Canucks make Changes

As the deadline is approaching, sitting at the top of the league has not stopped the Canucks GM from making some bold moves.  He has been able to aquire some top end talent while also adding to his prospect pool.

The first deal saw Vancouver send young forward Michal Repik to the Washington Capitals for Washington's 2nd and 5th round picks in 2012.  Although Repik has the potential to have a break out season the Canucks took a chance on landing two decent picks in the 2012 draft.  These are a good asset should the Canucks decide to either keep them or peddle them to a rebuilding team.

The Repik deal lead to conversations about Nathan Horton with the Washtington GM.  After considering the numerous offers for Horton the Canucks decided to accept Washington's offer of prospects Kevin Connaughton, Ryan Howse and WAS1 (2012) for him.  Although Horton is a solid player, he was stuck on the Canucks 3rd line and his $4 million salary did not make sense in that role.  In Connaughton and Howse the Canucks get two offensively talented players who could step into bigger roles in the very near future.  The first round pick again gives the Canucks the option to get another prospect or to move it for roster help.

The Horton deal freed up enough cap space for the Canucks to land Brad Richards from the New York Islanders in exchange for Mike Fisher and Semyon Varlarmov.  Richards gives the Canucks another solid centre and the opportunity to move Steven Stamkos to the wing. Having won a cup in the past should give the Canucks a boost as the post season approaches.  This deal made sense as Fisher's contract was set to expire at the end of the season and Varlarmov was not getting much playing time behind Lundqvist.

The most recent deal saw the Canucks moving American sniper Zach Parise along with a couple of 4th round picks in exchange for  Russian Sniper Alex Semin along with prospect Drayson Bowman and cash.  Semin has a history of playing with Alex Ovechkin and should give another great option up front.  Bowman has the potential to be a top 6 forward in the league as well.

The Canucks are still hoping to make some more deals to bolster their line up for the play offs.  We will see how everything turns out once the dust settles after the trade deadline.