The Vancouver Canucks officially entered a new chapter in their franchise earlier this week when they traded superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. While the Canucks got a nice haul for Hughes, which included Minnesota’s 2026 first-round pick, defenseman Zeev Buium, forward Marco Rossi, and forward Liam Ohgren, there is no question that they will miss having a franchise talent like Hughes immensely.
With the Canucks bringing in multiple new players for Hughes, they made another smaller roster move on Dec. 13. The Canucks placed forward Lukas Reichel on waivers, which gave the other 31 NHL teams the opportunity to claim him if they wished to.
Seeing the Canucks place Reichel on waivers was not surprising in the slightest. There is no question that the Nuremberg, Germany native has had a lot of trouble finding his fit with the Canucks since being traded there by the Chicago Blackhawks in late October. He has zero goals, one assist, and a minus-5 rating in 14 games with the Canucks, so it is clear that he has struggled since joining Vancouver.
With Reichel being ice-cold, he has officially passed through waivers unclaimed. While this is the case, based on a new report, the young forward could very well still find a new home in the near future.
Canucks Are Looking to Trade Reichel & A Deal Is Possible
While Reichel did not get claimed by another team on waivers, the Canucks are still looking to find him a new home.
According to NHL insider Rick Dhaliwal, the Canucks are still aiming to trade Reichel. In addition, Dhaliwal shared that there is a chance that the Canucks will find a trading partner for Reichel.
“Canucks are trying to trade Reichel. There is a chance of a deal happening,” Dhaliwal wrote.
While Reichel did not get claimed by another club on waivers, teams could be more interested in him now. This is because any potential suitors would now have the freedom to send him right down to the AHL without needing to put him back on waivers.
With Reichel being a former first-round pick and still only 23 years old, there certainly could be a club out there willing to acquire him in a move. He is still young enough where he could break out, and it could very well just be a situation where he needs to find the right fit.
Who Else Could the Canucks Trade Besides Reichel?
The Canucks have made it known that they are open for business, and this was made even clearer when they traded Hughes. As a result, Reichel is absolutely not the only player who the Canucks could trade by the 2026 NHL trade deadline.
A number of Canucks players have been discussed often as trade candidates as Vancouver continues to struggle. Pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) forward Kiefer Sherwood is easily Vancouver’s most popular trade candidate now. However, the Canucks also have other players like Conor Garland, Evander Kane, Tyler Myers, Teddy Blueger, David Kampf, and Nils Hoglander who should be watched.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see where Reichel ends up landing from here.
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