Over the past five trade deadlines the Vancouver Canucks have been among the most active teams in the league. Throughout that stretch the club has generally been gearing up for a deep playoff run, spending the majority of those deadlines making minor adjustments up front or depth moves to help propel them further. Some of those trades worked out, others have come back to sting them.
Here’s a look at the Canucks’ moves over the last five trade deadline days:
2010 Trade Deadline
F Yan Stastny 
F Pierre-Cedric Labrie
D Andrew Alberts 
2010 3rd rd pick
At the 2010 trade deadline, the Canucks were clinging to a two-point Northwest division lead over the Colorado Avalanche and the club was simply looking for some depth ahead of what they were hoping would be a long playoff run. Led by Henrik Sedin, who took home the Art Ross at season’s end, the club was stacked offensively — leading the league in goals — and were hoping for a boost on defence. Enter Andrew Alberts.
Alberts was the Canucks’ fifth or sixth defenceman in a long line of talented d-men. The then fifth-year blue liner logged around 12.5 minutes of ice time in the playoffs, playing in 10 of the club’s 12 games, grabbing an assist and a plus-1 in those contests. Vancouver would go on to lose the Western Conference semifinal to eventual Stanley Cup champion the Chicago Blackhawks. However, Alberts did play in every Stanley Cup final game against the Boston Bruins the following year.
Although he’s still with the team, Alberts hasn’t played a game in over a year as the defenceman still struggles with concussion symptoms after taking a hit from Calgary Flames forward Brian McGrattan on Dec. 29, 2013. It turns out this trade almost, kind of, worked out for Vancouver despite Alberts recent injury issues.
As for the other trade, neither Stastny or Labrie ever played an NHL game with the teams that acquired them.
2011 Trade Deadline
F Maxim Lapierre, F MacGregor Sharp 
F Joel Perrault, 2012 3rd rd pick
F Chris Higgins 
D Evan Oberg, 2013 3rd rd pick
Vancouver dominated the entire 2010-11 NHL season, leading the league in goals-for and goals against, and easily won the Presidents’ Trophy by 10 points. When the deadline came the Canucks felt their biggest need was up front on offence despite not having any troubles scoring. As a result, the Canucks acquired Lapierre and Higgins for more depth.
The Canucks easily won the trade with Florida, acquiring Higgins, who netted three game-winning playoff goals in 2011 en route to their Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup finals to the Boston Bruins. Higgins is still with the club and has compiled 54 goals and 128 points in 261 games with Vancouver. Meanwhile, Oberg never played in Florida and the draft pick was eventually returned to the Canucks in another trade the following season.
Lapierre, the long-time Montreal Canadiens forward, played 149 games with the Canucks, grabbing a meagre 14 goals and 30 points in those contests. He also played in 25 games with the Canucks in the 2011 playoffs netting three goals and five points with an average ice time of 13:34. Lapierre also netted the game-winning goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
If the Canucks won the Stanley Cup no one says anything about this trade. However, despite Perrault and Sharp never playing in the NHL for the teams that acquired them, that 2012 third round pick turned into the Ducks’ current starting goaltender Frederik Andersen. That one has to sting a little.
2012 Trade Deadline
F Andrew Gordon D Sebastien Erixon
F Zack Kassian, D Marc-Andre Gragnani 
F Cody Hodgson, D Alexander Sulzer
F Samuel Pahlsson 
D Taylor Ellington, two 2012 4th rd picks
The 2012 trade deadline brought two notable trades for the Canucks. None more newsworthy at the time than the exchange of two top prospects in Kassian and Hodgson.
Despite the hype that trade has to go down as one of those trades where nobody won. Both Kassian and Hodgson have fallen out of favour with their respective coaches this season, with neither living up to the huge expectations that were placed on them when they were drafted.
While Pahlsson seemed liked a big pickup at the time after his quality play when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007, this one didn’t work out for the Canucks either. Vancouver was bounced in the first round of the playoffs in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, and Pahlsson never was able to find the same quality of game the Canucks were hoping for when they acquired him.
Although Ellington never cracked the Columbus lineup, one of those 2012 draft picks was eventually used by the Blue Jackets to help acquire their Vezina-winning goalie, Sergei Brobovsky, from the Philadelphia Flyers.
2013 Trade Deadline
In the shortened 2012-13 season the Canucks were hoping once again to find the same magic they had the previous two seasons. This, however, wasn’t the case. The Canucks went on to win the relatively weak Northwest division but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Sharks.
Although the trade deadline yielded no results, the day before the club acquired forward Derek Roy from the Dallas Stars. Obviously the trade didn’t help the Canucks, and Roy picked up just three goals and six points in 12 games with Vancouver.
2014 Trade Deadline
2015 5th rd pick
D Raphael Diaz
The Vancouver Canucks’ chance at a Stanley Cup with their current core seemed in its final days at the 2014 deadline. This is certainly the reason for the simple swap of Diaz for the fifth round pick. However, it was the day before that the Canucks really made a splash.
The day before the deadline, general manager Mike Gillis traded disgruntled goaltender Roberto Luongo back to the Florida Panthers. This has turned into a coup for the Panthers.
Vancouver acquired AHL goalie Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias in exchange for Loungo and prospect Steven Anthony. Matthias, 27, has put up nice numbers while logging third line minutes this season, grabbing 14 goals and 21 points while averaging just over 13 minutes a night. Meanwhile, Markstrom can’t crack the Canucks’ two goaltending spots despite good numbers in the AHL, and Luongo continues to be a bona fide NHL All-Star in Florida. Despite glimpses of promise in their return, this trade continues to be a clear loss for Vancouver.
