Tanev too?! Canucks and Flames talked about including him in trade: report

The Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames have completed a blockbuster trade, which sees Elias Lindholm coming to Vancouver. Andrei Kuzmenko, a pair of prospects, and two draft picks are heading to Calgary.

But the deal could have been even bigger.

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Minutes before the trade was officially announced, multiple journalists reported that Chris Tanev could be part of the package. Ultimately he wasn’t, but TSN’s Darren Dreger confirmed that the right-shot defenceman was being talked about.

“It was thought to be better as a separate deal,” Dreger said.

I believe he was, but it was thought to better as a separate deal. Heard the same, Rick. https://t.co/WdPwekmgjb

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 1, 2024

The Canucks will continue trying to reacquire Tanev, who left Vancouver as a free agent in 2020, according to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK.

“Chris Tanev was a part of these trade talks,” said Dhaliwal. “The belief is the Flames were asking for a first-round draft pick for Tanev. That’s when talks broke down for Tanev in Vancouver. The Canucks will still try on Tanev.”

Trade recap #Canucks pic.twitter.com/CFfaD96LU9

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) February 1, 2024

Time will tell if the Canucks can bring Tanev back to Vancouver, a city he reportedly never wanted to leave. The 34-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent, and with the Flames now seemingly in a rebuild, it would seem unlikely that Tanev would return to Calgary next season.

Tanev won’t come cheap, though. There are reportedly 10 teams interested in trading for him.

The Lindholm-Kuzmenko trade opened up $650,000 in cap space for the Canucks, according to CapFriendly. Tanev makes $4.5 million annually, though Vancouver could move Nikita Zadorov ($3.75 million) to make room for him.

Important note: #Canucks have created $650k in cap space from this trade:

LTIR Relief: $4.05M
LTIR Used: $2.18M
LTIR Cap Space: $1.87Mhttps://t.co/zUbxt9z4RQ

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 1, 2024

Stay tuned.