Flames acquire forward Shinkaruk from Canucks for centre Granlund

The Calgary Flames have traded forward Markus Granlund to the Vancouver Canucks for Hunter Shinkaruk.

In 31 games this season, he has four goals and seven points.

Shinkaruk will report to the Flames’ affiliate in Stockton, Calif.

In his first AHL season, which was in Abbotsford, Granlund had 25 goals and 46 points in 52 games.

Vancouver selected Shinkaruk with the 24th pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, but the speedy winger only appeared in one game with the big club.

He had the best professional season of his career in the 2014-15 season, playing 48 games and scoring a career-high eight goals. He has 39 points (21 goals, 18 assists) in 45 games this season with the Utica Comets of the AHL. The Canucks sent Hunter Shinkaruk to Calgary in the trade.

“He can play left wing, he can play centre”.

Benning admitted he made inquiries to other teams about possibly moving Shinkaruk for a young defenceman – that is a position the Canucks need to upgrade throughout the organization – but other GMs didn’t want to part with such assets.

This deal is a bit of a puzzling move for the Canucks, who get a more NHL-ready player in Granlund with less upside. The Flames continue to look for Alberta boys to try and provide an extra push for these players once they hit the ice.

“I relied on John as we were going through this process on Markus to give us the intangibles on the player and he speaks very highly of him and really likes him as a kid and a person”, Benning said. Dorsett sat out a game two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury.