Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has been looking for left-wing help for a while now. So far, his efforts did not come to fruition. Most recently, free agent Jiri Hudler was rumored to be signing with the Canucks, but ended up signing in Dallas instead. Dallas is also the place where the Canucks could find a different winger for their middle six: Valeri Nichushkin.
Nichushkin was drafted 10th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2013 and it is believed that he dropped a bit due to the “Russian factor”. Like Russian Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, Nichushkin let teams know he would only sign an NHL contract if he was guaranteed to play in the NHL.