By The Canadian Press

Rebuilding Vancouver Canucks stockpile draft picks ahead of NHL trade deadline

Mar 6, 2026 | 3:25 PM

VANCOUVER — Demolition has begun for the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks.

The team dealt two more depth forwards for draft picks ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline on Friday, chipping further away at a roster in the midst of a major overhaul.

“Our goal was to accumulate draft picks and potential players at 25 and younger,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin. “And we’re pleased we’re sitting here today with some extra picks moving forward.”

Vancouver sent pending unrestricted free agent David Kampf to the Washington Capitals and Lukas Reichel to the Boston Bruins, both for sixth-round picks on Friday.

Kampf, a 31-year-old Czech centre, put up two goals and six points over 38 games for the Canucks this season.

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Reichel, a 23-year-old German winger, had one assist over 14 appearances.

Vancouver made the biggest deal of the season well ahead of the deadline, shipping captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in mid-December. The Canucks received forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenceman Zeev Buium and the Wild’s first-round pick in the 2026 NHL entry draft.

The exodus continued a month later when Vancouver dealt winger Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks for defenceman Cole Clayton and second-round picks in both the 2026 and 2027 draft.

Allvin continued his work this week, trading veteran blue liner Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday for a second-round pick in the 2027 draft and a fourth-round selection in 2029. Vancouver will retain half of Myers’ US$3-million cap hit through next season.

Then, less than 24 hours before the deadline, the Canucks moved winger Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets late on Thursday for a second-round pick in the 2028 draft and a third-round selection this year.

“We felt that the best deals we made was the ones we made early with Quinn and Kiefer,” Allvin said. “And when we had an offer on those players — Myers, Garland and Kempf and Reichel — we felt good about it.”

Vancouver, which sits at the bottom of the NHL standings with an 18-36-7 record, also picked centre Curtis Douglas off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.

The 26-year-old forward from Oakville, Ont., has two assists and 92 penalty minutes this season, his first in the league.

Canucks staff have watched Douglas over the years and believe the six-foot-nine, 242-pound athlete could be a good fit with the team, Allvin said.

“With our young guys in the lineup, I want the players to feel safe,” he said. “I don’t want them to get beaten up. And we’ve been looking for a player like this, with more size and physicality.”

Vancouver also held on to pending unrestricted free agents Evander Kane and Teddy Blueger.

“Look at the market today, it was very unpredictable. I didn’t get any offers (on Kane or Blueger), so I was a little bit surprised. Those two guys have been playing really well for us,” Allvin said.

“We all know that roster spots and cap space flexibility plays in.”

Kane, 34, has 11 goals and 27 points over 59 games this season, his first campaign with his hometown Canucks.

Edmonton dealt the bruising six-foot-two winger and his $5.125 million cap hit to Vancouver at the end of June after he appeared in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals with the Oilers.

Originally selected fourth overall by the Thrashers in the 2009 draft, Kane has spent time with Atlanta, Winnipeg, Buffalo, San Jose, Edmonton and Vancouver over 16 NHL seasons.

He’s amassed 337 goals and 644 points over 989 regular-season games, and added another 32 goals and 55 points over 97 playoff appearances.

Blueger, 31, was out of the lineup with a leg injury from mid-October until mid-January, and now has five goals and eight points over 14 games this season.

Pittsburgh picked the Latvian centre late in the second round of the 2012 draft and he’s since logged 432 regular-season NHL games.

Blueger won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, then signed with Vancouver as a free agent just weeks later.

The pending UFAs have been important to the Canucks, Allvin said.

“We were not just looking to dump players,” said the GM. “I think we have some really good players here and it’s important to surround our younger players moving forward with veteran players.”

The Canucks are mired in a seven-game losing skid heading into a tilt with the Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday.

While Allvin knows there are more losses to come this season, there are things he wants to see from the team over its final 21 games of the campaign.

“I want to see more fight in their game. I want to see attention to details, and I want to see us competing for 60 minutes,” he said. “I think our details need to be overall better, and obviously that comes with execution.

“And I know it’s a privilege every day to play in the National Hockey League, and it’s even more privilege to play in this market, in Vancouver. So everybody should be excited walking into Rogers Arena every day and knowing that it means a lot to put the jersey on with the crest here and play in front of the fans. So compete, details and growth from the younger players — that’s what I want to see.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press