Friday was a good day for Canucks center Nils Aman. Early in the day, he was recalled from AHL Abbotsford to take the place of Pius Suter on the roster with Suter being placed on injured reserve. He then made his season debut and picked up a pair of assists in a Vancouver victory. In between that, the team announced that they signed Aman to a two-year contract extension. While financial terms were not disclosed, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the one-way deal carries an AAV of $825K.
GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement about the signing:
Nils has worked hard on his development since we brought him into our organization. He is a smart two-way hockey player who uses his speed to his advantage. We will continue to work with Nils to help him grow and improve his game.
The 23-year-old was drafted by Colorado in the sixth round in 2020 (167th overall) but didn’t sign with the Avs in 2022, making him an unrestricted free agent. Less than a week later, Vancouver inked him to a two-year entry-level deal; he’s in the final season of that agreement this year.
Aman spent most of last season with the Canucks, getting into 68 games where he had four goals and 14 assists in a little under 13 minutes a night of ice time. He was a bit more productive in a short stretch in the minors, however, notching nine points in 17 contests during a six-week stint with them midseason.
With Vancouver adding more forward depth over the offseason, that pushed Aman to the AHL at the start of this season where he has been quite productive with 15 points in as many games, helping him to earn this promotion.
While it would be reasonable to assume that Aman will be sent down once Suter is cleared to return, that’s unlikely to be the case. When he plays in his next game for Vancouver, he will lose his waiver exemption, meaning the Canucks would have to waive him to send him back to Abbotsford. Considering this extension, it doesn’t feel like that’s a route they will want to take which means he might be up with the big club for good now.