According to Hockey Night in Canada’s Chris Johnston, the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals may be talking trade.

The centre of the deal: Swedish winger Andre Burakovsky, who has eight points in 29 games for the Stanley Cup champions, mostly in third-line minutes.

Johnston’s colleague Elliote Friedman added that the Capitals are looking for a player who can play for the team right away, not prospects.

He’s a good shooter and has been positive shot-attempts player for the Capitals, but has never been able to solidify a role on the top two lines.

And lately, he’s not even been in the lineup, a healthy scratch even as the Capitals have been dealing with a run of injuries.

“I’m not worried about my future,” Burakovsky told the Washington Post this week. “I know what I can do out there. I think I’ve proven what I can do, and sometimes you just have to battle a little bit harder than you wanted to. That’s going to happen. Right now, it’s kind of what I’m doing, and I’m just going to be positive about this and learn from it and come back strong.”

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The 23 year old was drafted 23rd overall by Washington in 2013.

Friedman first broached the notion of Burakovsky being available through trade earlier on Saturday; Johnston was the first to openly link the Canucks to Burakovsky.

A source confirmed the rumors Saturday night to RMNB, saying “it’s a thing.” A different source first broached the subject to RMNB through back channels on Wednesday, specifically mentioning the Vancouver Canucks as a possible trade destination. RMNB did not report the news because we could not independently verify the information.

Burakovsky is a free agent next summer. He’s making $3.25 million this summer; to make him a restricted free agent, he’d have to be given a qualifying offer. But would any team offer him more on the open market?