The Vancouver Canucks made some adjustments to their roster on Thursday.
Winger Arshdeep Bains and defenceman Erik Brännström were re-assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL.
Neither needed to clear waivers. Bains is still exempt from waivers, while Brännström cleared waivers soon after the Canucks acquired him in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. He won't need to clear waivers again until after he plays 10 NHL games or is on the Canucks' NHL roster for 30 days.
Canucks get cap benefits by sending Bains and Brännström to the AHL
There are a few reasons why the Canucks would send Bains and Brännström down right now, even as the Canucks have won three straight games and may not want to make too many changes to a winning lineup.
The first is for salary cap reasons. The salary cap is calculated daily and every day that the Canucks are under the cap, they accrue cap space that they can then use later in the season. The further under the cap, the more space they can accrue.
Sending Bains and Brännström down to the AHL, even for a day or two at a time, means the Canucks can accrue more cap space on those days. Bains and Brännström have a combined cap hit of $1,716,667 — accruing a fraction of that for a couple of days can add up over time.
Since the Canucks have Thursday off, Bains and Brännström won't be missing any practices or training sessions. Both Bains and Brännström could be called up again ahead of Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Financially, it doesn't make a difference for Brännström, who is on a one-way contract that pays the same amount whether he's in the NHL or AHL, but it's a bit tough for Bains. His two-way contract pays him $816,667 in the NHL and $70,000 in the AHL — his take-home pay varies based on how many days he spends on the NHL roster as opposed to the AHL roster.
There's a chance, however, that neither player will get called back up.
Derek Forbort is reportedly ready to return from personal leave
According to ChekTV's Rick Dhaliwal, defenceman Derek Forbort is ready to return to the Canucks' roster.
The defenceman took time away from the Canucks for what the team called "personal reasons." He missed three games — all three of the Canucks' wins — while away from the team.
If Forbort does return to the roster, he'll presumably step back into the lineup for Brännström on the third pairing with Vincent Desharnais. If so, the Canucks might want to keep Brännström in the AHL for the time being. That way, he can continue to play significant minutes and work with the Abbotsford coaching staff on the things the Canucks want him to work on in his game.
The last thing the Canucks would want is Brännström eating up days of waiver exemption while he's sitting in the press box. He's been in the lineup for three games and nine days. They get six more games and 20 more days before Brännström would have to clear waivers again if they wanted to send him to the AHL.
Keeping Brännström in the AHL for a longer period of time would also help the Canucks accrue more cap space.
It's unfortunate for Brännström as he's coming off a strong game against the Chicago Blackhawks where he recorded his first point as a Canuck.
“I thought this was [Brännström’s] best game,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “I thought he distributed the puck well, he was really good — he skated the puck out. A couple of nice passes. I was pleased with his game tonight, especially on the breakouts.”
Brännström brought a much-needed puck-moving element to the Canucks' blue line and it will be interesting to see how much it's missed if he does stay in the AHL.
Of course, if Forbort is not actually ready to return, then Brännström will be back up immediately.
Dakota Joshua is close to returning
Bains might end up staying in the AHL as well or, if he does get called back up before Saturday's game, could find himself back in Abbotsford before too long.
Dakota Joshua has been absent from the team through training camp and the first few weeks of the season while recovering from surgery to remove a tumour after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Joshua joined the Canucks on their road trip, however, and has been back at practice with the team, albeit in a non-contact jersey. While it will take him a bit of time to get back up to speed, he should return to the Canucks' lineup within a week or two.
The Canucks also already have an extra body on the roster in Daniel Sprong and may want to get him back in the lineup after being healthy scratched. With that in mind, the Canucks could keep Bains in the AHL for a week during their three-game homestand to accrue cap space and give Sprong a chance to earn his spot in the lineup.
By that time, Joshua could be ready to return and Bains could be stuck in the AHL long-term.
So, as much as sending Bains and Brännström down to the AHL seems like a paper transaction and they'll be back on the NHL roster by the weekend, it's entirely possible that both will be in the AHL for a little bit longer.
