The Pittsburgh Penguins made a late-night trade on Friday (Jan. 31) with the Vancouver Canucks, who were in the news earlier in the day completing a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers.
When the ink dried on the J.T. Miller deal, the Canucks turned around and flipped the first-round pick they acquired from the Rangers and used it to acquire former Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
Meanwhile, forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and prospect Melvin Fernström came to Pittsburgh.
The Penguins acquired the Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick (conditional), forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and 2024 third-round pick Melvin Fernstrom from the Canucks for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
Details: https://t.co/96yIZjGSC4 pic.twitter.com/3gBNgTiFLw
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2025
Desharnais is joining his third NHL team in the past year, having played with the Edmonton Oilers (2022-2024) before signing as a free agent with the Canucks in July 2024. He skated 34 games with the club before the deal to the Penguins.
Here are five things to know about the 28-year-old from Laval, QC.
Desharnais is Charitiable
While attending Providence College (NCAA), Desharnais was nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, an annual honor to the “NCAA student-athletes who make significant contributions to the community.”
That year, he raised $5,100 for the Gloria Gemma Foundations through the “PC Beats Cancer” event.
A year later, Desharnais raised $6,000 by shaving his head, and in 2022, he raised over $50,000 again.
Has One NHL Goal
Before joining the Penguins on Feb. 1, Desharnais had played 148 NHL games, scoring one goal with 18 assists for 19 points.
His first goal came on Oct. 29, 2023, at the Heritage Classic between the Oilers and Calgary Flames at Commonwealth Stadium in front of 55,411 people.
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Interestingly, out of his 18 career assists, Desharnais has set up the same teammate on multiple occasions, including Connor McDavid, Ryan McLeod, Evander Kane, Mattias Janmark, Warren Foegele, and Brock Boeser.
He Played in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final
Desharnais joined the Oilers during the 2022-23 season, playing 36 games and collecting five assists. Edmonton advanced to the second round of the playoffs, with the then-26-year-old defenseman playing an additional 12 games with two assists.
Vincent Desharnais, acquired by PIT, is a big physical defensive defenceman. 6’7 every time he steps on the ice, solid stick, somewhat mobile, and kills penalties. Just don’t expect him to do much with the puck. #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/F82FA5yH1k
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 1, 2025
Last year, he played more than double the games from his rookie campaign, suiting up for 78, scoring a goal and ten assists. Meanwhile, the Oilers advanced through the Western Conference and played the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
In 16 postseason games, he had a single assist and 22 penalty minutes while compiling a minus-9 rating.
Desharnais Previously Played With Puljujarvi
Jesse Puljujarvi was the fourth overall pick for the Oilers in the 2016 Draft. In the same draft, the franchise also selected Desharnais as the 183rd pick in the seventh round. Although Puljujarvi jumped straight into the NHL, Desharnais took the long road, debuting in 2022-23.
According to each player’s game logs, Puljujarvi and Desharnais skated in the same game with the Oilers on 13 occasions before Puljujarvi was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 29, 2023.
Surprisingly, the pair haven’t played together with Pittsburgh yet, but when the moment happens, it will be their first game since Feb. 27, 2023.
Former ECHL All-Star
Desharnais was voted the NCAA (Hockey East) Best Defensive Defenseman during his final season at Providence College in 2018-19. The following season, he split time between the AHL (Bakersfield Condors) and ECHL (Wichita Thunder).
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He was pointless in six AHL games but had 13 assists in the ECHL and was selected to the league’s All-Star Game in 2020. As of 2025, these are the only two honors Desharnais has achieved in his pro hockey career.
