Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Vasily Podkolzin is making Vancouver regret this trade, and every new point in Edmonton twists the knife a little deeper.
This was supposed to be a clean break. It is starting to look like a mistake that keeps getting louder.
The Edmonton Oilers acquired Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks on August 18, 2024, for a fourth-round pick. That return felt light then, and it feels worse now.
Podkolzin is 24, drafted 10th overall in 2019, a first-round pick Vancouver once viewed as a core piece. He was supposed to grow with this group, not help a rival.
Canucks fans watched the early promise. They also watched the usage wobble, the confidence dip, and the goals dry up.
His rookie season brought 14 goals in 79 games. After that, he slipped to 4-3-7 in 39 games, then 0-2-2 in 19 games before the trade.
That is where this story turns ugly in Vancouver. Edmonton did not need Podkolzin to become a star, only a useful winger with bite.
Vasily Podkolzin is making the Vancouver Canucks regret their decision
Fans are right to be annoyed, because this is the kind of player Vancouver keeps saying it needs.
Podkolzin has turned into exactly that in Edmonton. He posted 8-16-24 last season and has climbed to 15-15-30 through 68 games in 2025-26.
Those numbers are not empty. He is playing harder, staying in the lineup, and giving the Oilers a winger who can skate in the top-six or grind lower down.
That ripple matters. Cheap, useful wingers are gold for a team chasing a Cup and juggling expensive stars.
It hurts more because Vancouver has gone the other way. The Canucks sat 21-38-8 on March 18, 2026, near the bottom of the Western Conference.
Edmonton, meanwhile, has squeezed value out of a player Vancouver sold low on. That is the part Canucks fans cannot ignore.
This is not just about one forward finding his game elsewhere. It is about player development, patience, and reading the moment before pulling the trigger.
Every team misses on trades. The bad ones sting longer when the other side gets a player who still had more to give.
For Canucks fans, this deal has taken a turn for the worse, and Podkolzin’s next good month will make it feel even heavier.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
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Canucks fans just got a painful new reason to regret this trade
Do Canucks fans now view the Vasily Podkolzin trade as a loss?