The Vancouver Canucks sent three players down to Abbotsford today, but Arshdeep Bains, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and Aatu Räty probably aren’t going to the AHL to play a game.
They’ll likely all be recalled tomorrow ahead of Vancouver’s home game against the New York Islanders. It’s all in the name of accruing cap space, something the Canucks haven’t been able to do in recent years while they operated in LTIR. But with waiver-exempt players, it’s very easy to do.
Erik Brannstrom was once one of the players who yo-yoed between Vancouver and Abbotsford, at least on paper. He’s no longer waiver exempt, though, hence why he’s not getting papered down anymore.
Nobody has been shuttled up and down more this season than Bains. The next time he gets recalled, it’ll be the seventh time already this season. Luckily for Bains, he isn’t required to report to Abbotsford each time, so he’ll save some miles on his car.
Although he was spotted in Abbotsford today.
Fresh home ice for practice 🧊 pic.twitter.com/e9JmI0Uqui
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) November 13, 2024
Players don’t necessarily have to report to their AHL team when they get sent down. That’s the good news. The bad news for a player like Bains is that he’s on a two-way contract, meaning he gets paid less money for every day he spends in the AHL, even if it’s just a paper transaction. Lekkerimäki and Räty are in the same situation.
They’re not all paper transactions, of course.
Bains and Arturs Silovs played in Abbotsford on Sunday and suited up for Vancouver two days later. That’s the kind of thing the Canucks have been able to take advantage of since they moved their AHL affiliate from Utica to Abbotsford more than three years ago.
All this paper shuffling will be worth it if the Canucks can accrue enough cap space to acquire a difference-maker at the trade deadline.
Until then, it promises to be a busy season of recalls.
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