The Canucks have recalled defenseman Erik Brännström from AHL Abbotsford, the team announced. He comes up to the active roster with Derek Forbort being granted personal leave. The Canucks had an open roster spot and $1.3MM in current cap space, so no corresponding transaction is necessary, and Forbort remains on the active roster for now, although he could be shifted to non-roster if need be.
Brännström, 25, planned on spending this season in Colorado after inking a one-year deal worth $900K with the Avalanche on the second day of free agency. However, an evidently underwhelming training camp and the Avs’ need for cap flexibility led them to trade him to Vancouver earlier this month in exchange for $2MM worth of LTIR-bound defenseman Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
The Canucks waived Brännström immediately after acquiring him, and no one placed a claim for the 2017 15th overall pick. That meant his first AHL action in three seasons, and he’s responded well with three assists and a +3 rating through Abbotsford’s first two games of the campaign.
It’s been a tough go of things for Brännström over the past few months. After recording a career-high 20 points (3 G, 17 A) in 76 games with the Senators last season, he was unexpectedly non-tendered and hit the UFA market three years ahead of when he’d otherwise be eligible. Possession control was an issue for Brännström during his final season in Ottawa, though, posting a negative relative CF% figure for the first time in his career. Otherwise, the Swedish blue-liner has had far better defensive metrics than his reputation indicates, albeit in mostly third-pairing minutes.
Brännström has only ever suited up in the NHL for the Sens, who acquired him from Vegas in 2019 as part of the Mark Stone trade. He’s made 266 appearances in parts of six seasons, scoring seven goals and 62 assists for 69 points with a -13 rating while averaging 16:52 per game. While a decent puck-mover with historically positive possession impacts, he doesn’t lay the body and can be quite giveaway-prone, recording a career-high 52 last season with just 22 takeaways.
The left-shot defender will likely replace Forbort in the lineup tonight against the Panthers, with either Vincent Desharnais or Noah Juulsen on his right (they’ve both seen time alongside Forbort in third-pairing duties thus far this season). Forbort, 32, is also an offseason addition, inking a one-year, $1.5MM deal shortly after free agency opened. He has an assist, a -1 rating, and three shots on goal through his first three games as a Canuck while averaging 16:53 per game.