Canucks not in on ‘imminent’ David Jiricek trade

It’s no secret that the Vancouver Canucks are in the market for a defenceman, especially a right-shot defenceman at that. There isn’t a massive market for blueliners, so when the Columbus Blue Jackets made the 20-year-old right-shot defenceman David Jiricek available, all teams looking for help on the back end should be calling.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli joined Dan Riccio and Satiar Shah for his Monday hit on Canucks Central to discuss the latest on what he’s hearing regarding Jiricek and the Canucks involvement.

“The phone has been buzzing,” Seravalli said. “It seems like this is a relatively imminent transaction. The thought is that this is something that could be processed tonight.”

Sat followed that up by asking Seravalli if he had any clarification on where Jiricek might be going:

“I can tell you not the Vancouver Canucks.”

“I do have a sense that the deal is mostly complete. I go through a process of just checking through and crossing off teams off my list. Sometimes you get tips from the weirdest places. I do think the Canucks were one of the teams that had some interest, [but] not happening in Vancouver.”

Columbus drafted Jiricek sixth overall in 2022. He’s spent the previous three seasons split between the Blue Jackets and their AHL affiliate, Cleveland Monsters. The Czech defenceman has played 86 games in Cleveland, scoring 14 goals and 45 assists for 59 points. His 0.69 points per game total has clearly earned him a graduation from the AHL to the NHL.

But that hasn’t been the case in Columbus.

The 6’4″ defenceman has played just 53 games in the NHL, never amassing 43 games in a single season. During his time with Columbus, Jiricek has scored one goal and 11 points. The former first-round pick has expressed his frustration about not playing, and new general manager Don Waddell is granting his wish sooner rather than later.

With the Jiricek sweepstakes likely coming to a close soon and the Canucks seemingly out of the mix, the search continues for general manager Patrik Allvin to help his teams’ blueline.