Oct. 28: As expected, yesterday’s transactions were a paper move. Both Bains and Brännström are back up today, the team announced.
Oct. 27: The Vancouver Canucks have assigned forward Arshdeep Bains and defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. Bains recorded the first goal and point of his NHL career in Saturday night’s win over Pittsburgh. Both players have recorded one point through four games with Vancouver this season.
Bains made the Canucks roster out of training camp, surviving through the final roster cuts to vindicate a strong AHL season last year. He scored 16 goals and 55 points in 59 games, working his way up the Abbotsford lineup and even earning eight NHL games – though he didn’t record any scoring. It was Bains’ second year of pro hockey, scoring 38 points in 66 AHL games as a rookie. He’s Vancouver born-and-raised, playing locally until he moved to the Red Deer Rebels at the age of 17. It took a lowly 18 points in 63 games as a WHL rookie to help Bains find his footing, but he’d ultimately record 209 points across 257 games and five games in juniors. That includes a 112-point season to cap off his time in Red Deer – enough to convince Vancouver to sign him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He’ll return to a familiar role in Abbotsford, though his brief stint at the top flight could suggest more to come.
Brannstrom started the year in the minors – a surprising move after he followed a summer signing in Colorado by being traded to Vancouver. He earned a recall after two games and three assists with Abbotsford, though he hasn’t held onto his spark with Vancouver. Brannstrom will be under the microscope this season, finally moving away from a six-year stint with the Ottawa Senators that didn’t yield much. He managed 69 points across 266 games with Ottawa, and never managed to maintain a top-four role. That includes a career-high 20 points last season. But despite that jump to modest production, Brannstrom will still need to prove his worth to the Canucks before he nets an everyday role.
This exact story happened a few days ago. Not sure we need reports on every move for cap saving purposes.
Not mad, just trying to save you some time.
Well, yes and no. In general, I like this kind of articles if they bring context to why a move has happened. Otherwise I could just read the roster transactions on puckpedia. So, yes, including the reason for this roster move in the article would be a) highly appreciated and b) save this article from being a waste of time for the author.
A slow Sunday certainly didn’t help our case – it’s usually rule of hand that assignments aren’t covered unless they’re substantial. But this is great feedback on how we can make these pieces a bit more substantial for y’all, thank you!
Yeah leave it to the Canucks to demote a player after he scores his first NHL goal. “Good going kid, now we’re gonna send you back…”
It’s for cap accruing reasons. They are not leaving the team at the moment
Are you sure it’s not to bring Joshua back?