The Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Evander Kane early Wednesday morning, and General Manager Patrik Allvin met with the media in the afternoon to discuss the trade and other pressing topics as the NHL Entry Draft and free agency approaches.
Allvin began by speaking on the trade from earlier in the day.
“Every team is looking to be harder to play against and for us, with the group we have here, when a player like this comes available [at this] cost, we felt we have a chance to upgrade our top-nine [and] middle-six, and become a harder team to play against,” said Allvin.
He appreciated the experience that Kane brings to the team and how it makes for an attractive fit for Kane to return home to Vancouver and become a Canuck. Allvin spoke with Kane on Wednesday morning, as he was at the swimming pool with his kids and was super excited about becoming a Canuck.
Kane has played in 930 NHL games and is entering his 17th NHL season after being drafted fourth overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He sat out last season but was able to play for the Edmonton Oilers through the playoffs.
“Evander is one of those guys who you hate to play against, and you love to have him on your own team,” said Allvin as he added that head coach Adam Foote was also included in the process of acquiring Kane.
Allvin was later asked about the Canucks’ first-round pick in Friday’s NHL Entry Draft.
“I was just sitting in, listening to my scouting staff who are upstairs and doing the final touches here on the list,” he said. “[They have] excitement on some of the players that might potentially be available. So, we’ll see if talks heat up here over the next 48 hours or not.”
The GM said that as of Wednesday afternoon, he expects the Canucks to make the pick at 15 and mentioned that he has not talked to many teams about moving up in the draft but has inquired about potentially moving down.
He also spoke about the Abbotsford Canucks winning the Calder Cup, and what that means to the organization.
“It’s a great achievement. I am very, very proud for that group and the fans out in Abbotsford. [It is] very interesting to see some of the players there, how they grow and get confidence as the playoffs went on. Especially the first-year guys like Kirill Kudryavtsev, Ty Mueller, Victor Mancini, along with guys who had been up here, [Arshdeep] Bains, [Linus] Karlsson, [Max Sasson, I think all those guys have put themselves in a different position here now,” he said.
“I think it’s a healthy competition again. And I think those guys with [Jonathan] Lekkerimäki, Aatu Räty, and several [other] players will come in here and compete for roster spots and make my decisions even harder. And based on conversations around the league now, I think those guys sure are getting more attention in terms of assets for the franchise.”
Kane is expected to be made available to the media in the coming days, and the NHL draft gets underway on Friday at 4:00 p.m. PT.
