Canucks Activate Teddy Blueger, Reassign Arshdeep Bains
Set to host Washington tonight, the Vancouver Canucks announced that Arshdeep Bains has been reassigned to AHL Abbotsford. The transaction aligns with word that Teddy Blueger is set to return from injured reserve, as Head Coach Adam Foote told reporters today, including Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet650.
Blueger is expected to return as third line center tonight not having played since October. Listed at the time with an undisclosed injury, it was not necessarily expected back then for the 31-year-old to miss half the campaign.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Blueger has been listed as a possible trade candidate, especially considering such a thin center market. Currently last in the league by a considerable margin, things have obviously soured since the last time Blueger was in action, where his Canucks were 4-2-0 out of the gate. Now finally healthy, he may make his case for a deal to a contender.
Meanwhile, it has been an eventful last two months for Bains, as the 25-year-old cleared waivers and was sent down in December, only to be recalled on January 2 after netting six points in five AHL games. The call up corresponded with Marco Rossi’s placement on injured reserve.
Bains managed to skate in two games last week, hovering around the 10:00 mark between each, and finishing a -3 combined. Across his 28 total games on the year, the winger has five points. Undrafted, the British Columbia native figures to be organizational depth, currently in his fourth year with the Canucks, and signed through 2026-27. At the AHL level, Bains is considerably more productive, nearly reaching the point-per-game mark in the last two seasons, and helping lead Abbotsford to a Calder Cup title last year.
Canucks Place Marco Rossi On IR, Recall Arshdeep Bains
The Canucks announced they’ve placed center Marco Rossi on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 30. His roster spot is going to winger Arshdeep Bains, who’s been recalled from AHL Abbotsford.
Rossi, 24, has only played eight games since being acquired from the Wild in the Quinn Hughes deal. The team’s new second-line center behind Elias Pettersson hasn’t seen much success yet, though. While he’s averaged nearly 19 minutes per game, tracking for a career-high, the 2020 No. 9 overall pick has only managed two points and a -5 rating while seeing a rotation of Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, and Conor Garland as his primary linemates.
That cold streak hit a stop sign against the Flyers on Tuesday, leaving that game with a lower-body injury. On Thursday, head coach Adam Foote told reporters that Rossi – along with Garland – would miss at least a week. He would be eligible to come off IR on Jan. 6 against the Sabres, but won’t return until their following game against the Red Wings at the earliest.
Injuries have been a theme for the Austrian this season. His tenure with the Wild ended while he was on injured reserve with a separate lower-body issue, believed to be a foot fracture. All told, he’s had five goals and 15 points in 25 showings this season after reaching a career-high 60 points last year.
If history is any indication, Bains won’t be a replacement for Rossi in the top six, but he does give Vancouver an extra forward while Garland is out. The 24-year-old broke camp with the Canucks but was waived and reassigned to Abbotsford last month after scoring a goal and five points in 26 appearances, almost exclusively in a fourth-line role while averaging under 10 minutes per game. The 6’0″ winger has three goals and six points in five AHL games since the demotion, bringing his career AHL points per game up to 0.79.
Canucks’ Arshdeep Bains Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL
Dec. 17th: According to a team announcement, Bains has successfully cleared waivers and has been reassigned to AHL Abbotsford.
Dec. 16th: The Canucks have waived forward Arshdeep Bains, according to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic. He’ll be reassigned to AHL Abbotsford tomorrow if he clears.
The news doesn’t come as a major surprise. Bains’ role was bound to reduce after Vancouver recouped forwards Liam Ohgren and Marco Rossi in last week’s shock Quinn Hughes blockbuster, and they’re set to be immediate fixtures in the Canucks’ lineup. He was one of the odd men out when they were inserted into the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Devils, marking his sixth healthy scratch of the season.
With center Elias Pettersson not expected to miss too much more time with his upper-body injury, the Canucks were going to need a roster spot to activate him from injured reserve sooner rather than later. They can do so as soon as today – Bains is eligible for a non-roster designation if his waiver placement comes in conjunction with an IR activation – if he’s ready to play tonight against the Rangers.
Bains’ 26 appearances this season more than doubled his career total. The 24-year-old now has 47 games under his belt for Vancouver over the past three seasons, scoring two goals and four assists for six points. Five of those came this year while he averaged 9:09 of ice time per game in a fourth-line role.
An undrafted free agent signed out of WHL Red Deer back in 2022, he could carry some intrigue on the wire thanks to an excellent AHL track record. In three prior seasons for Abbotsford, he’s put up a 40-96–136 scoring line in 175 games with a +34 rating.
Canucks Re-Sign Four Players
The Canucks have re-upped depth center Max Sasson on a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000, per PuckPedia. The deal was first announced by his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein. The team also announced they’ve agreed to terms with winger Arshdeep Bains on a two-year deal to keep him off the RFA market. It’s a two-way deal in 2025-26 before changing to a one-way deal in 2026-27, per PuckPedia. Additionally, the Canucks announced a two-way contract for defenseman Guillaume Brisebois for 2025-26. Center Aatu Räty has also signed a two-year, one-way extension worth $775,000 per year, PuckPedia reports.
Of the group, the three forwards have the greatest chance of being on next season’s opening night roster. One-way commitments out of the gate to Räty and Sasson indicate Vancouver anticipates both making the jump to full-time NHL duties to help shoulder the likely loss of pending free agents Brock Boeser and Pius Suter tomorrow.
Räty, 22, is the most important player of the group. The Canucks evidently recognize that as he’s the only player receiving a multi-year one-way commitment from them today. Once a top prospect in the 2021 draft class, he ended up slipping to the Islanders in the second round and was traded to Vancouver in the Bo Horvat deal in 2023 shortly after making his NHL debut.
He didn’t see any NHL ice in 2023-24 but re-emerged as a call-up option this past year. He didn’t look out of place at all as a bottom-six center when given the chance, and that’s the role he’ll look to grab on a more consistent basis starting in the fall. He averaged 10:39 per game for Vancouver in 2024-25 over 33 appearances, scoring seven goals and 11 points with a minus-four rating. He was great on draws, particularly for a young player, winning 57.7% of his faceoffs. He’s a decently physical piece as well, ranking 10th on the team with 80 hits despite his limited workload.
Räty also would have required waivers starting next year, a risk the Canucks certainly aren’t willing to take. He’ll be on the roster come October and could even begin the season with as big of a role as third-line center if Vancouver can’t make any notable free agent additions down the middle in the coming days.
Sasson, 25 in September, won’t be too far behind Räty on the Canucks’ center depth chart. He also saw significant NHL ice last season, except in his case, it was his first NHL call-up. He scored three goals and seven points in 29 games for Vancouver, routinely slotting in down the middle and winning 42.7% of his draws while averaging 10:20 per game.
When on assignment to AHL Abbotsford, Sasson managed 32 points in 41 games – his second straight season with strong minor-league production after signing with Vancouver as a free agent out of Western Michigan in 2023. He’s still waiver-exempt for another year, though. If there’s a roster crunch in camp, he could be the odd man out as a result.
Bains would also require waivers to head back to the AHL, so that’s something to watch. Another undrafted free agent signing, he’s also been an extremely productive AHL piece over the last few years. He scored 43 points in 50 games for Abbotsford this year after nearly reaching a point per game in 2023-24, but the winger has just one goal in 21 NHL appearances over the last two years. Whether his minor-league track record is enough to keep him on the NHL roster remains to be seen, but he could also be a trade candidate if he makes the club and starts slow out of the gate to avoid losing him for nothing on the wire.
Brisebois is the longest-tenured Canuck of the group by a significant margin. A third-round pick back in 2015, he’s settled in as an AHL depth piece and occasional call-up. The 6’2″ lefty played three NHL games this past season in a January call-up, his first action with Vancouver since March 2023. He’ll be 28 next month and has three points and a minus-seven rating in 30 NHL games with the Canucks.
He’s been one of the key defensive minds on Abbotsford’s blue line, helping the minor-league club to its first Calder Cup championship in franchise history a few days ago. He posted five points and a plus-three rating in 48 regular-season games for the AHL Canucks this season.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Reassign Arshdeep Bains
According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouver shared in the same announcement that they’ve reassigned forward Arshdeep Bains in a corresponding roster move.
It’s a familiar transaction for both players. Today’s roster move is the sixth time Lekkerimaki has been recalled from Abbotsford this season, and it’s the ninth reassignment for Bains. Each player is waiver exempt, although Lekkerimaki makes approximately $100K more at the NHL level.
Lekkerimaki is arguably the best prospect in Vancouver’s pipeline. Still, he hasn’t gained much traction in the NHL this year due to the frequent taxiing between Vancouver and Abbotsford. The Tullinge, Sweden native has recorded two goals and one assist in 11 contests, averaging 13:47 of ice time per game. His 49.8% CorsiFor% at even strength and 12.5% shooting percentage are solid, but it’s not a large enough sample size to make any concrete judgments about his development.
He’s played far more promisingly with the AHL Canucks. In his first full year in North American professional hockey, Lekkerimaki is nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL with 19 goals and 28 points in 32 contests. It won’t be enough to earn the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s top rookie, but it’s an impressive season nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Bains has been less productive in a fourth-line role. Despite four games separating him from losing his rookie status, Bains has looked somewhat lost at the NHL level, scoring one goal in 21 career games. He is a physical player with 24 career hits in limited action, but he doesn’t play well enough on the defensive side of the puck to overlook his offensive shortcomings. He’ll return to Abbotsford, where he’s collected seven goals and 20 assists in 32 games this season.
Minor Transactions: 2/18/25
The transaction wire is active again today, with many teams hosting their first practices in over a week. The regular season schedule after the 4 Nations Face-Off resumes this weekend, so the players who teams reassigned to the minors over the break to continue playing will be added back to rosters today and tomorrow to make them eligible to practice with their NHL teammates. Here are all of today’s moves that largely constituted reversals of pre-break demotions.
- The Hurricanes announced they’ve promoted defenseman Riley Stillman from AHL Chicago. While he’d been off the roster for a few days already prior to the break, he’s been a frequent traveler between Carolina and Chicago this season. He was last rostered for a game on Jan. 28 against the Rangers – his season debut, in which he recorded a fight and a shot on goal in 7:40 of ice time. A routine healthy scratch/extra defenseman, Stillman is close to requiring waivers again to head to the minors after clearing them in November. The 26-year-old has 2-3–5 with 41 PIMs and a minus-three rating in 20 AHL contests this year.
- The Stars announced they’ve recalled defenseman Lian Bichsel from AHL Texas. He was quietly shuttled down on Feb. 8 after making eight straight appearances for Dallas leading into the break. The 2022 first-rounder has 2-3–5 and a plus-six rating through his first 16 career NHL games, all coming this season, and will continue in a regular role for the time being with Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist on the shelf.
- The Canucks announced they’ve promoted all of center Nils Åman, forward Arshdeep Bains, and defenseman Elias Pettersson from AHL Abbotsford. They also added goalie Arturs Silovs from the Baby Canucks on an emergency loan and will have Nikita Tolopilo around as a practice goaltender until Kevin Lankinen is ready to return from representing Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off, although the latter won’t take up a roster spot. Åman and Pettersson were sent to Abbotsford on Feb. 8, but this is Bains’ first recall since late November. The 24-year-old winger had one goal and a minus-four rating in 11 games earlier this season but has remained a near point-per-game threat in the minors, posting 7-20–27 in 32 AHL games. He’ll now get another crack at NHL minutes in the final season of his entry-level contract. Silovs, who’s struggled to the tune of a 1-4-1 record and .847 SV% in seven NHL appearances this season, will come up to serve as Lankinen’s No. 2 with Thatcher Demko still dealing with the undisclosed injury that caused him to leave Vancouver’s last pre-break game against the Maple Leafs. Tolopilo’s stay will be brief, and the 24-year-old will return to Abbotsford as soon as Lankinen is available.
- The Penguins called up winger Emil Bemström and goalie Joel Blomqvist from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and returned netminder Tristan Jarry to the minors in a corresponding transaction, the team announced. It’s a pure reversal of the moves Pittsburgh made after their last game on Feb. 8. Bemström has no points and two shots in two games since being recalled for the first time this season on Feb. 7, while Blomqvist has a 3-8-0 record with a .896 SV% and 3.54 GAA in 11 appearances on the year. The 23-year-old has struggled since taking over for Jarry on the roster, posting a .868 SV% in three starts since the veteran was waived in mid-January. The 29-year-old Jarry will continue to bide his time in the minors as he awaits another NHL chance, knocking on the door with a .924 SV% and 2.11 GAA in nine games.
- The Rangers announced they’ve recalled goaltender Dylan Garand from AHL Hartford. The 22-year-old comes up to serve as Jonathan Quick‘s backup with Igor Shesterkin not ready to return from the upper-body injury that kept him out of New York’s final game before the break. He’s sporting a .914 SV%, 2.73 GAA, three shutouts, and a 13-7-5 record in 25 showings with Hartford this year.
- The Blackhawks summoned defenseman Ethan Del Mastro from AHL Rockford, a team announcement states. Chicago sent the 22-year-old down at the beginning of the break for additional playing time in the minors, where he posted three shots and a plus-one rating in four games over the past couple of weeks. He has one assist in six NHL games since first being called up in late January and will continue competing for bottom-pairing minutes while Louis Crevier is on injured reserve with a concussion.
- The Bruins recalled defenseman Michael Callahan, center Matthew Poitras, and left-winger Riley Tufte from AHL Providence – the latter coming up under emergency conditions, per the team. Goaltender Michael DiPietro will also practice with the team while Jeremy Swayman remains with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off but won’t count against the active roster. Callahan’s and Poitras’ recalls are reversals of pre-break assignments, with the former’s recall serving as confirmation that Hampus Lindholm won’t be ready to come off LTIR before Saturday’s game against the Ducks. Tufte’s recall is his first since November, and his inclusion is a solid indication that Charlie McAvoy will be IR-bound after sustaining an upper-body injury and subsequent infection at the 4 Nations.
- The Jets announced they’ve recalled Kaapo Kähkönen from AHL Manitoba to serve as a practice player with Connor Hellebuyck slated to start for the Americans in Thursday’s 4 Nations championship. He’s played one NHL game since signing a one-year, $1MM deal in Winnipeg last offseason – although it was for the Avalanche, who claimed him off waivers in October but lost him back to the Jets on the wire the following month. The 28-year-old has taken a tumble in Manitoba with a .885 SV% in 20 games – a worse save percentage than he posted on last year’s league-worst Sharks.
- The Sharks announced they’ve recalled forward Collin Graf and defenseman Jack Thompson from AHL San Jose. They were both assigned to the minors after their final pre-break game, although notably, veteran Andrew Poturalski remains in the minors after being demoted along with Graf and Thompson. The rookies are both likely to play next Sunday against the Flames.
- Utah announced they’d recalled winger Josh Doan from AHL Tucson after the previously reported summons of goaltender Jaxson Stauber. His reinstatement to the roster suggests Logan Cooley won’t be quite ready to return from his lower-body injury this weekend against the Kings, but general manager Bill Armstrong said yesterday he’s not expected out for much longer. Doan has 4-5–9 in 25 NHL games and 11-15–26 in 28 AHL games this year.
- The Blues will have goaltender Will Cranley join them for practice while Jordan Binnington remains with Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the club announced. Cranley, 22, was a sixth-round pick of 2020 and is in his second season of pro hockey. He’s spent almost all of his time in the ECHL, where he has a .911 SV% and 2.28 GAA in 16 appearances with the Florida Everblades this year.
- The Predators recalled goalie Matt Murray to join them as a practice player while Juuse Saros returns from repping the Fins at the 4 Nations, Emma Lingan of The Hockey News reports. Murray has yet to appear in a game for Nashville after spending the past few years in the Stars organization but has been recalled a few times as injury insurance this season. The 27-year-old has a sparkling .930 SV%, 2.17 GAA, two shutouts, and a 17-7-6 record for Milwaukee.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forwards Gage Goncalves and Gabriel Fortier to join as practice players. Goncalves has served as Tampa Bay’s extra forward for much of the year. His NHL career is still young, and his one goal and seven points in 33 games with the Lightning marks the first scoring of his career. Goncalves has also scored 18 points in 14 AHL games this year. Fortier has spent his whole season in the minors and scored 10 goals and 17 points in 37 games. He ranks third on the Syracuse Crunch in goals and seventh in points.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Snapshots: Guentzel, Holmstrom, Chernyshov, Bains
It’s one of the busiest nights of the hockey year. Unlike in years past, the Winter Classic is no longer a standalone event. The NHL has 12 other games on the docket, all backlit by Team Canada taking on Team USA in an exhilarating World Junior Championships tournament. The heap of action has pulled together sparked plenty of news from around the league.
Most notably, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Jake Guentzel returned to the team’s practices in a no-contact jersey on Tuesday, per NHL.com’s Eduardo A Encina. It was his first time skating since suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s Saturday game. He was designated as day-to-day, and missed his first game of the season on Sunday. Tampa Bay have until Thursday to prepare for a three-game slate this weekend. Guentzel’s return to the ice could be an indication that the Bolts will be getting another star scorer to support the effort.
Guentzel has been fantastic in his first season in Tampa Bay. He’s recorded 20 goals and 37 points through 33 games this season. That equals out to a 1.12 points-per-game scoring pace, which stands as the highest of Guentzel’s nine-year career and puts him on pace for 50 goals and 91 points across 81 games. He’ll need to return soon to uphold those numbers, and continue contributing to a Lightning top-six with three players outscoring him.
Across the Eastern Division, the New York Islanders have lost forward Simon Holmström to an upper-body injury. He has been designated as day-to-day, per a team announcement, and missed his first game of the season on Tuesday. Holmstrom has been a rare bright spot in the Islanders lineup, posting nine goals and 22 points across 37 games so far. He’s nearly past his career-high of 25 points set in 75 games last season, and has slowly climbed the Islanders lineup as a result. The Islanders scored just one goal in his absence on Tuesday, pulling their record to 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. All four of those wins required four-or-more goals, meaning New York now faces the challenge of maintaining their offense without one of their top scorers.
Traveling to the other coast – San Jose Sharks prospect Igor Chernyshov has shared that he hopes to return to game action in January, per Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News. Chernyshov – the fisrt pick of the second round in last year’s draft – has been skating with Sharks staff to support his recovery. He was a top prospect in last year’s class, with many even dubbing him a first-round talent. But a shoulder surgery in August has so far held him out of all 2024-25 action. He is expected to head to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit when he returns to full health.
Finally, Vancouver Canucks winger Arshdeep Bains has changed agents, now represented by Wasserman’s Darren Hermiston per PuckPedia. Bains is in the final year of his entry-level contract. He began the year in the minor leagues, but was the clear top option on Vancouver’s call-up chart. He’s already been recalled seven times this season, resulting in Bains stepping into 11 NHL games. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much to make the call-ups stick – with just one assist and a -4. He’s been much more active in the minors, recording 11 points, 20 penalty minutes, and a -5 in 12 games. Bains ranked second on the Abbotsford Canucks in scoring last season with 55 points in 59 games. His change of representation months before a new deal could be a step towards fighting for a hardier chance at the top flight.
Canucks’ J.T. Miller Takes Leave Of Absence, Out Indefinitely
The Canucks will be without star forward J.T. Miller indefinitely while he takes a leave of absence for personal reasons, general manager Patrik Allvin said Tuesday.
“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” Allvin said in a statement. “Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time.”
Miller, 31, is tied with Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter for the team lead in goals with six. He’s added 10 assists for 16 points in 17 games, placing second on the team in scoring behind defenseman Quinn Hughes‘ 18 points.
Despite recording five points in his prior three games, Miller was benched by head coach Rick Tocchet for a significant portion of Sunday’s loss to the Predators and played a season-low 11:41. On the whole, his 18:24 ATOI is his lowest since Vancouver acquired him from the Lightning in 2019, and he’s on pace to record under a point per game for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.
The Ohio native is still one of the Canucks’ best offensive players, though, and his 53.7 CF% at even strength means he’s controlling the most possession he has since his first season in Vancouver. Miller is in the second season of the seven-year, $56MM extension he signed in September 2022 to keep him in British Columbia through the 2029-30 campaign.
He’s a major loss for the Canucks, especially without any indication when he’ll be back in the lineup. With Boeser on the shelf with a head injury, he’d been centering a makeshift first line between Suter and rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki.
Vancouver recalled winger Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford in a corresponding transaction to give them 12 healthy forwards for tonight’s game against the Rangers, but they’ll still need to shift someone to center to replace Miller – likely Suter, while any of Bains, Danton Heinen or Dakota Joshua could shift into a top-six role at left wing. In order to open a roster spot for Bains, the Canucks returned defenseman Elias Pettersson to Abbotsford after recalling him Sunday for injury insurance. Pettersson didn’t make his NHL debut and instead sat in the press box for the loss to Nashville.
Bains, 23, has been ferried between leagues frequently this season but had spent the last week in Abbotsford as part of a demotion that the Canucks likely intended to be more permanent. He played in eight contests for Vancouver throughout the first month or so of the season, recording one goal, a -3 rating and a 46.9 CF% while averaging 11:30 per game.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
West Notes: Wild, Avalanche, Canucks, Stezka
The Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Michael Milne to the NHL roster. The move comes after each of Jonas Brodin (lower-body), Marcus Johansson (illness), and Zach Bogosian (personal) missed the team’s Wednesday practice, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Head coach John Hynes told Russo that Johansson and Bogosian are expected to play on Thursday, while Brodin is questionable.
Minnesota is already carrying seven defenders, with Declan Chisholm likely to step in if Brodin misses on Thursday. The team did not have an extra forward, though – requiring the call-up of Milne to cover Johansson’s potential absence. Chisholm has appeared in 10 games this season, recording three assists but yet to score his first goal of the year.
Meanwhile, Milne will rejoin the NHL roster just two days after being sent down. He received the first recall of his pro career last week, and was expected to make his NHL debut – but instead spent three games in the Wild press box. He likely isn’t locked into the lineup on this call-up either, unless Johansson ends up unavailable. Milne ranks second on the AHL’s Iowa Wild in scoring, with eight points in 10 games this season and three points in his latest two games.
Other notes from out West:
- The Colorado Avalanche also made some roster moves, recalling forwards T.J. Tynan and Nikita Prishchepov after brief stints in the minor leagues. Both Tynan and Prishchepov have been regular fixtures of the Avalanche lineup amid their injury woes this season, each playing in six games and recording four points – though Prishchepov’s one goal is the only between the two. Colorado is soon expecting the return of Valeri Nichushkin from suspension and Jonathan Drouin from injury, but their pair of recalls will serve as understudies in the event of any change in plan.
- While Minnesota and Colorado hedge their bets against injuries, the Vancouver Canucks have sent down top prospects Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Arshdeep Bains, and Aatu Raty in a paper transaction, per Jeff Paterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver. The Canucks will net just over $15.5K in cap space accrual with this move, helping continue to bank cap space over the course of the season. All three players will likely return to the lineup ahead of Vancouver’s Thursday matchup against the New York Islanders.
- Rounding out Western Conference roster moves is Seattle’s assignment of goaltender Ales Stezka, who served as backup in the team’s Tuesday win over Columbus. Stezka has served as the starter for the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds this season, posting a 2-5-0 record and .894 save percentage in seven games. He’s played ahead of top Kraken goalie prospect Niklas Kokko, who’s managed an .880 save percentage in four games. Stezka’s assignment suggests that Philipp Grubauer will soon return, after suffering an undisclosed injury away from the rink that forced him out of Tuesday’s game.
Canucks Recall Arshdeep Bains
The Canucks announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled winger Arshdeep Bains from AHL Abbotsford.
Bains, 23, will likely make his eighth appearance of the season tonight against the Flames. The Canucks needed another forward on the active roster with Dakota Joshua not quite ready to come off injured reserve and Brock Boeser in the press box while he nurses the upper-body injury he sustained on a check to the head from Kings winger Tanner Jeannot on Nov. 7, which resulted in a three-game suspension.
The Surrey, British Columbia native has been sent between leagues on numerous occasions as the Canucks take advantage of his waiver-exempt status to accrue cap space on off days. The 6’0″, 184-lb winger has averaged 11:40 per game when in the lineup, scoring once and adding a -3 rating in seven appearances. His 0.14 points per game are the lowest among any Vancouver forward, although his 8.81 hits per 60 minutes rank fourth.
An undrafted free agent signing out of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels in 2022, Bains has looked outmatched so far in his NHL minutes. He also went pointless with a -5 rating in eight appearances last season. This season, the Canucks have been out-attempted 86-75 with Bains on the ice at 5-on-5 – he’s the only Canucks forward on the active roster with a negative differential.
As such, Bains will likely be ferried off the roster on a more permanent basis when both Boeser and Joshua are back in the fold in the coming days. He’s made his first two AHL appearances of 2024-25 for Abbotsford over the past week, notching one goal and three assists.
Bains is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent next summer. He is not projected to have arbitration rights.