Failed blockbuster trade between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators comes to the surface
The Vancouver Canucks reportedly almost dealt Czech forward Filip Chytil before the National Hockey League's trade deadline on Friday, March 7th, a little over one month after getting him from the New York Rangers.
Following what felt like months of rumors surrounding a rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, the Vancouver Canucks traded the latter to the New York Rangers and among the pieces they received in return was former first-round pick Filip Chytil.
Chytil was in need of a fresh start and came into Vancouver and assumed J.T. Miller second line center role immediately, however just over a month after being acquired by the Canucks, the team reportedly tried to trade him to another Canadian team.
Vancouver Canucks reportedly almost traded Filip Chytil to Ottawa Senators
The trade deadline was a very quiet one for Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin as he held onto pending unrestricted free agents Brock Boeser, Pius Suter and Derek Forbort in hopes of a push towards a Stanley Cup Playoff berth.
That ultimately never happened as the Canucks were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention one week before the end of the regular season, leaving many fans to ponder what moves Patrik Allvin could've made at the deadline.
According to Patrick Johnston of The Province, the Vancouver Canucks had talks with the Ottawa Senators surrounding a Filip Chytil for Josh Norris trade before the deadline on March 7th.
"I know that around the trade deadline, we all knew that they were kicking tires on Josh Norris and I'm pretty sure at one point, they were talking about trying to maybe flip Filip Chytil the other way. Chytil has been a good player, but even when he's been healthy, he's not a guy that teams are banging on the door for and now he's coming off another concussion." Johnston said when talking about potential trade pieces for the Vancouver Canucks this summer.
While the Vancouver Canucks held onto Filip Chytil, the Ottawa Senators didn't do the same with Josh Norris as they dealt him to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Dylan Cozens, and it's safe to say their General Manager, Steve Staios, is pretty happy he opted to make a trade with Buffalo rather than Vancouver.
Chytil managed to appear in 15 games for the Vancouver Canucks this season before suffering a concussion during a game in mid-March against the Chicago Blackhawks following a hit from former Canucks forward Jason Dickinson.
Thankfully, the Kromeriz, Czechia native was able to get back on the ice less than a month later and even shed his non-contact sweater at the team's final practice of the 2024-25 season, which is great news as he'll be able to train at 100 percent health during the offseason.
However, the Vancouver Canucks cannot afford to go into the 2025-26 season with Filip Chytil as their second line center. No disrespect to him, he's a solid player when he's healthy, but if the Canucks want to be a contender, they need an upgrade at the 2C hole.
Source: Patrick Johnston/The Province
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| POLL | ||
MAI 1 | 1154 ANSWERS Failed blockbuster trade between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators comes to the surface Who would you rather have on the Vancouver Canucks' roster right now? | ||
| Filip Chytil | 331 | 28.7 % |
| Josh Norris | 823 | 71.3 % |
| List of polls | ||