January 31st, 2025
Alex Rickman
I don’t think this team wants me to be able to sleep.
Following a 5-3 loss to the Canucks that may or may not have ended with a Carson Soucy goal in the dying seconds, much to the chagrin of JC Clemas after finishing our final score post for our social media, Patrik Allvin made his second major trade of the day. The Canucks shipped the first-round pick acquired in the earlier JT Miller trade alongside prospect Melvin Fernström, Danton Heinen, and Vincent Desharnais to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenceman Marcus Pettersson and winger Drew O’Connor. Can’t say I expected a Miller and a Pettersson trade to be made on the same day, but here we are.
Let’s try to break this down. Starting with the main piece coming back to Vancouver, Marcus Pettersson gives the Canucks something they’ve desperately needed all season; another top-four defenceman. Pettersson, whose last name is sure to be a source of frustration for writers across Vancouver, gives the Canucks a player who can anchor the second pair and give them a second piece who can steady the ship and actually get the puck out of the Canucks zone and relieve pressure from Demko and Lankinen. There weren’t many defencemen who actually would’ve been worth the Canucks while to target on the trade market, but make no mistake, Marcus Pettersson is a player Vancouver can get excited about.
As for Drew O’Connor, it’s hard to see him as much more than a fourth-liner, but he isn’t a player who I think will hurt the Canucks to have on their bottom line. O’Conner is a hard forechecker who will likely be quick to make a fan of Rick Tocchet. While not a significant acquisition, O’Connor could be a solid depth add for a Canucks team that now finds themselves short a depth winger.
Now going over what the Canucks parted with in this deal, we begin with the roster players dealt to Pittsburgh. I had optimism for both Heinen and Desharnais at the beginning of this season, but their time in blue and green has been rough. Heinen has been something of a turnover machine and has struggled to produce at a rate that would justify his contract, and it feels as if Allvin and Rutherford gambled on lost on further development from Desharnais. Parting with both of these contracts in a deal that sees the Canucks bringing back good assets is a surprise, and a very good one.
Melvin Fernström was the Canucks most recent third-round pick, and has some upside, but should definitely not be considered a blue-chip prospect. Parting with the newly acquired draft pick may not be the most popular of moves, but if the Canucks are able to lock Marcus Pettersson, who is an upcoming UFA, to an extension, this could be small potatoes. The Canucks were in dire need of defensive help, and in their new Pettersson, they’ve got it. If we want to turn this thing around, adding another top-four defenceman was needed.
Overall, it’s been one hell of a day to be a Canucks fan. While the forward core is certainly depleted after losing Miller, for the first time since the postseason, the Canucks seem to have an actual NHL-level defence. Let’s see what happens in regard to getting Marcus Pettersson extended, and with assets like Brock Boeser and Pius Suter between now and the trade deadline, but for now, it’s hard to look at these moves and say Rutherford and Allvin have not made the best of a bad situation.