The Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Emerson Etem from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Nicklas Jensen and a sixth-round draft pick in 2017. In other words, the club acquired an NHL-ready forward in exchange for a struggling AHL player.
First-line winger Jannik Hansen is out with an upper-body injury and was put on injured reserve. Still, with the return of Jake Virtanen and the addition of Etem, the Canucks have 14 forwards and a total of the maximum 23 players on their roster. Therefore, head coach Willie Desjardins is forced to make some changes for tonight’s match-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning.