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Erik Brannstrom

Erik Brännström Signs Three-Year Deal With Lausanne HC

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5/26: One month after rumors swirled, defender Brannstrom has officially signed a three-year contract in Switzerland, per a press release from the team. The official move was first reported by TSN.

4/21: Sabres pending restricted free agent defenseman Erik Brännström has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with Swiss National League club Lausanne HC, Johan Svensson of Expressen reports. Svensson said earlier this month he was expecting Brännström to head to Switzerland; now it looks like the deal is done.

The move isn’t surprising after a tumultuous 2024-25 campaign for the 25-year-old Brännström. The 2017 first-rounder wasn’t tendered by the Senators last year and signed a one-year, $900K contract with the Avalanche early in free agency, but he didn’t even make it through training camp in Colorado. The Avs, in need of salary cap flexibility to begin the season, traded him to the Canucks for the contract of LTIR-bound defender Tucker Poolman and a fourth-round pick.

While Vancouver was in need of some puck-moving defensive depth, they opted to immediately waive Brännström. He cleared and began the season in AHL Abbotsford, but the Canucks still gave him a multitude of NHL opportunities and jockeyed him between leagues for the majority of the campaign. He played limited minutes (14:56 per game), and his results were underwhelming in sheltered usage. A 3-5–8 scoring line in 28 appearances was fine for the rearguard, but his even-strength possession metrics (48.8 CF%, 48.3 xGF%) were disappointing considering his consistent offensive-zone deployment.

The Canucks waived Brännström again in January. After he cleared, that was the last we saw of him in the NHL in 2024-25. He was traded two more times ahead of the deadline – first to the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade, and again to the Sabres for depth winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel on deadline day – but only suited up for those teams’ AHL affiliates.

Brännström was quite productive in the minors, totaling 8-15–23 with a +14 rating across 27 appearances for Abbotsford, Hartford, and Rochester in the regular season. He’s still got some track left in the Sabres organization as he suits up for Rochester in the Calder Cup Playoffs, but it’s clear that will be the end of his stay.

One of Vegas’ three first-round picks in their inaugural 2017 draft class and later a key portion of the trade that sent Mark Stone from the Senators to the Golden Knights, Brännström has never been able to capture anything above a bottom-pairing role. Across 294 games with Ottawa and Vancouver over the last seven years, he’s averaged just 16:41 per game and has a 10-67–77 scoring line with a -17 rating. His possession metrics were historically average with a career 51.2 CF% in heavy offensive deployment, but not enough to suggest a meaningful two-way impact given his sheltered usage.

Buffalo could retain Brännström’s signing rights until 2027 by issuing him a qualifying offer, but he’ll be old enough for unrestricted free agency in the NHL when his contract with Lausanne expires in 2028. If he opts to attempt an NHL return when his Swiss deal is up, he’ll do so with the ability to sign anywhere.

Atlantic Notes: Cousins, Brannstrom, Barkov, Sturm

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While it was expected that the Senators would be without forward Nick Cousins for the rest of the season after he underwent knee surgery in January, that might not be the case anymore.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that the 31-year-old could resume skating with them as soon as Thursday after skating on his own in recent weeks.  As a result, it’s possible that Cousins could return either late in the regular season or be available to suit up in the playoffs.  Through 47 games this season, Cousins has five goals and eight assists along with 80 hits in a little under 12 minutes of playing time.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sabres defenseman Erik Brannstrom has had a bit of a whirlwind season with Buffalo being his fourth organization. Colorado signed him in free agency but moved him before the season to Vancouver and he was then flipped to the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade.  Along the way, he has only gotten into 28 NHL games this season.  As a result, it appears he could be eyeing a change of scenery as SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson reports (subscription link) that the 25-year-old could be off to Switzerland next season with a long-term contract expected.  Brannstrom has 294 career NHL appearances under his belt but with a quickly diminishing role so a change of scenery could help his chances of getting back to the top level down the road.  Buffalo can retain his rights via restricted free agency for the next two years.
  • The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that center Aleksander Barkov was scratched from tonight’s game versus Toronto due to an upper-body injury. The captain was banged up on Tuesday in Montreal but while he left the game briefly, he returned for the third period and didn’t seem to have any lingering effects.  Barkov is second on Florida in scoring this season, tallying 19 goals and 47 assists in 64 games.
  • Still with the Panthers, center Nico Sturm suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday in Montreal and is listed as day-to-day, relays team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was injured in a collision in the first period with A.J. Greer in his first shift of the game.  Sturm was added from San Jose at the trade deadline as extra depth and has one assist in 11 appearances with Florida in a little under 10 minutes per night of playing time.  Sturm did not suit up tonight either with Tomas Nosek taking his spot on the fourth line.

Rangers Trade Erik Brännström To Sabres

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The Sabres and Rangers have exchanged depth skaters with NHL experience. Defenseman Erik Brännström is headed to Buffalo, while winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel goes to New York, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Although it’s officially a swap of AHL talent, both players have considerable experience in the NHL. Neither player had a future with their respective clubs, and both teams needed depth at their respective positions.

Aubé-Kubel joins the sixth organization of his career after clearing waivers in late January. The bottom-six winger signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract in Buffalo last offseason– a deal that hasn’t worked out for either side. Aubé-Kubel will finish his Sabres’ tenure with one goal and one assist in 19 games, averaging 9:32 of ice time per game, the lowest of his career since the 2018-19 season.

Meanwhile, Brännström is moved for the third time this season. The former 15th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft and the headlining player for the Vegas Golden Knights’ acquisition of Mark Stone in 2019, signed a one-year, $900K contract with the Colorado Avalanche after being non-tendered by the Ottawa Senators.

Before ever suiting up with the Avalanche, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks shortly before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. He was utilized in a flex role between the NHL and AHL for the first half of the season scoring three goals and five assists in 28 games for the Canucks, and two goals and 12 points in eight games for their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Brännström was then included in the trade that sent J.T. Miller back to the New York Rangers in January. Without having ever suited up for the Rangers, he’ll finish his stay in the organization with one goal and four points in six games for their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Plenty of roster moves will happen over the next 24 hours, and these players could find themselves back in the NHL after it’s all said and done.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article. 

Rangers Acquire J.T. Miller From Canucks

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Trade discussions between the Rangers and Canucks regarding J.T. Miller have been off and on in recent weeks but a deal is now complete.  Per announcements from both teams, New York has acquired Miller along with defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington from Vancouver in exchange for center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick.  The pick is protected in the top-13 this year and if it doesn’t convey this year, the Canucks will instead receive New York’s unprotected 2026 first-rounder.  Structuring the pick like that will encumber the Rangers from moving that 2026 selection in another trade later on.

Miller waived his no-move protection to facilitate the swap, ending what had been a rocky last several weeks for the 31-year-old.  There has been speculation of an internal rift between Miller and center Elias Pettersson, something that team president Jim Rutherford confirmed earlier this week. As a result, Vancouver has been engaging in trade discussions involving both players for quite some time now.

Miller returns to his first NHL team with the Rangers having drafted him 15th overall back in 2011.  He spent parts of six seasons with them, recording 172 points in 341 games before being moved to Tampa Bay in 2018.  He spent parts of two years with them before Vancouver acquired Miller in the 2019 offseason and since then, his career has taken off.

After only recording more than 60 points just once in his career before joining Vancouver, Miller surpassed the point per game mark in four of his first five seasons with them; the only time he didn’t reach at least 70 points was the shortened 2020-21 campaign.  Along the way, he signed a seven-year, $56MM contract that runs through the 2029-30 campaign, meaning New York will be adding another pricey contract to their books with an $8MM AAV; Daily Faceoff’s Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver is not retaining salary on Miller’s contract.

But things haven’t gone quite so well for Miller this season.  His offensive numbers – though still respectable – are down as he has nine goals and 26 assists in 40 games so far.  He has just three tallies in his last 24 outings, however, and two of those came in one game.  That drop in performance certainly didn’t help his trade value which likely contributed to the delay in getting this done.

Even with the drop-off in performance this year, Miller will still represent a sizable upgrade on Chytil in terms of role and production.  He’ll give them a third veteran presence down the middle behind Mika Zibanejad, a duo that will be around for a while as Zibanejad is also inked through the 2029-30 campaign.  Vincent Trocheck is also in the mix, signed through the 2028-29 season so they now have plenty of stability at that position for the foreseeable future.

As for the other pieces heading to New York, Brannstrom was once a highly-touted prospect after being a first-round pick for Vegas back in 2017.  However, his offensive game – his calling card growing up – hasn’t quite materialized in the pros and he has bounced around since then; this will be his third team of the season after spending training camp with Colorado before being moved to Vancouver.  Brannstrom has eight points in 28 NHL games this year but cleared waivers earlier this month and had been with AHL Abbotsford before the swap.  The 25-year-old has a $900K cap hit (which wouldn’t count against the cap if he remains in the minors for New York) and will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.

Dorrington, meanwhile, was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver in 2022, going 176th overall.  He has spent the past three seasons at Northeastern University and has 10 points in 23 games for the Huskies in 2024-25.  Dorrington will have one year of college eligibility remaining after this season so he could be a near-term addition to New York’s farm system.

Chytil is the headliner of the swap for the Canucks in terms of the players they’re getting back.  The 25-year-old was originally expected to be part of New York’s long-term plans down the middle after they made him the 21st pick in 2017.  However, Chytil has dealt with considerable concussion issues throughout his career which has caused him to miss significant time, including 72 games just last season.

However, Chytil isn’t too far removed from his best offensive season when he collected 22 goals and 23 assists in 72 games back in 2022-23, solid second-line production.  He’s not too far off that pace this year either as he has 11 goals and nine helpers through 41 appearances.  He’s averaging less than 15 minutes a game this season but if he lands on the second line behind Pettersson, it’s possible that Chytil could be in line for a bit of a bigger role with his new team.  For his career, he has 164 points in 378 games.

Vancouver will be taking on a multi-year commitment with Chytil as well although he isn’t signed quite as long as Miller.  He has a $4.4375MM cap charge on his contract through the 2026-27 season and will be an unrestricted free agent at its expiration.  Accordingly, a big portion of this trade for the Canucks will be some increased salary cap flexibility moving forward.

As for Mancini, the 22-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract after wrapping up his college career last season.  He has played in 15 games with the Rangers this year, picking up a goal and four assists in a little over 15 minutes a night before being sent back to AHL Hartford last month to get more playing time.  In 23 games with the Wolf Pack, he has three goals and seven assists.  If he isn’t recalled directly to Vancouver, Mancini stands to be one of their top recall options whenever injuries arise.

From a salary cap perspective, the Rangers still have ample cap space to work with as PuckPedia puts them with a little over $3.5MM in projected cap room thanks to their early-season trade of Jacob Trouba.  Meanwhile, PuckPedia pegs Vancouver with a little less than $2.7MM in space which gives them some breathing room to try to bank some extra flexibility between now and the trade deadline to try to add to their roster and turn around their recent struggles.

For the production and role that Miller has had for most of his time with Vancouver, this return is on the low side but the internal rift clearly became too much, resulting in the Canucks taking a below-market return.  Nonetheless, if Chytil can do well with his new team and the Canucks properly use their extra draft, prospect, and cap capital, they could still come out of this in decent shape.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that talks between the two sides about Miller were intensifying and was first with Brannstrom and Dorrington’s inclusions.  TSN’s Farhan Lalji originally reported Chytil being in the swap.  Larry Brooks of the New York Post was first with the details on the pick protection.

Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.

Canucks’ Erik Brännström Clears Waivers

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Jan. 13: Brännström cleared waivers on Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He may now be assigned to AHL Abbotsford at will.

Jan. 12: The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Erik Brännström on waivers, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK. Brännström hasn’t appeared in Vancouver’s lineup since Dec. 31.

Vancouver successfully waived Brännström before the start of the regular season and moved him between the NHL and AHL four times during the month of the waiver exemption he received. He became waiver-eligible once more in early November and has served as Vancouver’s seventh defenseman ever since.

Brännström has been under scrutiny for the past few seasons. The Golden Knights drafted him 15th overall in 2017, taking him just a few picks before players like Joshua Norris, Robert Thomas, and Jake Oettinger, and quickly flipped him to Ottawa in a deal for Mark Stone.

Brännström played one more year in Sweden’s SHL after his draft selection, posting 15 points in 44 games – impressive for a 19-year-old defender – and moved to the AHL in 2018-19. He continued to score well in North America, posting a collective 53 points in 77 games between his first two years in the AHL.

But he’s struggled to carry that productivity to the top flight. It took Brännström 40 career games before he managed his first NHL goal and five full seasons before he reached 20 points.

He finally hit that mark in 76 games with Ottawa last season, the most he’s played in one NHL campaign. That boost in scoring suggested that Brännström was a bright gem in a muddy role, sparking the Colorado Avalanche to sign him to a one-year, $900K contract this summer – and then trade him to the Canucks for a fourth-round pick in October.

Brännström worked his way up from Vancouver’s bottom pair to start the season and even managed a few games on the top pair in November and December. But he’s again struggled to score, with just eight points in 28 games this season.

Having already cleared waivers once this season, Brännström doesn’t seem a likely candidate to land somewhere new with this move. Instead, he’ll likely pass through clean and return to bouncing between the major and minor rosters.

He has three assists in two AHL games this season. Maybe returning to that hot scoring could be enough to help the 25-year-old defender finally find his footing as an NHL hopeful.

Pacific Notes: Brännström, Bains, Dellandrea, Couture

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With a game tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks are continuing their tradition of an off-day paper transaction. Typical recipients Erik Brännström and Arshdeep Bains are back on the NHL roster for tomorrow’s action as announced by the organization.

It’s the fourth time this season that both players have been involved in a paper transaction. The Canucks are continuing to accrue cap space with both players off the roster with a projected deadline cap space of $8.75MM according to PuckPedia.

Neither player has been an eye-popping talent for Vancouver to start the year, but they have been noticeable in their own ways. Brännström has tallied one assist in six contests with a +3 rating while averaging 14:15 of ice time per game, while Bains has recorded one goal in six games while distributing 10 hits in the process.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reported that San Jose Sharks forward Ty Dellandrea’s injury status has been demoted to day-to-day. Dellandrea suffered the injury on October 26th against the Vegas Golden Knights and the team officially put him on the injured reserve two days later. Players on the shelf must spend at least seven days on the injured reserve meaning the Sharks can activate Dellandrea on November 5th. However, it appears he’ll be medically cleared before that.
  • Still in San Jose — arguably the most important player in the locker room is not expected back anytime soon. Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports Sharks’ captain Logan Couture still hasn’t resumed skating although he is staying involved with the team. Couture is unfortunately still suffering from Osteitis pubis which limited him to only six regular season matchups last year and has prohibited him from taking the ice up to this point in the 2024-25 campaign.

Pacific Notes: Celebrini, Montour, Brännström, Bains

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Sharks rookie center Macklin Celebrini returned to the ice today for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in the season opener, the team relayed to reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He’s now missed 10 games with the ailment and will miss his 11th tonight when San Jose hosts the Blackhawks. There’s still no change in his status, the team stressed – he remains week-to-week, so it could be well into November before the 2024 first-overall pick hits the ice again.

The 18-year-old’s NHL debut against the Blues earlier this month was a mixed bag. He scored his first NHL goal and added an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss. But he went just 1-for-14 on faceoffs, and he was hemmed in at even strength. The Sharks were out-attempted 31-12 with Celebrini on the ice.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been a tough go for the Sharks with or without Celebrini in the lineup. They remain last in the league with a 2-7-2 record, although they have rattled off back-to-back wins against Utah and the Kings. Their 2.45 goals per game are up slightly from last year’s 2.20, and Celebrini should both help and stand to benefit from that offensive uptick under first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • The Kraken will be without their top two offensive defenders against the Maple Leafs tonight. Vince Dunn is already on long-term injured reserve, and Brandon Montour will now be out as he heads home to be present for the birth of his daughter, Terry Koshan of The Toronto Sun reports. With Dunn missing most of the young campaign, Montour has taken the reins and is tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals and five assists in 10 games. He’s averaging 23:42 per game and had his first career hat trick in his most recent outing, an 8-2 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. It’s been a strong start for the 30-year-old, who signed a seven-year, $50MM contract with the Kraken in free agency over the summer.
  • The Canucks have papered defenseman Erik Brännström and winger Arshdeep Bains down to AHL Abbotsford, a move they’ve made multiple times this season to accrue cap space and delay the expiration of the former’s waiver exemption. Both will be back on the roster ahead of Saturday’s game in San Jose. Brännström especially has been strong in a depth role since coming over from the Avalanche in an early season trade, posting an assist and a +3 rating in six appearances while averaging 14:15 per game. The Canucks have controlled 53.5% of shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength.

Canucks Recall Erik Brännström, Arshdeep Bains

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Oct. 28: As expected, yesterday’s transactions were a paper move. Both Bains and Brännström are back up today, the team announced.

Oct. 27: The Vancouver Canucks have assigned forward Arshdeep Bains and defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. Bains recorded the first goal and point of his NHL career in Saturday night’s win over Pittsburgh. Both players have recorded one point through four games with Vancouver this season.

Bains made the Canucks roster out of training camp, surviving through the final roster cuts to vindicate a strong AHL season last year. He scored 16 goals and 55 points in 59 games, working his way up the Abbotsford lineup and even earning eight NHL games – though he didn’t record any scoring. It was Bains’ second year of pro hockey, scoring 38 points in 66 AHL games as a rookie. He’s Vancouver born-and-raised, playing locally until he moved to the Red Deer Rebels at the age of 17. It took a lowly 18 points in 63 games as a WHL rookie to help Bains find his footing, but he’d ultimately record 209 points across 257 games and five games in juniors. That includes a 112-point season to cap off his time in Red Deer – enough to convince Vancouver to sign him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He’ll return to a familiar role in Abbotsford, though his brief stint at the top flight could suggest more to come.

Brannstrom started the year in the minors – a surprising move after he followed a summer signing in Colorado by being traded to Vancouver. He earned a recall after two games and three assists with Abbotsford, though he hasn’t held onto his spark with Vancouver. Brannstrom will be under the microscope this season, finally moving away from a six-year stint with the Ottawa Senators that didn’t yield much. He managed 69 points across 266 games with Ottawa, and never managed to maintain a top-four role. That includes a career-high 20 points last season. But despite that jump to modest production, Brannstrom will still need to prove his worth to the Canucks before he nets an everyday role.

Canucks Recall Erik Brännström, Arshdeep Bains

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Oct. 25: Both Brännström and Bains are back on the NHL roster today, according to Allvin. The moves were solely a paper transaction to accrue cap space, although Forbort could still be good to return for their next game.

Oct. 24: The Canucks sent defenseman Erik Brännström and winger Arshdeep Bains to AHL Abbotsford today, per general manager Patrik Allvin.

Brännström heads back to the minors with fellow defender Derek Forbort, who’s ready to return from a brief personal leave, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. Forbort never landed on the non-roster list, so the Canucks’ active roster is now at 21 players with the two reassignments.

The Canucks had three games over the past week with Forbort out and Brännström on the roster. The 25-year-old Swede played in all of them, recording an assist and a +2 rating while averaging 13:23 per game. The 2017 first-round pick struggled to control possession quality in his limited and sheltered minutes, posting a 33.3 xGF%. It was quantity over quality for Brännström, who controlled total shot attempts at even strength with a 52.1 CF%.

It was an okay showing for the recent trade pickup from the Avalanche, but not enough to keep him in the NHL. On Oct. 6, Vancouver acquired Brännström, who signed a one-year, $900K deal with Colorado over the summer, via trade, sending defenseman Tucker Poolman the other way to give the Avs some long-term injured reserve flexibility. He was placed on waivers that same day and cleared without incident. He had three assists and a +3 rating in two games for Abbotsford before getting the call-up to replace Forbort.

Bains, meanwhile, was left off the Canucks’ opening night roster but was recalled ahead of their second game of the season. The 23-year-old has made three appearances and scratched twice since. He’s still looking for his first NHL point after going scoreless this year and also in an eight-game trial last season. The hometown kid posted a -1 rating and had just one shot on goal while in the lineup this season, averaging 12:38 per game.

However, the pending RFA is still an intriguing prospect. An undrafted free agent signing out of WHL Red Deer in 2022, he’s far from a finished product and will get a lengthy runway to continue to build confidence in Abbotsford. He posted 55 points (16 G, 39 A) in 59 games for them last year, earning a spot on the AHL All-Star Game roster.

Canucks Recall Erik Brännström

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The Canucks have recalled defenseman Erik Brännström from AHL Abbotsford, the team announced. He comes up to the active roster with Derek Forbort being granted personal leave. The Canucks had an open roster spot and $1.3MM in current cap space, so no corresponding transaction is necessary, and Forbort remains on the active roster for now, although he could be shifted to non-roster if need be.

Brännström, 25, planned on spending this season in Colorado after inking a one-year deal worth $900K with the Avalanche on the second day of free agency. However, an evidently underwhelming training camp and the Avs’ need for cap flexibility led them to trade him to Vancouver earlier this month in exchange for $2MM worth of LTIR-bound defenseman Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round pick.

The Canucks waived Brännström immediately after acquiring him, and no one placed a claim for the 2017 15th overall pick. That meant his first AHL action in three seasons, and he’s responded well with three assists and a +3 rating through Abbotsford’s first two games of the campaign.

It’s been a tough go of things for Brännström over the past few months. After recording a career-high 20 points (3 G, 17 A) in 76 games with the Senators last season, he was unexpectedly non-tendered and hit the UFA market three years ahead of when he’d otherwise be eligible. Possession control was an issue for Brännström during his final season in Ottawa, though, posting a negative relative CF% figure for the first time in his career. Otherwise, the Swedish blue-liner has had far better defensive metrics than his reputation indicates, albeit in mostly third-pairing minutes.

Brännström has only ever suited up in the NHL for the Sens, who acquired him from Vegas in 2019 as part of the Mark Stone trade. He’s made 266 appearances in parts of six seasons, scoring seven goals and 62 assists for 69 points with a -13 rating while averaging 16:52 per game. While a decent puck-mover with historically positive possession impacts, he doesn’t lay the body and can be quite giveaway-prone, recording a career-high 52 last season with just 22 takeaways.

The left-shot defender will likely replace Forbort in the lineup tonight against the Panthers, with either Vincent Desharnais or Noah Juulsen on his right (they’ve both seen time alongside Forbort in third-pairing duties thus far this season). Forbort, 32, is also an offseason addition, inking a one-year, $1.5MM deal shortly after free agency opened. He has an assist, a -1 rating, and three shots on goal through his first three games as a Canuck while averaging 16:53 per game.

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