Canucks Rumors: Latest On Nils Hoglander Trade Talks

It’s safe to say that things have not been moving in the right direction for young Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Höglander. For the fourth straight season since his fine rookie year, Höglander’s average minutes have been on the decline. From time in the top-six earlier in the season, he’s now entrenched on the fourth line.

But it's not as if he hasn't been productive lower down in the lineup, and according to Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal, there isn’t currently any inclination to trade Höglander.

His name pops up a lot (in trade chatter)… (But) as of now I’m hearing this is a player the Canucks do not want to move. Think about it, he’s got 12 goals on the fourth line in limited ice time, and he’s a very young player.

It’s known by those around the team that several Canucks coaches have been down on Höglander this season, and the 23-year-old has averaged just 11 minutes a night (well down from his career mark of 13½ coming into the season). Yet in 42 games he’s still been able to notch 12 goals and 17 points while sporting a plus/minus of +11. 

Höglander has another year left with a very affordable $1.1 million cap hit, after which time, in 2025, he’ll only become a restricted free agent. It stands to reason that teams around the league are inquiring about the talented forward's availability.

One thing the Canucks will need to consider is that they’ve got seven unrestricted free agents heading into the off-season, and surely won't be able to sign them all. they might decide that it would be wise to hold onto a promising young player on a very cost-efficient deal.

Overall, in 183 NHL games, the former second-rounder (40th, 2019 Draft) has 38 goals and 33 assists for 71 points. His best season to date remains his rookie year, when he posted 13 goals and 27 points in 56 games. He should be on the verge of eclipsing those numbers here in 2023-24.

“If the Canucks are offered a deal that they absolutely have to put a player in that they don’t want to, they probably will (add Höglander to a trade package),” said Dhaliwal, in summing up the situation. “ But as of right now, I’m told they don’t want to move him.”

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