The Nashville Predators made a move for a young winger on Monday, landing Nils Höglander from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft.
Vancouver general manager Ryan Johnson framed the deal as another step in the club’s reset, saying, “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.”
Höglander is heading into the second season of a three-year, $9 million contract. The 25-year-old’s latest season in Vancouver was a rough one: he finished with two goals and three assists in 38 games and missed more than half the year because of multiple injuries.
That came during a bleak stretch for the Canucks, who managed just 25 wins this season and finished last in the NHL by a wide margin. The organization has already gone through major changes, replacing Patrik Allvin with Johnson at general manager and bringing in franchise icons Daniel and Henrik Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations. Head coach Adam Foote was also dismissed after one season and replaced by Manny Malhotra.
Höglander’s time in Vancouver included some strong moments, too. The Canucks picked him in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, and he broke through with 13 goals and 14 assists in 56 games during his rookie season in 2020-21.
The native of Bocktrask, Sweden also hit a career-best 24 goals in 2023-24, though he never quite matched that pace again. He leaves Vancouver with 60 goals and 60 assists in 331 games, plus 11 playoff appearances, all coming in the spring of 2024, when he had one goal and one assist.
Nashville, meanwhile, is coming off a 38-win season in 2025-26 that left it sixth in the Central Division and out of the playoffs for a second straight year.
The Canucks also added a veteran scorer on Monday, acquiring Brendan Gallagher from the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal is retaining 50 per cent of Gallagher’s $6.5 million cap hit in the final season of his contract, according to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston. Gallagher, 34, had been the longest-serving Canadien after spending his entire 14-season career in Montreal, where he became a fan favorite for the grit and heart he brought every night.
This season, the 5-foot-9 winger posted seven goals and 23 points in 77 games. He added a goal in three playoff games before Montreal was eliminated in the Eastern Conference Final. His ice time dropped to a career-low 12:21, and for the first time since January of 2013 as a rookie, he was a healthy scratch on March 14.
Gallagher is in the final season of the six-year, $39 million contract that carries that $6.5 million cap hit. Drafted 147th overall by Montreal in 2010, he has 246 goals and 487 points in 911 career games. He scored at least 30 goals twice and reached a career-high 54 points in 2017-18.
His résumé also includes helping the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 and the Eastern Conference Final twice, in 2014 and 2026. Gallagher represented Canada at the 2016 World Hockey Championship and won gold.
In Other News...
Canadiens Just Sent A Massive Message About Michael Hage
Michael Hage keeps surfacing in the Canadiens bigger-picture conversations because Montreals interest in him has never been just about one prospect season. Darren Dreger reported on TSN 690 that around the NHL trade deadline, Kent Hughes was not willing to move the young center in a deal for Robert Thomas, a stance that fit the broader way Montreal has handled its top young talent as the rebuild moves forward.
Hages decision to return for a third NCAA season adds another layer to the debate, especially with Montreals run to the conference final changing the backdrop since those deadline talks. The result is a prospect profile that has only gotten more interesting from the Canadiens point of view, and it leaves the open question of whether his value is rising fast enough that Montreal will keep treating him as a core piece rather than a possible chip. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Made A Roster Call Fans Will Debate Into July
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One name stood out for what was missing. Joe Veleno, who played 61 regular-season games and nine playoff games for Montreal this season, did not receive a qualifying offer and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. For a team trying to balance depth, flexibility and future upside, it is the sort of decision that can look minor on paper and still spark a pretty lively debate among fans all the way into July. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Linked To The Kind Of Center Move That Changes Everything
The Canadiens search for a true second-line center has been one of the more persistent threads around the team, and it is exactly the kind of need that makes outside ideas get attention in a hurry. David Ettedgui, who works as both a player agent and analyst, floated a speculative trade concept that would send a high-end left-shot center to Montreal, with Vancouver retaining salary to help make the contract fit.
It is important to separate the idea from any real momentum, because there is no indication Montreal is actively pursuing a deal. Still, proposals like this tend to stick around because they speak directly to the Canadiens roster issue and to the kind of swing-for-the-fences move that can alter a teams ceiling if the right opportunity ever presents itself. [Read more 🡒]