Alumdate: Highmore traded to Canucks

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Matthew Highmore is now a member of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Chicago Blackhawks traded Highmore to the Canucks on Monday in exchange for Adam Gaudette. The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward had been with the Blackhawks organization since turning pro in 2017.

Highmore has had a bit of an underwhelming season on a Chicago team that surpassed expectations in the first half of this bizarre NHL season. The 25-year-old has just two assists in 24 games after a strong showing in The Bubble where he recorded three goals and a helper in nine playoff games.

Obviously the Canucks, who are a mess right now due to COVID, believe they can get the Halifax native going.

Jim Benning: With Adam Gaudette, we just felt it was time for a change of scenery for him. Bringing in Matthew Highmore, we really like him. He's a guy that plays with a lot of energy. We've kind of had our eye on him ever since he was a junior free agent. #Canucks

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) April 12, 2021

No picks coming back in the Gaudette for Highmore swap.#Canucks pro scouts are said to believe that Highmore has some untapped upside. Club is high on his speed and work rate.

Highmore is signed for next season on a one-way deal with a $725k cap hit.

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) April 12, 2021

Highmore has now appeared in 73 career NHL games, registering four goals and six assists. He appeared in 24 AHL games last season with the Rockford IceHogs.

Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton on Matthew Highmore:

"The one thing you appreciate about Highmore is his work ethic and attention to detail. It’s hard to find a bigger team guy, with his willingness to do the right thing for the team at all times."

Via @MarkLazerus. #Canucks

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) April 12, 2021

Highmore appeared in 289 regular season games with the Sea Dogs over five seasons and posted 247 points. He also played in 44 playoff games, helping Saint John win the President Cup in 2017. He is among the franchise leaders in games played and scoring.

Highmore is one of 10 former Sea Dogs to play at least one game in the NHL this season. Here's a statistical look at how those 10 players have performed so far heading into Monday's action.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jonathan Huberdeau	FLA	42	14	28	42
Thomas Chabot	OTT	39	4	20	24
Mike Hoffman	STL	37	11	12	23
Mathieu Joseph	TBL	41	10	6	16
Charlie Coyle	BOS	38	5	9	14
Julien Gauthier	NYR	27	2	6	8
Jakob Zboril	BOS	37	0	8	8
Matthew Highmore	CHI	24	0	2	2
Nathan Beaulieu	WPG	25	0	1	1
Tomas Jurco	VGK	1	0	0	0

Beaulieu will miss the remainder of the season following shoulder surgery earlier this month.

Jurco (Vegas Golden Knights), Boko Imama (Los Angeles Kings), Spencer Smallman (Carolina Hurricanes), Alex D'Orio (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Callum Booth (Boston Bruins) have all spent the majority of their seasons in the minors but have been placed on NHL taxi squads at times.