The Nashville Predators acquired forward Nils Höglander from the Vancouver Canucks on Monday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft.
“We would like to thank Nils for his time in Vancouver, and we wish him the best with his new team Nashville,” said Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson. “Picking up another draft pick is important for us as we continue to try and accumulate assets for our rebuild.”
Hoglander is set to enter the second season of a three-year, $9 million contract.
The 25-year-old Hoglander struggled this past season for the last-place Canucks, recording two goals and three assists over 38 games, missing over half of the season with numerous injuries.
Vancouver is in an transitional phase after earning just 25 wins this past season, finishing last in the NHL by a wide margin.
The Canucks have since replaced general manager Patrik Allvin with Johnson and added franchise legends Daniel and Henrik Sedin as the team’s co-presidents of hockey operations.
After just a single season on the job, head coach Adam Foote was also fired and replaced by Manny Malhotra.
Hoglander was selected by the Canucks in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft and put together a promising rookie season in 2020-21 with 13 goals and 14 assists over 56 games.
The native of Bocktrask, Sweden scored a career-high 24 goals in 2023-24, but hasn’t reached the same form since, finishing his Canucks career with 60 goals and 60 assists over 331 games.
He appeared in 11 playoff games during his time in Vancouver, all in the spring of 2024, record one goal and one assist.
Nashville finished sixth in the Central Division with 38 wins in 2025-26, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
Canucks Add Gallagher
The Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Brendan Gallagher to the Canucks.
The Canadiens will retain 50 per cent of Gallagher’s $6.5 million cap hit in the final season of his deal, according to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston.
Gallagher, 34, was the longest serving Canadien after spending his entire 14-season career in Montreal and was a fan favourite for his grit and heart he displayed on the ice.
The 5-foot-9 winger recorded seven goals and 23 points in 77 games this season. He added a goal in three playoff games before the Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Final.
He saw a career low in ice time this season at 12:21 and for the first time since January of 2013 as a rookie, he was made a healthy scratch on March 14.
Gallagher is entering the final season of his six-year, $39 million contract that carries a cap hit of $6.5 million.
Drafted 147th overall by the Canadiens in the 2010 draft, Gallagher has 246 goals and 487 points in 911 career games.
Gallagher scored 30 or more goals twice in his career and put up a career-high 54 points during the 2017-18 season.
He helped lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 and pushed his team to the Eastern Conference Final twice in 2014 and 2026.
The Edmonton native represented Canada at the 2016 World Hockey Championship, winning gold.
