’s number, to make him think he was getting traded.
“They used to have that old app that you could call using a different number,” he said. “I remember sitting in my hotel room at that time, because I didn't even have a place then, and it just popped up as Steve Yzerman and I was freaking out. It was good. [Bishop] got quite a few of the young guys on our team that year.”
The Blackhawks (15-40-5) are tied with the San Jose Sharks for the fewest points in the NHL (35).
Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel is with the Penguins on their four-game road trip, which concludes Sunday at the Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNW, SN-PIT).
The 29-year-old forward is currently on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury sustained Feb. 14 against the Florida Panthers. He is eligible to be activated March 10 but has been rumored to be on the move prior to the Deadline.
Penguins president and GM Kyle Dubas said Feb. 26 his team’s play will dictate what it does before the Deadline. Pittsburgh (27-22-8) trails the Philadelphia Flyers by seven points for third place in the Metropolitan Division. It is eight points behind Tampa Bay for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
“We have a lot of guys in their 30s signed, some of them are the best in the history of the franchise,” Dubas said. “It’s tough with Jake as I’ve said to him, because he’s an excellent player and playing at an elite level. But we have to find a way to continue to have those solid veteran guys but continue to get younger at the same time.”
Anaheim Ducks
Adam Henrique’s trade stock continues to rise.
The Ducks center has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past four games, including a goal in a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
Henrique, 34, is in the last of a five-year, $29.125-million contract ($5.825 million average annual value) and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Henrique has 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 59 games this season for Anaheim (22-35-3), which is seventh in the Pacific Division.
NHL.com independent correspondent Kevin Woodley and staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report
