The Canucks still hold the exclusive signing rights of Czech winger Lukas Jasek, but he won’t be returning to the organization next season. He’s signed a two-year contract with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (translated team release link).
Jasek, 26, was a sixth-round pick of the Canucks in 2015 and spent the following three seasons in the Czech Extraliga before signing his entry-level contract and joining their AHL affiliate, then the Utica Comets, in 2018. He played in parts of four seasons for the Comets, putting up overall decent numbers with 86 points (30 goals, 56 assists) and a +11 rating in 153 appearances, but didn’t get an NHL call-up during that time.
Vancouver liked what they saw enough to extend him a qualifying offer when his ELC expired in 2021, but Jasek declined to accept and returned to Europe for a bigger role. He spent two seasons in Finland with Liiga’s Pelicans before transferring to Sweden in 2022, signing on with the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn.
Jasek had 28 points in 49 games but couldn’t help them avoid relegation to the HockeyAllsvenskan, but he’ll stay in the top tier of the Swedish system next season with Örnsköldsvik’s MoDo. The Canucks must sign him before July 1, 2025, and buy him out of the second year of his new deal with MoDo, or he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- The Oilers will carry netminder Ryan Fanti as their emergency backup for tonight’s Game 1 of their first-round series against the Kings, the team announced. While not on the game roster, he could enter the game for Edmonton if Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard leave the game with injuries. They’ll allow the more experienced Jack Campbell to continue getting game action at the top minor-league level as AHL Bakersfield begins its playoff run. Fanti, 24, has played sparingly this season with ECHL Fort Wayne and missed the first few months of the season with an injury, going 9-6-1 with a .915 SV% in 17 outings since his return. He has no NHL experience and only nine games of AHL experience.
- One of the Flames’ top defense prospects, Hunter Brzustewicz, will finish 2023-24 on an ATO with AHL Calgary, the minor-league club announced. Brzustewicz, 19, was a third-round pick of the Canucks last year but had his signing rights dealt to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade. He inked his entry-level deal back in March and, given his November birthday, will be eligible to suit up full-time with the Wranglers next season. He finished the year with 92 points in 67 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.