The Canucks, who have been scuffling as of late, will now be without one of their more pleasant surprises for the foreseeable future. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver has transferred Tyler Motte to LTIR, meaning he’ll miss at least 10 games or 24 days. In doing so, they add another $1.225MM to their LTI salary pool, enabling them to afford to recall most of their minor league or taxi squad options as a replacement.
The 25-year-old was off to a strong start offensively this season with five goals through his first 15 games, already surpassing his total from last season. It’s also enough to have him tied for third on the Canucks in goals with Elias Pettersson and behind only Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat. Of course, he’s more well-known for his physicality with his 70 hits leading the league.
The LTIR placement can be backdated and it’s likely that Vancouver has done so. Motte was placed on regular injured reserve back on Monday and they can make that the effective date for LTIR as well which would have him eligible to return for March 4th’s game against Toronto.
In other Vancouver injury news, CapFriendly adds (Twitter link) that winger Justin Bailey has also been placed on injured reserve. He was recalled last Saturday and has played in three games since then, logging just under seven minutes per game.