The Vancouver Canucks are working the phone lines.
The team called the New York Rangers to check in on potentially trading for winger Chris Kreider, per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.
“Someone told me the Canucks called the Rangers about Chris Kreider but my guess is Vancouver is probably on Kreider’s no-trade list,” explained Dhaliwal today on Donnie & Dhali.
The veteran winger has a 15-team no-trade list and thus has a lot of control over where he goes. He has 10 goals and zero assists for 10 points in 21 games so far this season and has scored at least 36 goals in each of the past three years.
Kreider was specifically mentioned leaguewide as someone the Rangers were looking to trade as the team goes through a rough patch, and it wasn’t just the Canucks who checked in.
“Every team called, including the Canucks,” continued Dhaliwal. “But the Canucks are out there working the phones.”
Making a trade for Kreider would be tough for the Canucks beyond just the player’s contract clauses. The winger counts for $8 million against the cap, a number that the Pacific Division team would struggle to fit at this point in time.
It’s also been reported that the Rangers called the Canucks about centre J.T. Miller, although those talks also didn’t get far.
Even if discussions surrounding Kreider went nowhere, it’s clear that GM Patrik Allvin is working the trade market. He’s known for being aggressive, and with injuries piling up, it would shock no one to see the team bring in reinforcements sooner rather than later.