VANCOUVER -- Patrik Allvin was asked if the Vancouver Canucks were better after the general manager traded top-line center J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in the first of two deals on Friday night that resulted in two other players on the active roster leaving and four new players coming in.

Dorrington is a big defenseman who skates well and is highly physical. His puck play is quite limited, but the tools are intriguing enough to be a long shot to make it to the NHL. Brännström, 25, has become an AHL/NHL tweener. His skating is high-end, but he’s not a premier puck-mover or that competitive which isn’t ideal as a smaller defenseman.

As the Vancouver Canucks struggled to string together wins over the past two months, the team's general manager was quietly working in the background on finding a new home for one of the club's top stars.