Alexis Lafreniere's name is tied to Vancouver again, and this connection actually goes back years.
Ben Kuzma of The Province reported the history this week, tracing Vancouver's interest in Lafreniere back to his rough 2022-23 season.
That interest reportedly heated up again during trade discussions involving JT Miller, the same deal that sent Miller to New York.
Lafreniere has grown since that rough stretch. He posted 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points over 82 games with the Rangers this past season.
He also closed strong, picking up 7 points over his final 10 games of the year.
A $7.45 million cap hit comes with him too, a real number for a Vancouver team still deep in a rebuild.
None of that confirms an actual deal is close. It just means the connection between these two sides has never fully disappeared.
The fit depends on what Vancouver would give up
Vancouver's own situation adds real context. The Canucks finished dead last in the league this past season at 25-49-8.
Their goal differential landed at minus-100, the kind of number that usually pushes a front office toward adding proven scoring wherever it can be found.
A winger already producing at Lafreniere's level would be a real add for a lineup still searching for secondary scoring punch.
The bigger question is what Vancouver would have to give up. Rebuilding teams do not usually pay full price for a 24-year-old winger just entering his prime.
Elias Pettersson's own name has come up in outgoing trade speculation this summer, adding even more moving parts to Vancouver's forward group.
Kuzma's full reporting through The Province lays out the history behind this connection in more detail.
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Nothing here suggests a deal is imminent, but at the right price, this is exactly the kind of connection that tends to resurface again.
Would you trade Elias Pettersson to Vancouver's rebuild for Alexis Lafreniere?
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