Young forward Nils Hoglander has been made available for trade. Hoglander was drafted in the second round by the Vancouver Canucks back in 2019. The 23 year-old Swedish forward made his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season. In his rookie year, he appeared in 56 games scoring 13 goals and had 14 assists accounting for 27 points. Defensively, he was decently solid as he had 19 blocked shots, 26 hits, and 42 takeaways.
However, the next two seasons he regressed as he played a total of 85 games between the two seasons and had just 28 points which was one more than he did in his rookie season in thirty less games. In each of his three seasons, he had a +/- in the negatives. However, some of them can be inflated due to poor play from his teammates and the fact that the Canucks did not qualify for the playoffs in any of those years.
However, the 2023-24 season was a breakout season for the Canucks and Hoglander. Hoglander played an important role in the breakout season. The Canucks ended a three season playoff drought and won the Pacific Division with 109 points. Also, Hoglander enjoyed a breakout career year as he had 24 goals and 12 assists for 36 points. His +/- skyrocketed to a +23 which was positive for the first time in his career. Also, impressively at just 5’9, 185 lbs., he finished the season with 100 hits.
This season, he has struggled to replicate his career season from just a year ago as he has just five points in 21 games. However, he is still garnering interest from the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as a few other teams.
Pittsburgh Penguins Are Expected To Be Interested In Nils Hoglander
The Pittsburgh Penguins recently told the public they are interested in potentially trading for Hoglander. It seems like the Penguins are interested in young players with upside and contract flexibility. At just 23 years old and under contract until 2028, Hoglander fits that mold. Despite it being early in the season, it looks like the Penguins will most likely miss the playoffs for the third season in a row after making the playoffs 16 years consecutively prior.
Making a trade for Hoglander makes sense as he is a young player the Penguins can continue to develop and hopefully can be more consistent to his 2023-24 season while having him under contract.
What The Trade Would Look Like
Former Penguins general manager and now the same role with the Canucks, Jim Rutherford, already made it known he would want Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson in a trade. Rutherford is not afraid to bring former Penguins to the Canucks with him as they currently have Teddy Blueger and Danton Heinen. However, the Penguins would need more than just Hoglander as even though Pettersson is a pending free agent, he is still a solid defenceman.
PIT receives: Nils Hoglander, 2025 second-round pick
VAN receives: Marcus Pettersson
The Trade Is Risky For Pittsburgh
This trade makes sense for the Penguins as they have made Pettersson available for trade. Also, since they are not making the playoffs and he is a pending free agent, there is no sense in keeping him. Acquiring draft capital and a young forward with upside has been General Manager Kyle Dubas’ goal.
However, Hoglander may not be the solution to make the team better and restore winning in Pittsburgh. Saving money is always a good thing, but, the Penguins would only save $1 million dollars with the trade.
Also, there is no guarantee Hoglander could become the player Dubas and the Penguins would hope for. He has only had one solid season and only two seasons where he has had at least 20 points.
This is not a guarantee, but, Hoglander could end up being a cheaper and younger Ryan Graves. In other words, a player brought in after a good season and cannot replicate his good play. However, if the Penguins front office and coaching staff is confident in him and want the second-round pick than make the trade. It will be interesting to see what unfolds.
Main Photo: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
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