In this edition of the Vancouver Canucks News & Rumors, the organization will likely keep the 11th overall pick at the 2023 Draft and have a few options to select. Additionally, in free agency news, the Canucks are out on Milan Lucic but might target Ian Cole and Teddy Blueger.
Who Canucks are Interested in at 11
General manager (GM) Patrik Allvin commented on the 11th overall pick on Tuesday. The GM said the team plans on keeping the draft pick instead of moving up or down. He added the organization’s scouts are excited about who they could potentially get in the first round at 11th overall.
As for who they can select with the 11th overall pick, the Athletic’s Thomas Drance discussed what the Canucks hope to do with the selection (from ‘Will Elias Pettersson sign long-term? Canucks offseason mailbag, part 1,’ The Athletic, June 25, 2023). He discussed their interest in Russian prospect Matvei Michkov, who will likely be selected before the Canucks are up. He also mentions defenceman David Reinbacher as the apple of the Canucks’ eye in a perfect world. Similar to Michkov, Reinbacher likely won’t be available when they make their pick. Drance also mentions Dalibor Dvorsky as a smash at 11, but he believes the centreman will also be off the board.
Drance believes the Canucks would be fortunate if they came away with either Dmitri Simashev or Tom Willander at 11. However, he admits he doesn’t have as good of a sense of who the organization will select as he did last year when they drafted Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
Canucks Out on Lucic
Rick Dhaliwal reported the Canucks are out on Lucic after showing interest in the forward. The Calgary Flames gave the Vancouver native’s agent permission to talk to other teams before July 1, making the forward a pending unrestricted free agent.
Lucic is heading into his 17th NHL season. He played eight seasons with the Boston Bruins before joining the Los Angeles Kings for a season. In the following three seasons, he played with the Edmonton Oilers and spent the past four seasons with the Flames. Lucic previously discussed joining the Canucks when asked if he’d sign with his hometown team.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft Guide
“And obviously, you know, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. It’s always a dream for a hometown boy to play for his hometown team. So, you know, I’ll definitely listen to what they had to say if they came calling.”
Canucks Interested in Cole & Blueger
Dhaliwal also mentioned two former Pittsburgh Penguins the Canucks could check in on. Defenceman Cole and centre Blueger are two players the organization will likely show interest in once free agency opens. Canucks president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin have shown interest in a few former Penguins players during their tenure, including centre Evan Rodrigues.
Since the organization bought out Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the club needs to find someone to fill in as a left-shot blueliner on the second pairing, which Cole could do. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said he wouldn’t be surprised if the blueliner joins the Canucks for two to three years. Cole won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2015-16 and 2016-17. He has played 748 games, scoring 32 goals and posting 683 points through 13 NHL seasons. Meanwhile, Blueger is a left-shot centre and could fix the club’s third-line centre problem. He’s played six NHL seasons, five with the Penguins and won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights this past season.
Canucks 2023-24 Schedule Released
The NHL released the 2023-24 schedule on Tuesday. The Canucks open the season at home against the Edmonton Oilers. Two key games on the season include the return of Bo Horvat, as the Canucks take on the New York Islanders on Nov. 15. The second game is the Jan. 20 matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks and likely first-overall pick and Vancouver native Connor Bedard.
The schedule also includes four big road trips this season. The Canucks have a five-game road trip in October, a four-game road trip in December, a seven-game road trip in January and a five-game road trip in February. They also have a nine-game home stand in March.
