Vancouver Canucks’ shocking Kuzmenko trade was unnecessarily high-risk
As successful as the team has been this season, what were they thinking?
Art by Mikayla Croucher
Halfway through the National Hockey League 2023-24 season, the Vancouver Canucks have reached amazing peaks.
With six players and head coach Rick Tocchet participating at the “All-Star” game on Feb. 3 and the team holding first place in the entire league as of Feb. 24, the Canucks are seeing plenty of success this season — something hockey fans haven’t seen since the late 2000s and early 2010s, including their infamous 2011 Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Considering how last season went for the team, it’s astonishing how well the Canucks have played so far, setting themselves up to nearly guarantee making the playoffs.
The Vancouver Canucks made a trade with the Calgary Flames on Feb. 1, shocking the hockey community and their own fans especially. In that trade, the Canucks parted ways with Andrei Kuzmenko, a player who just started playing in the NHL last season and quickly became a fan favourite with his skills and personality.
After finishing with 74 points, including 39 goals in 81 games last season, the forward has struggled this season, recording 21 points in 43 games which includes eight goals. Kuzmenko has also seen less ice time compared to last season in which he’s been left to watch his teammates from the press box more than once.
Surprisingly, alongside the Canucks’ first round-pick and a conditional fourth-round pick for the 2024 NHL draft and two defensemen prospects, the Canucks only receive forward Elias Lindholm from the Flames. Lindholm has recorded 32 points in 49 games with the Flames this season before the trade.
Regarding contracts, Kuzmenko signed a contract extension for two years with a $5.5 million cap hit last season, lasting until the end of next season. Lindholm’s six-year contract with a $4.85 million cap hit will end this season.
While the Canucks have done amazing so far this season, this is one of the worst trades I’ve ever seen the team make, taking into account the notoriously awful Ekman-Larsson trade not too long ago. Anyone who followed the Canucks the past few seasons already knows how well that move played out.
Although the team is doing extremely well, especially since this is the first time the team will likely make the playoffs with a full season in nine years, this trade felt unnecessary and high-risk. With how the past several seasons have gone for the franchise, the Canucks should’ve gone slow and steady with what they already have instead of going all-in this season.
Alongside Lindholm, Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek’s contracts are up at the end of this season and the Canucks have to figure what to do with the both of them. There’s also Brock Boeser and Nils Hoglander who have their contracts up at the end of next season. The dead salary cap space from the Ekman-Larsson contract buyout doesn’t help these dilemmas.
The Canucks have also gone the longest without winning their first Stanley Cup in the NHL alongside the Buffalo Sabres, at 54 years. Both the Canucks and the Sabres also have the second longest active Stanley Cup drought, just behind the Toronto Maple Leafs at 57 years.
All circumstances considered, the Canucks have locked themselves into a “Stanley Cup or bust” scenario this season.
If they win this season, I’ll be content with the move as the Canucks parade around Vancouver with their first-ever Stanley Cup. Otherwise, this will go down as another one of many questionable moves the franchise has made in their history, open to plenty of criticism for years to come. Those that will perpetually criticize this move if it plays out horribly will unfortunately include yours truly.
