The Canucks have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their tonight against Philadelphia, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Christian Wolanin from AHL Abbotsford while placing defenseman Travis Dermott on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Wolanin is up for only the second time this season with the first stint lasting less than 48 hours. The 27-year-old has found another gear offensively in the minors this season, recording an impressive 55 points in 49 games. That’s good for a tie for fourth overall in AHL scoring while he leads all blueliners by 10 points at a minimum. Prior to this season, the most points that Wolanin had in the minors in a single season was 31. He has 70 games of NHL experience under his belt with three different teams and has seen NHL action in each of the last five years.
Dermott, meanwhile, has had a tough season, missing more than 30 games with a concussion and now he’s on the shelf again having last played on January 25th. When healthy, the 26-year-old has been limited to just 11 games where he has only a single goal while averaging 13:45 per game, a career low. He’s in the final season of a two-year, $3MM contract and is owed a qualifying offer of $1.75MM this summer. With his struggles and Vancouver’s cap situation, he looks like a potential non-tender candidate this summer.