After being a surprise demotion at the end of training camp, Sven Baertschi is on his way back to the NHL. Rick Dhaliwal of TSN reports that Baertschi has been recalled by the Vancouver Canucks, but had a delayed flight making his status for tonight’s game in Anaheim unclear. Micheal Ferland has been placed on injured reserve to make room.
The 27-year old Baertschi has been riddled with injuries the last several years, but always produced at a high level whenever in the lineup for the Canucks. In fact, he has 56 goals over his last 216 games, a 21-goal full-season pace.
Vancouver has been on a heater to start the season and now sit at 8-3-1 through their first 12 games, good enough for second place in the Pacific Division. While it’s not clear exactly where Baertschi will fit in the lineup at this point, being able to recall a player with that much NHL success is a luxury.