LATEST | Canucks trying to move to the top five: Their target has been identified

According to CHEK TV's Rick Dhaliwal, Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin would like to move up from 11th overall in the first round on Wednesday night.

Dhaliwal went on to add that the Canucks really like Russian forward Matvei Michkov, who scouts say is arguably the second-most talented player in the draft behind Connor Bedard. He's also reporting that the Canucks have already interviewed Michkov and are expected to do so again before the draft on Wednesday in Nashville.


While Allvin is trying his best to try and move the Canucks up in the first round, Dhaliwal mentioned that there are other teams around the National Hockey League that want to either move up or move down. One team that is reportedly trying to move down is the Montreal Canadiens, who hold the fifth overall pick.


Potentially, the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens could come together and help each other out ahead of Wednesday night. But, for the Canadiens to move back from fifth overall all the way to 11th, the Canucks would have to add on something else of significance.

The Canadiens have been linked to names such as Zach Benson, Ryan Leonard and David Reinbacher, but all three are expected to be gone by the time the 11th overall pick comes around, so if Kent Hughes is to move down, he'll likely only want to go into the 7-9 range, unless he can be enticed with a huge offer from Allvin and the Canucks that he can't refuse.