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Thatcher Demko Progressing Well Through Injury Recovery

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McDavid hasn’t played since Edmonton’s blowout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 28th. The Oilers have done as well as possible in his absence securing wins against the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames but have two difficult games this week against the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights. Should McDavid return this weekend in the Oilers’ contest against the Vancouver Canucks he will have only missed a total of four contests.

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  • Another Pacific Division team with positive news on the injury front is the Canucks. The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal reported earlier that goaltender Thatcher Demko is on the last step before being medically cleared to practice although his timeline is still up in the air. Vancouver could certainly use a reinforcement in the crease. Free agency pickup Kevin Lankinen has held down the fort with a .919 save percentage through seven starts but backup netminder Arturs Silovs has struggled to a .797 SV% mark in three.

Canucks’ Nils Aman Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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11/3: Aman has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL, per a team release.

11/2: With Dakota Joshua nearing a return to the lineup, the Canucks need to open up a roster spot for him.  It appears that Nils Aman will be the one losing his spot as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed him on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Abbotsford.

The 24-year-old has taken an interesting route to the NHL.  Originally drafted in the sixth round by Colorado in 2020, Aman didn’t sign with them and then signed with Vancouver two years later.  After a short stint in the minors to start 2022-23, he was up with the big club the rest of the way, getting into 68 games.  Aman also spent time in the AHL last season, collecting 15 points in as many games while also getting into 43 NHL contests, tallying four goals and three assists while his waiver exemption expired.

He signed a two-year, $1.65MM extension in late November, ensuring that he’d remain a low-cost option for Vancouver for a little while longer.  However, Aman has only played in four of their first nine games this season, although he does have a pair of assists but it evidently wasn’t enough to keep his roster spot secure.

As far as waiver placements go, this is one of the more intriguing ones.  Aman already has 115 career NHL games (and 25 points) under his belt and with a cap hit only $50K above the league minimum, he’s a player most teams could afford if they’re looking to either add a depth piece or shake up the back end of their forward group so he’s far from a guarantee to clear.

Interestingly, this isn’t a move that Vancouver necessarily had to make.  They’ve been sending two players back and forth from Abbotsford in recent days with one of them being winger Arshdeep Bains.  The Canucks could have simply elected to send Bains down when Joshua returns to create the roster spot.  Instead, it appears Bains will have a bit more of an opportunity to try to secure a full-time spot in the lineup.

Joshua Gets In A Full Practice On Friday

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Canucks forward Dakota Joshua participated in a full practice on Friday as he gets closer to returning from testicular cancer, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.  The 28-year-old went from a depth player earlier in his career to a key part of Vancouver’s bottom-six forward group while setting career highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (235) in 63 games last season.  That helped him earn a four-year, $13MM extension back in June to avoid free agency.  Despite being LTIR-eligible, Vancouver never moved Joshua there so they won’t have to worry about having to get cap-compliant when he’s able to return which should happen sometime over the next few days.  With Nils Aman on waivers today, it appears they’re getting ready to open up the spot for Joshua to return.

Demko Now Doing On-Ice Work

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Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has taken another important step back in his recovery from a popliteus muscle injury.  Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the netminder worked on the ice today with goalie coach Marko Torenius before practice today; it’s believed this is his first day back on the ice after working out on his own over the last few weeks.  Demko has yet to play this season due to the injury, one that took him out early in the first round of the playoffs back in the spring.  That resulted in Vancouver signing Kevin Lankinen early in training camp, a move that has worked out well as he has posted a 2.29 GAA with a .920 SV% in his first six starts.

Canucks Recall Erik Brännström, Arshdeep Bains

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With a game tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks are continuing their tradition of an off-day paper transaction. Typical recipients Erik Brännström and Arshdeep Bains are back on the NHL roster for tomorrow’s action as announced by the organization.

It’s the fourth time this season that both players have been involved in a paper transaction. The Canucks are continuing to accrue cap space with both players off the roster with a projected deadline cap space of $8.75MM according to PuckPedia.

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Canucks Reassign Erik Brännström, Arshdeep Bains

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  • The Canucks have papered defenseman Erik Brännström and winger Arshdeep Bains down to AHL Abbotsford, a move they’ve made multiple times this season to accrue cap space and delay the expiration of the former’s waiver exemption. Both will be back on the roster ahead of Saturday’s game in San Jose. Brännström especially has been strong in a depth role since coming over from the Avalanche in an early season trade, posting an assist and a +3 rating in six appearances while averaging 14:15 per game. The Canucks have controlled 53.5% of shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength.

Canucks Recall Erik Brännström, Arshdeep Bains

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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.

Canucks Recall Erik Brännström, Arshdeep Bains

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Oct. 25: Both Brännström and Bains are back on the NHL roster today, according to Allvin. The moves were solely a paper transaction to accrue cap space, although Forbort could still be good to return for their next game.

Oct. 24: The Canucks sent defenseman Erik Brännström and winger Arshdeep Bains to AHL Abbotsford today, per general manager Patrik Allvin.

Brännström heads back to the minors with fellow defender Derek Forbort, who’s ready to return from a brief personal leave, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. Forbort never landed on the non-roster list, so the Canucks’ active roster is now at 21 players with the two reassignments.

The Canucks had three games over the past week with Forbort out and Brännström on the roster. The 25-year-old Swede played in all of them, recording an assist and a +2 rating while averaging 13:23 per game. The 2017 first-round pick struggled to control possession quality in his limited and sheltered minutes, posting a 33.3 xGF%. It was quantity over quality for Brännström, who controlled total shot attempts at even strength with a 52.1 CF%.

It was an okay showing for the recent trade pickup from the Avalanche, but not enough to keep him in the NHL. On Oct. 6, Vancouver acquired Brännström, who signed a one-year, $900K deal with Colorado over the summer, via trade, sending defenseman Tucker Poolman the other way to give the Avs some long-term injured reserve flexibility. He was placed on waivers that same day and cleared without incident. He had three assists and a +3 rating in two games for Abbotsford before getting the call-up to replace Forbort.

Bains, meanwhile, was left off the Canucks’ opening night roster but was recalled ahead of their second game of the season. The 23-year-old has made three appearances and scratched twice since. He’s still looking for his first NHL point after going scoreless this year and also in an eight-game trial last season. The hometown kid posted a -1 rating and had just one shot on goal while in the lineup this season, averaging 12:38 per game.

However, the pending RFA is still an intriguing prospect. An undrafted free agent signing out of WHL Red Deer in 2022, he’s far from a finished product and will get a lengthy runway to continue to build confidence in Abbotsford. He posted 55 points (16 G, 39 A) in 59 games for them last year, earning a spot on the AHL All-Star Game roster.

West Notes: Hartman, Joshua, Nordh

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Minnesota Wild centerman Ryan Hartman missed Tuesday night’s game with an upper-body injury, head coach John Hynes told reporters( via Sarah McLellan of The Minnesota Star Tribune). Hartman sat out of the team’s Saturday matchup after initially being designated a game-time decision. He’s since been labeled as day-to-day and will continue to miss action despite returning to practice in full.

Hartman scored two goals on 12 shots and six hits in Minnesota’s first four games. He’s one of five Wild forwards with multiple goals, though Mats Zuccarello’s three scores lead the way. Hartman has played the least of any of Minnesota’s multi-goal scorers, averaging just 15:21 in ice time while serving as the team’s third-line center. His role has declined every season since he served as the team’s top center and scored a career-high 65 points in the 2021-22 campaign. Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi have taken complete hold of the top six in Hartman’s place. Hartman has stayed productive in the declining role, netting 21 goals and 45 points in 74 games last season. He’ll aim to return to the third line and spot starts on the power play when Minnesota takes on Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Canucks also shared that forward Dakota Joshua is a couple of weeks away from a return after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous lump this summer, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Joshua earned a hardy lineup role toward the end of Vancouver’s 2023-24 season, ending the year with 18 goals and 32 points in 63 regular season games and adding eight points in 13 playoff games. He’ll quickly slot back into the lineup when he’s healthy, likely stepping over Nils Aman, Teddy Blueger, and Kiefer Sherwood for minutes in the bottom six.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has returned 2023 draft pick Noel Nordh to the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds after a two-game conditioning stint with the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. Nordh, a third-round draft pick, failed to score in his first two games in North American pros. He’ll now begin a career in Canadian juniors after earning professional ice time in Sweden with resilient U20 performances. His Swedish career was capped off with a HockeyAllsvenskan championship with Brynas last season. Nordh contributed 15 points in 50 games.

Joshua Skates For First Time After Surgery

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  • Canucks forward Dakota Joshua skated today for the first time as he continues to recover from surgery to address a cancerous lump from earlier this summer, mentions NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had a breakout effort last season, notching career-highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (245) across 63 regular season contests, earning him a four-year, $13MM extension in late June.  There remains no timetable for Joshua’s return but the fact he has returned to the ice is certainly a good sign.

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