The 31-year-old is the third-highest paid player on the team this season with a $7.26-million cap hit and is signed through 2026-27, per CapFriendly.
Vancouver dressed the following blue line instead:
LD
RD
Quinn Hughes
Luke Schenn
Travis Dermott
Tyler Myers
Riley Stillman
Ethan Bear
Ekman-Larsson has recorded a goal and 18 assists in 40 games this campaign with a minus-14 rating - second worst on the team. Despite being an asset on the penalty kill, his underlying numbers have been poor this season.
Evolving-Hockey.com
The Canucks acquired Ekman-Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes during the 2021 offseason in a trade that also netted Vancouver winger Conor Garland in exchange for a first-round pick, a second-round pick, a seventh-rounder, Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, and Antoine Roussel. Arizona also retained 12% of Ekman-Larsson's $8.25-million cap hit.
As of 3:12 p.m. PST on Tuesday, or 72 minutes after the Western Hockey League's annual trade deadline, Everett Silvertips general manager and head coach Dennis Williams hadn't fully collected his thoughts following a whirlwind week.
"I've barely taken a breath," Williams said over the phone from the team bus.
Last Thursday, Williams guided Team Canada to a gold medal at the World Junior Championship in Halifax. He flew across the continent Friday, then spent four sleep-deprived days negotiating trades, eventually finalizing four.
Dennis Williams behind Canada's bench. Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images
One of Williams' deals looked like something drummed up by a fanatical NHL 23 gamer. Everett sent NHL prospects Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer to the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for a brain-breaking 14 assets - four players, Kamloops' first-round pick in each of the next four drafts, and six other picks (one conditional).
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the picks," Williams said of either using or flipping them. "But we'll have options and options are good to have."
He's far from the only executive with "options" after a rush of trade activity in Canada's major-junior leagues. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League approved 34 trades involving 32 players and 61 draft picks in the week leading up to its Jan. 6 trade deadline. The Ontario Hockey League registered 29 trades involving 47 players and a whopping 94 picks in its final week. The WHL greenlit 23 deals involving 44 players and 56 picks.
In 11 of the 86 total trades, the scope of the deal stretched to seven or more pieces. These super blockbusters aren't new to junior hockey. However, as Jim Hulton, GM of the QMJHL's Charlottetown Islanders, put it, trade packages have "escalated rapidly" over the past five years. Super blockbusters have become normalized, expected.
theScore spoke with eight GMs about the forces driving these trade markets. Here's what we learned.
'Bit of a high-wire act'
Shane Wright at the 2023 world juniors. Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images
The most publicized trade of the past week is a fitting place to start.
Shane Wright, the 19-year-old captain of Canada's gold medal-winning squad and a veteran of 13 games at the NHL and AHL levels, was traded with a conditional 14th-round pick to the Windsor Spitfires for two players and a host of draft picks: a second, a third, two fourths, a sixth, and conditional fifth- and sixth-rounders.
Wright, who was granted exceptional player status to join the OHL as an underager in 2019, is purely a rental. He'll be a full-time NHLer next year.
Still, the Spitfires were willing to fork over valuable assets to the Kingston Frontenacs, including young building block Ethan Miedema, in part because a star player in junior tends to have a greater impact on wins and losses than a star in the pros. Windsor's ceiling rose significantly with the Wright addition.
"You just don't see players who are at their peak at a certain level - who can really, truly dominate - being traded in pro leagues," Soo Greyhounds GM Kyle Raftis said. "You rarely see an NHLer at his absolute peak being traded."
Wright with the Kingston Frontenacs. Chris Tanouye / Getty Images
While teams in the WHL and QMJHL are allowed to swap first-round picks, OHL teams are not. Years ago, the league introduced the restriction to disincentivize long, winding rebuilds, Barrie Colts GM Marty Williamson said. Theoretically, it "protects" GMs from going all-in at every deadline.
Taking first-rounders off the table upgraded second-round picks to top trade chips. Yet when it comes time to actually draft players, a second is still a second. This dynamic leads to larger packages. For instance, instead of pairing a first with a second and a prospect - three pieces - a buying team might offer three seconds with three thirds and a prospect, or seven pieces.
"It looks like a lot, but it's the standard," Frontenacs GM Kory Cooper said of the Wright haul. Spitfires GM Bill Bowler, who's "ecstatic" Wright's a Spitfire, added: "It may look steep, but in my opinion it was a fair deal."
Cooper didn't know if Wright would be sent back to junior until after the gold-medal game last Thursday. Armed with a no-trade clause in his contract, Wright held the power, so he and his agent narrowed down the market for Cooper. The list of interested parties started at around seven and dwindled to four, then two, before the "exhausting" process concluded Monday.
Cooper characterized attempting to align the interests of the Frontenacs with the interests of Wright's camp, his NHL team in Seattle, and the Spitfires as "a bit of a high-wire act."
"It's like buying a house," Bowler said. "One person thinks it's worth this and the other person has another opinion. You look at history, you look at comparables, and you try to come up with what you think makes the most sense. You have to find a partner who can get on the same page."
Draft picks rule the day
Pavel Mintyukov at the 2022 NHL Draft. Andre Ringuette / Getty Images
Another reason why draft picks dominate these super blockbusters: Buying teams are often desperate to add a star talent but unwilling to part with a sought-after 16- or 17-year-old player.
"If you can't move a young player, we're going to have to compensate with more draft picks," Saginaw Spirit GM Dave Drinkill said. "That's where it blew up to the deal we decided on involving Pavel."
Drinkill is referring to Pavel Mintyukov, the NHL first-round defenseman who's having a fabulous sophomore season in the OHL, amassing 55 points in 38 games. The Ottawa 67's, who sit atop the overall standings, sent Saginaw nine picks, three of them seconds, for Mintyukov.
The Spirit are 24-11-2, tying them for second place in the Western Conference. Drinkill believes the club can make a run in the postseason. Why trade Mintyukov?
"There's a breaking point as a GM where the offer's too good and you have to look at the future as well," Drinkill said. "It stings a little bit now, but the draft capital allows us to have some flexibility moving forward, whether it's in the summertime or next year at the deadline."
Mintyukov at the 2022 NHL Scouting Combine. Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images
The market for Mintyukov began with around seven teams "kicking tires," Drinkill said, and "by the end maybe four or five" were serious suitors. The group of deadline buyers, or tire kickers, is usually five teams deep, not seven, according to Raftis, who's been running the Greyhounds since 2014.
This year's seller's market, coupled with the fact that Saginaw is one of four OHL teams bidding to host the 2024 Memorial Cup (Raftis' Soo is another), dulls the initial shock of the Mintyukov deal. Only highly competitive teams are chosen to host, so Drinkill must keep next season top of mind.
Leagues also restrict which picks can be swapped. In the QMJHL, teams can trade picks a maximum of three years into the future, while OHL and WHL teams can trade picks a maximum of four years out. This, like the prohibition on trading firsts in the OHL, limits the number of tradable assets at any given time and, to use Williamson's word, "protects" GMs from themselves.
"It handcuffs us from being too out of control," Drinkill said of the four-year timeline. "That's a weird thing to say because you look at some of the deals and you go, 'That's a little out of control.' But I like the rule."
"These picks," Cooper said, "are our currency at the end of the day."
The consensus among the GMs interviewed is that historically, deadlines have played out something like this: One contender goes full-tilt in the QMJHL, stacking its roster with multiple marquee names. Several teams split the stars in the OHL. And trade activity in the WHL is relatively tame.
This year, the WHL's wow factor intensified as competition for trade targets grew fierce. In the final week of trading, the Blazers, Seattle Thunderbirds, and Winnipeg Ice all pulled off super blockbusters, while the Portland Winterhawks and Red Deer Rebels reeled in impact players via smaller packages.
The Vancouver Giants were one team that never intended to sell but ultimately did. GM Barclay Parneta told rival executives all year that captain Zack Ostapchuk wasn't available. Shortly after winning gold, though, Ostapchuk became a hot commodity. Even so, only a "crazy" offer would satisfy Parneta.
Three teams submitted unsolicited mega offers over the final few days, and Parneta felt compelled to share them with the Giants' majority owner and their head of business operations. "'Guys, this is insane,'" Parneta told them. "'This is something we might have to consider.' Then it just grew from there."
Ostapchuk with the Vancouver Giants. Kevin Light / Getty Images
The eventual deal with Winnipeg - four players, three first-round picks, and a fifth-round pick for Ostapchuk - brought both new players and picks to Vancouver. It wasn't exclusively a short-term or long-term move, which was ideal for Parneta. "I'd love to say I'm a genius GM …" he said of his good luck.
"People might think this will be something normal," Parneta cautioned of this year's WHL deadline. "I think it's very unique with the circumstances of the Memorial Cup being held in Kamloops, other teams feeling like they can do something special, and there not being many sellers."
GMs across Canada brought up an overlooked factor affecting teams' deadline choices: Owners in all three leagues are anxious for playoff revenue after taking massive financial hits during the pandemic. That eighth-place team, for example, is buying or staying put - not selling - because the priority is securing home playoff games.
Today's GMs can also draw on better data to support extreme decisions.
"Years ago, there was enormous value put on your first-round pick. Then you start running the numbers, the analytics on draft picks, and how many of these are hits?" Hulton, the QMJHL GM, said. "You start doing the math on firsts, seconds, thirds, whatever, and they go to their owner and say, 'I'm confident that we can recover from this, and here's our recovery plan.'"
Hulton said some folks in the QMJHL believe the league's recent success at the Memorial Cup - champion at three straight tournaments - can at least in part be traced back to the top team's aggressive approach at the deadline.
At the same time, like many of his peers and those of us on the outside, Hulton is prone to raise an eyebrow when a super blockbuster comes across his feed.
"We've had conversations behind closed doors about where the prices are going," he said. "Where does it stop?"
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane said there isn't much to report on his conversations with general manager Kyle Davidson about his uncertain future, but his impending unrestricted free-agent status is weighing on his mind.
"It's a different year, obviously, going into the last year of your contract and different variables about what's going to happen or where you're going to be the rest of your career, different things like that," he said in a recent interview with NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis. "You think about that stuff, especially when it gets into January here and got a couple months to the trade deadline, so we'll see how it all shakes out."
The 34-year-old is set to miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. The winger is expected to return Saturday against the Seattle Kraken, and he doesn't anticipate the ailment to cause any lingering issues that could impact him long term.
Kane added that he's spoken to his agent, Pat Brisson, "pretty much every week," and he expects to meet with Davidson again soon.
"Just to kind of hear from where each side is at. I think whether it's about my play now or just about the team, about things that I see with the team that could maybe help, and, obviously, about maybe what's coming up.
"I don't think we've got to that point yet, but I'm sure we both know it's right around the corner here."
It's been a rough season for Kane and the Blackhawks. Chicago currently sits in last place in the Central Division with a record of 10-25-4, while Kane has seven tallies and 20 assists in 37 games. His 0.19 goals-per-game rate this season is a career low, and he's in danger of failing to hit the 20-goal mark for the second time in his career - the first time was during the shortened 2020-21 campaign.
"Yeah, it's tough," Kane said. "I think we kind of, I don't want to say we knew we were going to be in this position. I think there was a little hope at the beginning of the year of the start we got off to. There's still a lot of season left."
Both Kane and captain Jonathan Toews are playing out the final seasons of matching eight-year, $84-million pacts. Kane said he and Toews check in every now and then about their futures, but he doesn't think their decisions will influence each other.
The ball is largely in the players' courts, as their deals each feature a no-movement clause.
Selected by the Blackhawks with the first overall pick in 2007, Kane ranks second in franchise history with 1,207 points in 1,144 games. The Buffalo native is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (2010, 2013, 2015) and has taken home the Conn Smythe Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, and Hart Trophy during his 16-year career in Chicago.
Vancouver Canucks forward Tanner Pearson will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign after undergoing a second hand surgery, general manager Patrik Allvin announced Thursday.
Pearson, who has been out since Nov. 9, was initially expected to miss four-to-six weeks following his first procedure before experiencing a setback.
The 30-year-old put up one goal and four assists in 14 contests this season.
Pearson joined the Canucks at the 2019 trade deadline in a swap that sent defenseman Erik Gudbranson to the Pittsburgh Penguins. His 114 points in 221 games since heading north are the sixth most on the Canucks in that span.
Last season, he logged 14 goals and 20 assists in 68 games.
The Canucks currently sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a 17-20-3 record.
Wednesday was a winning night for our best bets, as we won two of three plays. We lost our lone side, though, as the Washington Capitals couldn't grind out a result against the Philadelphia Flyers.
We'll look to get back on track with a side, and a total, for Thursday's busy slate.
The Carolina Hurricanes have dropped four consecutive games and have been unusually leaky in that time, conceding 18 goals.
As talented as the Hurricanes are, they have always taken pride in being a hard-working and stout defensive club under head coach Rod Brind'Amour. They'll be looking to get back to those ways in a wonderful get-right opportunity against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
The Blue Jackets have some star power - most notably wingers Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine - but that hasn't been enough for them to create offense with any consistency this season. They rank 30th in goals per game and also slot bottom five in terms of shot generation.
This is a spot where the Hurricanes, the NHL's No. 1-ranked side in shot and chance prevention at five-on-five, should be able to flex their muscles and suck the life out of the Blue Jackets' offense.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are so bruised and battered defensively that they should be on their heels for much of the game. I think the Hurricanes will be able to forecheck them into the ground and spend a lot of time working defenders over down low, keeping the puck far, far, away from their own cage.
The Hurricanes will generate their fair share of chances - and then some. But Joonas Korpisalo has held up extremely well in dire circumstances this season and will offer up real resistance in goal.
Of the 66 netminders to appear in at least 10 games thus far, Korpisalo ranks 10th in goals saved above expected per start. His running mate, Elvis Merzlikins, is last, to offer more perspective on how well Korpisalo has handled himself behind this porous Blue Jackets team.
With the Hurricanes looking to tighten the screws at one end and Korpisalo playing very well at the other, I expect this game to go under the number.
Jacob Markstrom fell apart down the stretch, allowing three goals on nine shots over approximately 21 minutes of play, and that was the difference.
While Markstrom - and the Flames' goaltending as a whole - has been up and down this season, the same can be said of St. Louis' tandem. The Blues rank 26th in total save percentage this season, putting them five slots below the Flames.
Even if the difference is negligible, I'd prefer to back the side doing a better job of both generating and limiting chances, and that is definitely Calgary.
At five-on-five, the Flames rank second in the NHL in expected goals share over the last 10 games. They sit well above 57%, whereas the Blues come in at 45.5%. That's a huge swing.
If the Flames can do a better job of staying out of the box and the goaltending can be respectable for a full 60, they should be able to rebound with a much-needed victory.
Bet: Flames in regulation (+100)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov is aware that his name is cropping up in trade rumors, but the 25-year-old is doing his best to block the noise.
"Their job is to talk, my job is to play," Provorov said after practice Wednesday, according to Philly Hockey Now's Sam Carchidi. "I'm not changing anything about my preparation or my thinking. I'm here to play and compete every game."
He added, "I've been here for seven years. It's the team I got drafted by. I'm a loyal player. I want to do my best every game and help the team win any way I can."
The Flyers are reportedly fielding calls from other teams about Provorov, who still has two years remaining on his pact after this season with a $6.75-million cap hit.
The Russian has two goals and 13 assists in 42 games this campaign while ranking second on the team in average ice time (23:10). Provorov has skated alongside a variety of partners in 2022-23, including Tony DeAngelo, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Cam York.
Last season, Provorov spent the majority of his time on a struggling pair with Justin Braun until the latter was shipped to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline. Then, he played alongside York and Ronnie Attard, who were both rookies.
The Flyers traded for Ryan Ellis two offseasons ago, and it looked like Provorov had found a stable partner for the first time since Matt Niskanen retired following the 2019-20 campaign. However, Ellis has only been able to suit up for four games due to injuries.
Philadelphia drafted Provorov seventh overall in 2015. Since he entered the league in 2016-17, the Flyers have amassed a 226-204-65 record, good for a .522 points percentage. But, the team has failed to make the playoffs four times in the last six campaigns and looks primed to miss the dance for a third straight season.
"We've had a couple good years and a couple not-so-good years," Provorov said. "I've been here for pretty much everything, so it would be good to see another time when the team is playing great."
The Flyers aren't in a position where they necessarily have to move him, but there are plenty of teams who could benefit from adding Provorov's skill set.
Philadelphia currently sits seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 17-18-7 record.
We're less than two months away from the NHL trade deadline, and a new tantalizing chip has become available: Ivan Provorov. A report Tuesday indicated the Philadelphia Flyers are fielding calls on the defenseman.
Provorov's availability is at least somewhat surprising as he turns just 26 years old on Friday and is signed through 2024-25 with a $6.75-million cap hit. Of course, it's no guarantee a player with term gets moved the same season he becomes available (hello, Jakob Chychrun). However, a breakup between the player and team may be inevitable considering both sides are reportedly frustrated with the other.
Speaking of Chychrun, Provorov's availability will likely affect his market. Chychrun is the superior player and makes $2.15 million less per season, so he'll surely be in higher demand, but there are a lot of similarities between the two. They're both left-shot two-way defensemen in their mid-20s who've proven they can handle top-four minutes and come with two additional years of term.
Teams that strike out on Chychrun could turn to Provorov as a consolation prize, or clubs may prefer Provorov if the asking price is cheaper. It's also possible Provorov's availability drives down Chychrun's asking price.
But Provorov comes with red flags. He's posted poor underlying results over the last three seasons.
Evolving-Hockey.com
The Flyers have been a porous team in that time, and the franchise has asked Provorov to log heavy minutes with a cast of rotating partners. Before that, he was one of the NHL's top young defensemen, and he even received down-ballot Norris Trophy votes in 2019-20.
Evolving-Hockey.com
Provorov is also a workhorse, averaging over 24 minutes of ice time per contest over his seven-year career while missing only three games (all of them last season).
He clearly has a lot of upside left, and a change of scenery might be all it takes to unlock his elite form again. Here are five teams that should target Provorov in a trade.
Los Angeles Kings
NHL Images / National Hockey League / Getty
The Kings are among the most heavily rumored destinations for Chychrun - and arguably the most fitting. They'd be a sensible spot for Provorov, too.
L.A. has a need for a left-handed top-four defenseman. It has four quality right-handed rearguards, which is forcing Sean Durzi to play his off side. Adding Provorov while dealing from the surplus of right-shooting blue-liners would provide some much-needed balance to the Kings' back end.
They're also in go-for-it mode. General manager Rob Blake has done a tremendous job building the organization back up after the two Stanley Cups. But Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar aren't getting any younger. And with a lush farm system, Los Angeles has as much trade bait - or more - than any buyer in the league to swing a major deal.
While Blake would have to get a bit creative to accommodate Provorov's contract, the Kings have enough expendable assets in the $1-million to $3-million range to make the deal work from a cap perspective.
Edmonton Oilers
Rich Graessle / National Hockey League / Getty
The Oilers have reportedly expressed interest in Matt Dumba and just about every available defenseman. They're likely one of the teams that have already contacted the Flyers about Provorov.
A right-handed defenseman would be ideal for Edmonton, but a lefty would still help. It would just require Provorov, Darnell Nurse, or Brett Kulak switching to their off side.
It would be tight from a cap perspective for Edmonton to fit Provorov. Jesse Puljujarvi - who also needs a fresh start - and his $3-million cap hit would be a good starting point to make the trade work moneywise.
The Oilers have struggled to keep the puck out of their net this season as they battle for a playoff spot. Adding an established blue-liner like Provorov could be the missing ingredient.
Detroit Red Wings
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
The Red Wings are a long shot for the playoffs this campaign, but they could still be aggressive on the trade market adding players with term for future seasons.
Detroit has two young right-handed defensemen to build around in Moritz Seider and Filip Hronek, and it could use a lefty like Provorov to complement them. The Wings also have plenty of cap space and trade assets.
GM Steve Yzerman was aggressive this offseason in free agency to help the Red Wings make strides. The time could be nearing for him to make a splash on the trade market.
Ottawa Senators
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
The Senators are also reportedly interested in Dumba. However, adding someone with term, like Provorov, would make a lot more sense than a rental considering their playoff hopes are slim.
Next season could be the year the Sens take the next step. The blue line needs help, though. A righty would be ideal to pair with Thomas Chabot or Jake Sanderson, but adding another lefty would be worth it if someone is comfortable moving to their off side.
The Sens would have no issue fitting Provorov in from a cap perspective if they can find a way to convince the Flyers to take on the remainder of Nikita Zaitsev's contract. Including Zaitsev in a deal would only make Provorov's price higher.
Buffalo Sabres
Bill Wippert / National Hockey League / Getty
The Sabres are a team on the rise. They've already exceeded expectations this season by hanging around in the playoff picture. A postseason berth is still unlikely, but they're set up well for the future.
Buffalo has one of the league's most potent offenses, but it sometimes struggles to defend. The future of its blue line is very promising with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson. However, the club could use one more blue-liner to round out a dynamite top four. Enter Provorov.
Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson are all lefties. Dahlin has already shown the ability to play his off side. If one of the others could as well, they could form one of the league's best back ends.
GM Kevyn Adams has a staggering $18 million in cap space and one of the league's deepest prospect pipelines to deal from.
Gallagher received a timeline of two weeks on Friday.
The 30-year-old has been limited to 25 games this season by various injuries. He's tallied four goals and nine points while playing 14:12 per game, the lowest average time on ice of his career since his rookie campaign.
The Canadiens are last in the Atlantic Division with a 16-22-3 record. Montreal faces the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
