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Ex-Canuck Daniel Sprong signs one-year deal in the KHL with CSKA Moscow

A former member of the Vancouver Canucks is heading overseas.

On Wednesday, HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League announced that the team has signed forward Daniel Sprong to a one-year contract.

This will be Sprong’s first endeavor into the European ranks of professional hockey. He has spent his entire career in North America, coming up through the ranks with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League before spending the past eight seasons in the NHL and American Hockey League.

Sprong’s tenure with the Canucks was brief and tumultuous. The Netherlands native signed a one-year, $975,000 contract with the team last July, hoping to bring some offensive punch to a team that had just won the Pacific Division the previous year. However, his defensive woes on a team run by then-head coach Rick Tocchet were not going to fly. In early November, Sprong was traded to the Seattle Kraken for future considerations after just nine games with Vancouver. He scored a goal and two assists for three points, with a plus/minus of -2 while averaging 11:39 of ice time with the Canucks.

Sprong continued to bounce around for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. After splitting time between the Kraken and their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the 28-year-old was traded to the New Jersey Devils for a 2026 seventh-round pick right before the trade deadline.

In total, Sprong appeared in 30 NHL games, scoring two goals and five assists for 7 points, with a -1 rating. He played in one playoff game for the Devils during their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Across his eight years in the NHL, which saw him have stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings, Sprong has appeared in 374 regular-season games, scoring 87 goals and 79 assists for 166 points. In 14 Stanley Cup Playoff affairs, he notched a goal and three points.

Sprong joins a CSKA squad that is three seasons removed from winning back-to-back Gagarin Cups. However, Moscow has been bounced in the conference quarterfinals in each of the past two years.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/ex-vancouver-canuck-daniel-sprong-signs-one-year-deal-khl-cska-moscow
 
CA’s top 20 Canucks summer prospect rankings: #6 Arshdeep Bains

We are back with the 2025 summer edition of our CanucksArmy top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings.

Today, we present to you our sixth-ranked player in the system, an undrafted local product who’s played a significant part in the Abbotsford Canucks’ success.

Our previously ranked prospects:


If you’re curious about our ranking criteria, you can find them in our HM installment.

Arshdeep Bains

Team: Abbotsford Canucks | Age: 24 | Position: Left Wing | Height: 6’0″ | Weight: 183 lbs | Shoots: Left | Drafted: Undrafted | Mid-season rank: 7

With 21 games of NHL experience and nearly 25 years old, this will be Arshdeep Bains’ final appearance in our prospect rankings.

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022, the Surrey native has become a heart-and-soul leader in Abbotsford.

Thanks to an incredible run where he played a pivotal role in his Abbotsford Canucks taking home the franchise’s first AHL Calder Cup, he goes out with a bang to jump a spot to take our sixth spot.

His postseason performance was as impressive as they come, finishing second in the league with 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) while leading all players with 17 assists.

While it took until the sixth game of the Conference Finals for his first goal, Bains stepped up big when his team needed it the most to erupt for seven goals and 13 points in his final eight games.

Even before the goals came pouring in, he was doing all the little things right, providing consistent effort and stepping up in other areas. His combination of offensive production, smart habits, and relentless energy made him a driving force in Abbotsford’s championship run.

Looking back to the regular season, he led the Abbotsford Canucks with 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games while leading the forward group with a plus-8 on the year. That’s two years of being in the top two in team scoring.

He’s now second in franchise history with 136 points (40 goals, 96 assists) in 175 games.

Bains’ game is defined by an ability to step when needed. At least, that’s the case while competing at the AHL level. He’s a tenacious worker, drives play, and creates opportunities with a knack for making the correct passes.

Arshdeep Bains finds Linus Karlsson!!

Enjoy this entire shift, as the Canucks dominate to find the go-ahead goal late in the second period. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/5xbhvyUhjc

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) June 24, 2025

His skating, although not elite, is strong enough to compete at the AHL level, enabling him to win out battles, beat out defenders and contribute in all situations. Bains’ leadership shines through in his ability to elevate linemates and provide a necessary spark when his team needs it. Whether that’s the penalty kill, power play or critical moments, he’s a go-to option in every sense for the affiliated Canucks.

The big question now is whether he can do that at the NHL level, or is he a classic “tweener” who falls somewhere in the middle.

It’s no secret that in the 21 games he’s played with the big club, that same strong game displayed in the minors has yet to present itself fully. Adjusting to the NHL’s speed and physicality has been noticeable. Still, with another summer of training under his belt, the goal is to make the Vancouver Canucks out of training camp.

And now heading into his fourth season with the club, Bains will be given a chance to make Vancouver’s roster out of training camp. Especially given his waiver-eligible status.

With the club offering a two-year extension to stay in the organization, it’s clear that this regime believes he can get to that level in the NHL.

“Arshdeep had another solid season in Abbotsford as he continues to develop and mature,” General Manager Patrik Allvin mentioned in the initial team press release. “His game found another gear late in the AHL playoffs when he stepped up and helped lead the way offensively with several big goals. Arsh is now familiar with our system and style of play, and we expect him to push hard for a spot in September.”

Ceiling: Although his NHL tenure hasn’t been glowing, we still believe there is a player worthy of top-nine deployment. If he could adjust to the physicality and speed of the game, his combination of skill and work ethic has the potential to become a two-way contributor with the Canucks.

Floor: At the very least, he has proven he can be a productive AHL forward—his ability to drive play and contribute offensively at the AHL level.

ETA: With a solid Calder Cup run on his resume and a new contract in hand, the time for Bains to crack the roster full-time is now. His waiver status will make things tricky throughout the season, but he’ll be a candidate all year long.

That’s our #6 spot.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/cas-top-20-canucks-summer-prospect-rankings-6-arshdeep-bains
 
8 centres with upside the Canucks could look to pluck from preseason waivers

It’s getting to be late in July, and the Vancouver Canucks are still, by all reports, looking to add to their forward corps.

Specifically, GM Patrik Allvin and Co. are on the lookout for at least one additional centre. Unfortunately, the stocks of potentially available centres started low and have since dwindled.

There are a handful available through free agency still, but they’re either not exactly difference-makers or not exactly centres (see: Jack Roslovic). There are some intriguing RFA centres still without contracts, like Marco Rossi and Mason McTavish, but the cost of acquisitions seems out of line with what the Canucks are ready and willing to pay.

If there’s one thing the Canucks do have on hand, it’s a little bit of cap space. We wrote last week about the potential benefits of their standing pat with that cap space, despite the general unlikelihood of that actually happening with the ongoing search for a centre.

But if the Canucks could accomplish both things? What if they could bring in a centre with high upside but low salary, deepening their depth and keeping costs down at the same time?

That’s no longer possible through free agency. We’re not sure it’d be possible through trade. But it might just be possible through the waiver wire.

Every year, good players go through waivers because their own teams don’t have space for them yet. Sometimes, these players get picked up – Gustav Forsling to Florida comes to mind – and sometimes they don’t, like the time the Canucks got away with waiving Jacob Markstrom.

As we look out at various NHL rosters heading into 2025/26, we can spot a handful of young centres that have run out of waiver-exemption time but are still not guaranteed to make the cut in Training Camp 2025.

Are any of these players of potential interest to the Canucks? Or are they best to stick with their in-house options, like Aatu Räty, Max Sasson, and Ty Mueller?

Hendrix Lapierre, Washington Capitals

C, 23, 6’0”, 180lb, $850K (until 2026)
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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Well, the Canucks have certainly had okay luck with Lapierres before.

Though he’s of no relation to Maxim and does not play anywhere near the same style, Hendrix Lapierre is a player with an apparent NHL future. Drafted at 22nd overall in 2020, he’s struggled to consistently break into a deep Washington forward corps that has been more concerned with helping Alex Ovechkin chase the goal record than developing their internal prospects.

Still, Lapierre has come to be a dominant playmaker at the AHL level, and his run of production in limited NHL minutes isn’t half-bad, either.

If the predicted happens and Lapierre is a late cut in Washington, he’ll be one of the best options to hit the waiver wire this year.

Nikita Alexandrov, St. Louis Blues

C, 24, 6’1”, 185lb, RFA
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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Alexandrov is a former second-round pick of the Blues from 2019 who has had okay success at each step along the way, but who has recently gotten lost in the shuffle of newer, shinier St. Louis prospects. He went from 28 NHL games in 2022/23 to 23 in 2023/24 to zero last year, and with him currently unsigned, there are reasonable worries that he may take his talents back to Russia.

The Russian forward establishes his reputation with his feet and is said to possess a lot of speed in his game, as well as a willingness to utilize it at both ends. He’s really figured out the goal-scoring and playmaking at the AHL level, and there is potential for him to display that at the next level, too – so long as he gets under contract (uncertain) and then hits waivers (pretty likely).

Oskar Back, Dallas Stars

C, 25, 6’4”, 202lb, $850K (until 2027)
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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You always want to try to steal players from the deepest organizations, and there aren’t many deeper forward corps out there than the one in Dallas.

Back played his first NHL games for the Stars last year and managed to stay up for the entire season and into the playoffs. But Back didn’t put up the kind of numbers that give him much staying power, and with other, younger prospects always looking to break through, it’s distinctly possible that Back loses his Dallas gig after just one year.

He has never been a prolific point producer, but gets by on his size and willingness to use it to protect the puck. He’s been getting better and better at distributing it from there, and is said to be quite good at utilizing his teammates. He could be someone who could score more in a better situation, and at worst, seems like someone capable of holding down a bottom-line career for a long time.

Jack Finley, Tampa Bay Lightning

C, 22, 6’6”, 220lb, $775K (until 2028)
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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It probably doesn’t take much to figure out why Finley is intriguing. He’s 6’6”, he plays centre, and he’s right-handed. The former second-round pick was drafted for those immutable characteristics, but he’s also developed well enough in the Tampa Bay organization since then. There’s just never a lot of room to break through in Tampa, so Finley has been limited to just one game so far.

Still, he’s very young for a waiver-eligible player, and that should mean lots of upside left in him. He’s developing a real defensive presence down the middle, and his numbers at the AHL level keep climbing. Finley has all the markings of a classic sizeable late-bloomer, and could be someone worth taking a chance on.

Marat Khusnutdinov, Boston Bruins

C, 23, 5’11”, 176lb, $925K (until 2027)
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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A high-talent player with a relentless motor, Khusnutdinov came over from Russia three seasons ago and has yet to play a game in the AHL.

Unfortunately, that’s led to him failing to really get his feet under him at the NHL level. A trade sent him from Minnesota to Boston last season, and he finished pretty well for the Bruins with five points in 18 games.

Still, Khusnutdinov is out of waiver exemption and may not be guaranteed the same spot in 2026/27. This is still a player who was drafted in the early second round and put up 20 points in the KHL at the age of 20. There’s upside here, and Khusnutdinov’s two-way commitment makes it all the more likely he’ll hit it.

Xavier Bourgault, Ottawa Senators

C, 22, 5’11”, 179lb, $775K (until 2026)
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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AHL61121426

Upon reflection, we’re not sure Bourgault belongs on this list. There’s plenty to like about a former 22OA pick from as recently as 2021 being available for free, and Bourgault is definitely young for someone no longer waiver-exempt. But that’s also because he’s spent three full seasons of relatively unsuccessful AHL hockey.

Bourgault was traded in a prospect swap from Edmonton to Ottawa last year and only managed 26 points in 61 AHL games for Belleville. That’s just not that exciting for an offensive talent. Unless the pro scouts see something more there, he’s probably destined to top out in the minor leagues.

Thomas Bordeleau, New Jersey Devils

C, 23, 5’10”, 180lb, RFA
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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A player with a similar profile to Bourgault is Bordeleau. He was drafted early in the second round in 2020 and was said to have great offensive vision, but hasn’t been able to translate that into much pro scoring.

So why is he on the list? For whatever reason, Bordeleau’s results at the NHL level haven’t been half-bad. He scored 11 points in 27 games for the league-worst Sharks in 2023/24, and while he hasn’t got a lot of NHL action since, that’s at least something.

Truthfully, we’ve arrived at the dregs of the list, and like Bourgault, unless the scouts see something here, Bordeleau is probably best skipped.

Ryan Suzuki, Carolina Hurricanes

C, 24, 6’1”, 196lb, $775K (until 2026)
2024/25GamesGoalsAssistsPoints
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AHL69124759

We may be in the dregs, but we’ve saved an intriguing name for last.

And we do mean ‘name.’ Ryan Suzuki is the younger brother of Nick Suzuki, captain and 1C of the Montreal Canadiens. Both were drafted in the first round, with Nick going 13OA in 2017 and Ryan following at 28OA in 2019.

Nick had a slow start to his NHL career before becoming the player he is today. Ryan, on the other hand, has had a slow start to his pro career in general. But, of the two, Ryan is a couple of inches larger. And he did really seem to figure it out with the Chicago Wolves last year, raising his numbers to a career high of 59 points in 69 games, including a stand-out 47 assists.

Will he ever become his brother? No, but the door’s not quite closed on Ryan becoming a full-time NHLer. He already cleared waivers last year, but perhaps he won’t this time around after a breakout campaign at the minor level.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/8-cent...nucks-could-look-pluck-from-preseason-waivers
 
Canucks: 6 years later, how does Nils Hoglander stack up to the rest of the 2019 draft class?

Welcome back to the next instalment of our NHL Draft lookbacks here at CanucksArmy. So far this offseason, we’ve looked at Brock Boeser (10 years later), Quinn Hughes (8 years later), and are more than open to suggestions of who else we should tackle!

Next up is Nils Höglander, who the Canucks selected with the 40th overall pick at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver.

Some Key First Round Misses​


This was fittingly known as the Jack Hughes draft. The New Jersey Devils selected the middle Hughes brother at first overall, and the New York Rangers grabbed Kaapo Kakko at second overall.

In comparison to the other draft classes we’ve looked at, 2019 was a fairly disappointing one. There were some key misses, such as LA taking Alex Turcotte fifth overall, Victor Soderstrom going to Arizona at 11th, and yes, the Canucks selecting Vasily Podkolzin at 10th overall. In a redraft, Matt Boldy, selected 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild, likely goes second overall.

Value in the Second Round​


Thankfully for the Canucks — as well as many other teams, actually — they were able to find some value in the second round of this draft class. While the Canucks took Nils Höglander at 40th overall, nine other teams were more than happy with their second round selections.

There were eight players selected in the first round who have yet to play over 100 NHL games. Meanwhile, in the second round, there were 20 (not including goalies) who haven’t yet played 100 NHL games. To put that into perspective, just seven players from the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft have yet to play 100 NHL games. In the second round, however, just five players have reached that mark.

For whatever reason, there was more value found in the second round of the 2019 Draft than we’re typically used to seeing. Some names taken in the second round: Shane Pinto, Arthur Kaliyev, Bobby Brink, Pyotr Kochetkov, Jackson LaCombe, Alex Vlasic, Nicholas Robertson, and Brett Leason.

How Höglander stacks up​


Despite spending most of the 2022-23 season with the Abbotsford Canucks, Höglander has played the seventh-most NHL games of anyone taken in the 2019 draft. His 293 games is more than anyone taken outside of the first round has played, with Matias Maccelli (93rd overall to Arizona) bringing up the rear in that category with 224 games under his belt.

Höglander also ranks seventh in NHL goals among this draft class with 58. His 115 points is the 11th-highest total of the class.

These stats are perhaps even more impressive given the context of Höglander’s disappointing 2024-25 campaign, where after scoring 24 even-strength goals in 2023-24, Höglander tallied just eight goals and 17 assists this past season.

The list of players taken ahead of Höglander who have played fewer games than him is too long to write out, so we’ll shorten it to the amount of players drafted higher than him who have logged under 200 NHL games (not including goalies): Alex Turcotte, Philip Broberg, Victor Soderstrom, Thomas Harley, Lassi Thomson, Ville Heinola, Sam Poulin, Tobias Bjornfot, Jakob Pelletier, Nolan Foote, Ryan Suzuki, Brayden Tracey, John Beecher, Ryan Johnson, Bobby Brink, Antti Tuomisto, Raphael Lavoie, and Jackson LaCombe.

Conclusion​


While it may have been a down year for Höglander, the Canucks still did extremely well when they drafted him at 40th overall. Finding value outside of the first round is important for teams, and if Höglander can bounce back and be a 20-goal scorer once again, he’ll continue to separate himself from what turned out to be a fairly weak draft class.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...nils-hoglander-stack-up-rest-2019-draft-class
 
Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #46 – Jannik Hansen

Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #46: Jannik Hansen.

The winger was born in Rødovre, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. Growing up, he played for his local team, the Rødovre Mighty Bulls, making his professional debut at the age of 16.

Following his second season with his hometown team, the Canucks selected Hansen in the ninth round of the 2004 NHL Draft. Being a ninth-round pick, it was a long shot for Hansen to ever play in the NHL. Despite the odds, he made his debut three years later during the 2006-07 season.

Making his professional debut in the 2007 NHL playoffs, Hansen recorded his first career point, becoming the first Dane to record a playoff point in the NHL. This came in Game 3 of the first round against the Dallas Stars, assisting a goal scored by Jan Bulis.

For the majority of Hansen’s career as a Canuck, he became a fan favourite for being the underdog, who beat the odds and made it. His work ethic showed on the ice, being a player who brought so much energy into the team’s middle six, which earned him roles in the top six, skating alongside the Sedin’s or with Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond. He was always a workhorse who filled any role needed in the lineup.

The 2010-11 season demonstrated his significance to the team, as he captured the team’s unsung hero award ahead of the Stanley Cup Final run. During those playoffs, Hansen scored three and registered six assists for nine points through the 25 games.

The following season, Hansen recorded a career-high point total of 39, scoring 16 goals and 23 assists through 82 games. This was one of two seasons during his career in which he played a full 82-game season.

On March 1st, 2017, Hansen’s time as a Canuck came to an end as he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Nikolai Goldobin and a fourth-round pick. He went on to finish out that year and one more as a Shark before leaving the NHL and playing his last year of professional hockey in Russia.

Though Hansen suffered injury problems during a large part of his tenure as a Canuck, he still was a fan favourite, known for his tenacity, speed, and forechecking ability, as well as his prowess on the penalty kill. The Danish winger could truly play on any of the team’s four lines. The work ethic he displayed night in and night out allowed him to beat the odds of going from a ninth-round NHL Draft pick to the 46th player of all time in Canucks history.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all-time:

#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/top-50-vancouver-canucks-players-all-time-46-jannik-hansen
 
How the Canucks will use one last year of the ‘Abbotsford Shuffle’ to accrue cap space

As of right now, the Vancouver Canucks have a decent amount of cap space available. And if they play their cards right – and in the same general way they’ve played them in recent years – they’ll eventually have even more cap space, too.

Currently, the Canucks have a little more than $3 million available against their projected cap spending for the 2025-26 season. It might not sound like a lot, but it does leave the Canucks with the 20th-most cap space in the league. That might not sound like much, either, but it’s more than the Canucks have traditionally had available in the offseason.

We know that some of this space will eventually be allocated to new additions to the team, whether that be a late-summer free agent signing or a trade at some point in the next couple of months. But we also know that, regardless of what moves they make, the Canucks should still find themselves under the new, $95.5 million cap ceiling for the 2025-26 season. Because they have to. With no current injuries to worry about – knock on wood – the Canucks won’t have the opportunity for any LTIR shenaniganry this time around. Whether it’s this same $3 million or so, or whether it’s only a few thousand dollars, the Canucks will be at least a little under the cap to start the year.

So where do they go from there?

You may have heard that the newest collective bargaining agreement reached between the NHL and NHLPA has ended the process of ‘papering’ players down to the minors. This refers to re-assigning players to minor league teams, like the Abbotsford Canucks, on off-days to temporarily remove that player’s daily cap hit from the NHL books – without any intention of having that player play for the minor league team.

It’s true that this process is ending with the new CBA…but not yet. The new CBA doesn’t take effect until the 2026-27 season.

Which is good news in Vancouver, because it’s something the Canucks utilized a lot in 2024-25, especially in the early going. They were blessed by a number of players on the fringes of their roster being waiver-exempt, meaning they could be freely brought back and forth between Abbotsford and Vancouver without any risk of another team claiming them. And back and forth they went!

Folks like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson got really used to being papered back and forth last year. And the Canucks benefitted from the process – to an extent.
In short, it works like this:

-Teams have a yearly cap ceiling, a maximum amount they can spend on their roster for the entire year. This is the cap ceiling you hear about most frequently – the one set at $95.5 million for this upcoming season.

-Teams also have a daily spending limit. In essence, this means they’re never allowed to compose a roster that, if left unchanged, would eventually cross the yearly spending threshold. This is where talk of players’ ‘cap hits’ comes from.

-When a team doesn’t spend its maximum daily amount, it essentially leaves spending room available from that year-long total. And the longer they let that amount of ‘accrued cap space’ grow, the more they can do with it.

-Player cap hits are tallied daily, too. The basic formula is to take the yearly cap hit, or AAV, and divide it by the number of ‘days’ in the NHL schedule. Last year, it was 192. Where the cap limit comes in is in ensuring that the players on the roster’s daily cap hits don’t add up to something higher than the yearly cap when applied to all remaining days.

-Therefore, the fewer days remaining on the schedule, the less of that yearly cap needs to be kept available for new additions. This is why cap space accrues, because the longer it stays open, the more AAV it can accommodate.

-To give a concrete example, here, a team that has kept $1 million in cap space open (meaning they’re projected to spend $1 million less than the $95.5 million total) for the first three-quarters of the season can use that cap space to add a player with a $4 million cap hit for the last quarter of the season, because there’s only $1 million worth of daily cap hits left on that player’s compensation for the year.

It’s all a little counter-intuitive. If you’d like a more in-depth explanation, refer to our piece from last October, found here.

The Canucks used this method to accrue several millions in cap space for the 2024-25 season. That would have allowed them to bring in essentially whatever new cap hits they wished at the 2025 Trade Deadline. In the end, the Canucks did not acquire anyone, and that cap space remained unspent. At the end of the day, the Canucks used their cap-saving techniques to effectively save money last year, ultimately spending less than the maximum $88 million in player salary they were allowed.

For fans paying some of the highest ticket prices in the league, this fact could be met with some chagrin. Of course, had the team been in a more competitive space at the deadline, that money probably would have been spent. Saving money to spend later remains the plan.

Anyway, accrual isn’t going anywhere. What is changing is that aforementioned ability to ‘paper’ players down the minors on off-days. Those off-days count as days in the schedule, too, so the ability to send a player down for even a day took their daily cap hit off the books, and left more room for accrual. In the future, teams will have to actually assign those players to their minor league teams for at least one game, which greatly complicates the process, especially with the AHL’s weekend-heavy schedule.

But, again, that change doesn’t take effect until 2026-27. For the 2025-26 season, the Canucks will – for the last time – still be able to utilize the ‘Abbotsford Shuffle’ to accrue cap space on off-days and, ideally, build up their ability to acquire players closer to the 2026 Deadline.

It just won’t be as easy.

As we said earlier, the Canucks were blessed with an inordinate number of waiver-exempt players on the fringes of their roster last year. Bains, Karlsson, Aatu Räty, Arturs Silovs, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Max Sasson, and etcetera. All were free to go back and forth to Abbotsford as much as the team wanted them to.

But of that list, only Lekkerimäki and Sasson’s waiver exemption remains into the 2025-26 season. And when we look at the projected roster of the 2025-26 Canucks, we see a very different picture when it comes to waivers.

DeBrusk ($5.5M) – Pettersson ($11.6M) – Boeser ($7.25M)

Höglander ($3M) – Chytil ($4.44M) – Kane ($5.13M)

O’Connor ($2.5M) – Blueger ($1.8M – Garland ($4.95M)

Karlsson ($775K) – Räty ($775K) – Sherwood ($1.5M)

Bains ($775K)

Hughes ($7.85M) – Hronek ($7.25M)

M. Pettersson ($5.5M) – Myers ($3M)

E. Pettersson ($838K)* – Willander ($950K)*

Forbort ($2M) – Mancini ($870K)*


Demko ($5M)

Lankinen ($4.5M)


Only the players listed with asterisks up there are waiver-exempt for the 2025-26 season. And, yes, that is a list that only includes the younger Elias Pettersson, Tom Willander, and Victor Mancini – at least one of whom is almost certainly going to start the year in Abbotsford, anyway.

It’s a much less flexible roster than was the previous year’s. But it’s still set up for the Abbotsford Shuffle if the Canucks choose to utilize that tactic again this season – and we suspect they will.

How it will work is this: on off-days, the Canucks will likely paper two or three of Pettersson, Willander, and/or Mancini down to Abbotsford. This removes their daily cap hits (their AAV/number of days in schedule) from the books for however long they’re re-assigned, and that amount contributes to the effective accrual of cap for the year.

Again, for just this one last season, these players won’t have to actually suit up in Abbotsford.

The Canucks must maintain a minimum roster of 20 players at all times. But that still allows for them to send up to three players down on their off-days.

If the team were ever to be carrying all three of Pettersson, Willander, and Mancini at one time, they could send them all down and maximize the accrual. It seems likely that it will be more often the case that it’s just two of the three, but that still adds up. Oftentimes, the Canucks were papering down just Bains and/or Karlsson last year, and accrual still occurred to a meaningful degree.

There’s been speculation that the Canucks will either roll with a 22-player roster to accrue cap space on a more permanent basis (accomplished by cutting one of Willander or Mancini from the above roster). That’s definitely possible, but might leave the Canucks a little shorthanded on the injury-coverage front.

It’s also possible that the Canucks bring in a more veteran 8D to hold down that extra spot on the blueline, either via a signing or the promotion of someone internal like Jett Woo. In that case, it’s also possible the team gets a little accrual done on off-days by waiving that extra player down to Abbotsford. It’s something they did a bit with Mark Friedman last year.

In any case, despite the vast reduction in waiver-exempt players between last season and this one, the Canucks are still set up to accrue via the Abbotsford Shuffle to essentially the same degree they were in 2024-25 – one or two players at a time, bit by bit.

One only hopes they’ll find a way to spend that accrued cap in 2025-26, as opposed to just sitting on it.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-use-last-year-abbotsford-shuffle-accrue-cap-space
 
CA’s top 20 Canucks summer prospect rankings: #2 Jonathan Lekkerimäki

We are back with the 2025 summer edition of our CanucksArmy top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings.

We’ve officially hit our final two ranked prospects. Today, we bring you an elite scoring winger who’s fresh off his first official season as a North American skater. While it came with its share of bumps along the way, he showcased why he’s one of the system’s most exciting young prospects.

Our previously ranked prospects:


If you’re curious about our ranking criteria, you can find them in our HM installment.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki​


Team: Abbotsford Canucks | Age: 21 | Position: Right Wing | Height: 5’11″ | Weight: 172 lbs | Shoots: Right | Drafted: Firth round, 15 overall, 2022 | Mid-season rank: 1

For the first time in many CanucksArmy ranking installments, Jonathan Lekkerimäki has given up his crown as our top-ranked prospect.

But don’t let that fool you — the young Swedish sharpshooter remains a tantalizing talent with high scoring potential.

This past season, Canucks fans finally got a glimpse of Lekkerimäki on North American ice after patiently waiting for him to develop overseas. While his rookie campaign showed flashes of brilliance, it also highlighted areas for growth.

Despite missing time throughout the campaign due to injuries and promotions to Vancouver, Lekkerimäki thrived in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks.

In just 36 games, he scored 19 goals — seventh highest among AHL rookies — averaging over half a goal per game (53%) while ranking third on his team in goals. Among that list of rookies ahead of him, he finished second with that 53% goals-per-game clip. Meanwhile, his 121 shots on goal translated to a 15.7% shooting percentage.

But it wasn’t just the totals that we liked, but the variety in which he was finding them. Known for his lethal perimeter shot, Lekkerimäki proved he’s more than a one-trick pony.

He scored from distance with his trademark release, battled at the net-front for deflections and tap-ins, and showed a willingness to mix it up in the gritty areas despite his slight frame.

But who are we kidding? It’s his incredible release that sets him apart from the pack. He can whip it on a dime, releasing it as quickly as it lands on his stick.

He showed off that release at the top level, scoring three goals in 24 games with Vancouver. While his time in the big leagues wasn’t always glamorous, he flashed potential, particularly on the power play. The poise displayed with the puck on his stick, combined with the vision and patience from the half-wall, added dynamism to an otherwise stagnant unit.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki

490th player to score a goal in a #Canucks uniform pic.twitter.com/xaJqbkwxRV

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 15, 2024

His ability to move the puck and create plays from his spot was a bright spot at both the NHL and AHL levels.

Then came the playoffs, which is where his season took a slight hit. Navigating through the longest hockey season of his young career, while transitioning to the North American game at both the AHL and NHL levels, Lekkerimäki struggled to find form through his team’s impressive Calder Cup run. Much like his NHL stint, he showed glimpses of the high-level producer we had seen earlier in the year, but his game appeared to lack its typical gusto.

His consistency waned, his shot volume dipped to uncharacteristic lows, and his confidence dropped to a season low. As a result, he was forced to catch games from the pressbox, working with the coaching staff to iron out the kinks.

Though he bounced back with a standout two-goal performance in a pivotal AHL Finals game, he never quite hit his regular-season form fully. Chalk it up to fatigue from a long season, a potential injury, or simply low confidence; he failed to become the constant top-six threat we know he can be.

Late-season struggles or not, the promise remains undeniable, and Lekkerimäki’s inaugural North American season provided a clear roadmap for improvement. Strength is a key area to address, as his slight build needs to be bolstered to handle the physical demands of the NHL. Consistency will also be critical as he refines his game. But with elite offensive flashes and a release that few possess, his upside remains high.

“The kid has ice in his veins.” Manny Malhotra told the media after his two-goal Calder Cup Final performance. “He doesn’t shy away from big moments, and tonight he had two quality looks and made them count. That’s the type of player he is when given the opportunity and put in the right spot.”

For those who’ve lost faith after just one season, remember that he just turned 21 on July 24, 2025.

Ceiling: Lekkerimäki has the potential to be a top-six NHL forward, capable of scoring 30-plus goals. His elite shot, growing versatility, and deadly scoring instincts make him a dynamic offensive threat. He could become a cornerstone power-play contributor and a reliable scoring option in all situations.

Floor: We firmly believe that his skillset should translate to an NHL career. Yet, if he fails to translate to the physical demands of North American hockey, he could eventually cross the pond to live out a potent SHL career. But that’s far from a conversation worth having at this point in time.

ETA: Full-time NHL deployment is on the horizon. While he may start the 2025-26 season in Abbotsford, Lekkerimäki is a prime candidate for call-ups. If he doesn’t secure a permanent roster spot this fall, expect him to don a Canucks jersey at some point during the season.

That’s our #2 spot. Stay tuned for our top-ranked prospect tomorrow here at CanucksArmy.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/cas-to...mmer-prospect-rankings-2-jonathan-lekkerimaki
 
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