The Canucks acquire Sven Baertschi from the Flames for a 2nd round pick

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Canucks trade deadline ended with a splash. Vancouver acquired Sven Baertschi from the Calgary Flames for a 2015 2nd round pick. The 22-year old was the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft. The Swiss prospect has appeared in 15-games for the Flames this season collecting four assists.

Canucks General Manager Jim Benning says its always tough to trade draft picks, but he made an exception to acquire Baertschi.

“He is ready to come in and help us win this year and every year going forward. I don’t like trading draft picks but to get a player of Sven’s calibre, I am okay with that.”

Baertschi will report to the Utica Comets, but Benning says he could be in line to be recalled if the Canucks are hit with more injuries. Comets Head Coach Travis Green coached Baertschi in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks and Benning says Green is very exciting to have him on the team.

Earlier in the day, the team bolstered its farm team depth. The Canucks acquired Cory Conacher from the New York Islanders for Dustin Jeffrey. Conacher has appeared in 15 games for the Islanders this season. Benning says Conacher will help the Comets powerplay as they gear up for a Calder Cup run.

“He is a powerplay guy, so we made that deal to help that group down there and he has played NHL games, in case we need him, we have depth with him up here.”

There were rumblings for over a month Vancouver was interested in moving Zack Kassian, but he remains a member of the Canucks. Benning admits he did gauge the interest level of other teams on the power forward.

“We called some teams on Zack to see if there was interest because we identified players of similar ilk that we would consider doing. At the end of the day, Zack has played well for us and nothing made sense for us to move him. We are very happy is still part of our group.”

The Canucks return to game action tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks.