Vincent Desharnais facing forced departure from Canucks just 17 games into season

When defenseman Vincent Desharnais came to Vancouver, he was hoping to have the same success he did with the Edmonton Oilers before signing as a free agent with the Canucks. Unfortunately for him, things haven’t gone as planned and now two insiders are reporting he could soon be traded.

On Thursday, Rick Dhaliwal revealed how his sources indicated how “Desharnais is out there on the trade market.”

Later on Thursday, Elliotte Friedman confirmed the reports, writing this in his latest 32 Thoughts column on Sportsnet:

“Vancouver is trying to find a better fit for Vincent Desharnais. It just hasn’t worked out as everyone hoped.”

This summer, the Canucks signed the blue liner a two-year contract for $4M with fans hoping the big guy would meet the big expectations. However, since the start of the 2024-25 season, Desharnais has often been a healthy scratch, posting just two points and a -2 rating in 17 games.

To make things worse for the Canucks, there is apparently little interest out there for Desharnais. Sportsnet’s Satiar Shah explained how Vancouver is having a hard time finding a suitor to him on, and while he did better with the Oilers and reports indicating that Edmonton wants to add a defenseman ahead of the postseason, I doubt there will be a reunion with Desharnais at this time.