Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet: The Vancouver Canucks have shopped forward Jake Virtanen before. Right now Canucks GM Jim Benning wouldn’t be dealing Virtanen from a position of strength.
Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks are also listening to calls on forward Adam Gaudette. Both Virtanen and Gaudette are 24-years old and were scratched over the weekend.
If Benning had received an offer he like before the draft this past offseason, Virtanen likely would have already been moved. The cap crunch and teams wanting to hold on to draft picks lowered the offers.
Comparable trades at the draft may have been Lias Andersson for the 60th pick and Ryan Donato for a 2021 3rd round pick. It’s believed the Canucks were looking for a higher pick for Virtanen.
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman last night on Sportsnet on the Vancouver Canucks, Jake Virtanen and Adam Gaudette.
** NHLrumors.com transcription from two TV segments.
Friedman before the Canucks – Maple Leafs game.
“Both Jake Virtanen and Adam Gaudette are back in, and I think it’s interesting that the Canucks have them back in as I think they are testing the market on both players. Virtanen, it’s been on-on, on-off. I think you wonder if it gets to a point where everybody feels he deserves a fresh start.
Gaudette is interesting. He’s been in and out of the lineup. I think there are some teams that have some interest in him. Obviously, these aren’t necessarily seismic moves, but they are, I think Vancouver, like we talked about, are really struggling and they are looking to change their mix a little bit.”
Friedman and Anthony Stewart during intermission
“Obviously I think the Canucks are looking around to see what they can do, what they can tinker with here. I think they’ve got a couple players out there. They are seeing what the value is. One is Jake Virtanen and other is Adam Gaudette.
The situation with Virtanen, if you’re a Canucks fan you’ve seen this, you know what the story is. It’s probably getting close to the point where it’s time for him to have a change of scenery and start again.
The Gaudette thing is interesting. He’s a talented guy. He’s got 7:22 tonight. He hasn’t been in the lineup a ton. I think they are just looking to see what’s potentially out there for him too.
I heard Boston had some interest in Virtanen. We’ll see where that goes.”
Anthony Stewart adds.
“I think with Virtanen there’s going to be a bunch of teams lining up for his services. 6 foot 2, 220 pounds. 18 goals in 69 games last year. So when you’re big, fast, and you can skate, there’s teams that will be lining up for your services.”