Snapshots: Eriksson, Green, Patrick, Steen

Loui Eriksson’s tenure with the Canucks has certainly been a rocky one through the first four seasons.  In an interview with Sportsnet 650 (audio link), GM Jim Benning acknowledged that he did try to move the winger this offseason but they weren’t able to find a taker.  With two years left on his deal that carries a $6MM cap hit, that’s not too surprising.  As things stand, the veteran will enter training camp hoping to land a spot on the fourth line although he is a candidate to be waived and sent to the minors to free up $1.075MM in cap room.

Benning also acknowledged that talks continue with head coach Travis Green about a contract extension.  He has been behind the bench for the Canucks since the 2017-18 season and is entering the final year of his contract.

Elsewhere around the league:

• Flyers forward Nolan Patrick is skating without headaches as he tries to work his way back from concussion-like symptoms that sidelined him for the entire 2019-20 season, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). While there are still some hurdles to be cleared, it certainly appears as if the second-overall pick in 2017 will have a shot at suiting up at some point for Philadelphia next season which is a great sign.  Patrick accepted his qualifying offer this offseason of just over $874K and because he didn’t play at all last year, he still is exempt from waivers for one more season.
• Blues winger Alex Steen won’t be ready to suit up whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway, notes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. There’s no word yet on how much time he’ll miss but as things stand, he’s a strong candidate to join winger Vladimir Tarasenko on LTIR to start the year.  That will give them some short-term cap flexibility in their efforts to re-sign RFA defenseman Vince Dunn.