Welcome to the Vancouver Canucks best trades series. In this series, we at The Hockey Writers look back at the Canucks’ trading history with every NHL team and pick what we believe to be the best transaction between them and the other 31 organizations. This article focuses on their trade history with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Canucks and Golden Knights don’t have a long list of trades entwined with hockey lore NHL fans reminisce about. Instead, they have two that are relatively unremarkable – one in 2018 and the other in 2020. It’s safe to say neither of them is a blockbuster fans would get excited about, but in hindsight, only one is likely made again.
Canucks Acquire Leipsic for Holm
On Feb. 26, 2018, the Canucks sent prospect Philip Holm to the Golden Knights for depth forward Brendan Leipsic. Leipsic, an original Golden Knight, spent two seasons with the Canucks, playing 31 total games. He scored 14 points, five of which were goals, and had a plus/minus of minus-13. Holm, the player the Golden Knights got in return, never saw NHL ice time for them. Since the trade, he has bounced around the American Hockey League (AHL), Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and other European hockey leagues.
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In retrospect, the Leipsic for Holm trade isn’t remarkable or memorable from a pure hockey-playing perspective. The two accumulated a combined 31 NHL games played for their respective teams. Although, Leipsic, a now-disgraced NHLer, will likely never see NHL ice time again. In May 2020, messages surfaced of Leipsic making misogynistic and hateful comments. The offensive comments mocked women, former teammates, and at the time, current teammates. The Washington Capitals, the team he was playing for then, placed him on waivers to terminate his contract shortly after. He has spent the last three seasons in the KHL since.
Golden Knights Send Schmidt to Vancouver
The Canucks acquired Nate Schmidt from the Golden Knights on Oct. 12, 2020, for a third-round selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, the Golden Knights needed to move out salary as they signed 2020 free agency’s big kahuna – Alex Pietrangelo. At the time, Schmidt made an average annual salary of $5.95 million and would for another five years. In a move to free up cap space, they sent Schmidt and his contract to their Pacific Division rival, hoping it wouldn’t bite them in the coming seasons. Spoiler alert, it…
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