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Guillaume Brisebois

Pacific Division Paper Transactions: Kerins, Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, Olofsson

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According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, the Calgary Flames have reassigned forward Rory Kerins to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Pike adds that Kerins’ reassignment is a cap-related move and indicates Kerins should be back on the NHL roster by Monday.

It’s a testament to Kerins development that the Flames have no interest in keeping him with AHL Calgary. He’s gotten off to an impressive start in his NHL career with four assists in his first four games with a +4 rating averaging 13:33 of ice time per game. It shouldn’t be a surprise given Kerins has already scored 21 goals and 34 points in 34 games for the Wranglers this season.

Kerins will likely reprise his role as a full-time AHLer once forward Connor Zary is activated from the team’s injured reserve. Kerins is the only waiver-exempt forward on the roster outside of Matthew Coronato and Calgary will likely want to keep their fourth highest-scoring player on the roster. The only avenue for additional playing time at the NHL level for Kerins is if the Flames make a trade from the active roster or place one of their eight defensemen on waivers.

Other paper transactions from the Pacific Division:

  • The Vancouver Canucks are again making a cap-related transaction on one of their off-days. Vancouver announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimaki has been more oft-used by the club this season scoring two goals and one assist in 11 games this year averaging 13:47 of ice time per game.
  • Finishing off the list of cap-related transactions is the Seattle Kraken who have reassigned defenseman Gustav Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (per a team announcement). Oloffson has been in an unenviable position with the Kraken this season having been recalled on three separate occasions but has been healthy scratched for every available opportunity.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Three Players

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Jan. 16: As expected, the team announced all three players have been recalled from Abbotsford again.

Jan. 15: The Vancouver Canucks have sent three players back to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, in a transaction likely categorized as a paper move. Defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Max Sasson are included in the transaction but will likely be recalled tomorrow.

Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, and Sasson are the only three waiver-exempt players on the active roster for the Canucks giving context to today’s move. Brisebois normally wouldn’t be exempt from waivers but has already cleared the waiver wire in late September and hasn’t played in 10 or more games with Vancouver nor has he spent more than 30 days on the active roster.

The 27-year-old defenseman has spent his entire eight-year professional career in the Canucks organization and played in his first NHL action since the 2022-23 season this year. Injuries limited him to only eight AHL contests last year but he’s already accrued 23 this season scoring one goal overall. He has been quite limited in his time on ice in Vancouver, averaging 15:48 of ice time throughout just three games this year.

Lekkerimaki likely has the highest name recognition of the three players reassigned as the first-round pick of the Canucks in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s scored 12 goals and 17 points in 21 games for AHL Abbotsford this season but hasn’t been able to translate the goal-scoring to the NHL level yet. Still, he’s scored two goals and one assist in 10 games for Vancouver while being limited to only 13:52 of ice time per game. Should the Canucks trade any top-six forwards off the active roster leading up to the trade deadline, Lekkerimaki may get an expanded look down the stretch.

Sasson is the only member of the trio to register more than 10 games for the Canucks this season. He’s been an effective bottom-six winger during his rookie campaign scoring two goals and six points in 19 games. He hasn’t produced the best possession numbers, which isn’t uncommon for a rookie, but he’s quickly become one of the better defensive forwards on the team with a 94.7% on-ice save percentage while at even strength.

Canucks Recall Three, Hughes And Pettersson Doubtful For Saturday

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The Vancouver Canucks made three recalls today, bringing forwards Phil Di Giuseppe and Max Sasson up to the big club from Abbotsford as well as defenseman Guillaume Brisebois. The moves were likely made as a precaution since it appears that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be able to play tomorrow night (as per Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army).

The 31-year-old Di Giuseppe is a veteran of 285 NHL games and has dressed in three NHL games this season for Vancouver, posting two assists. The nine-year veteran was in the AHL for just a handful of days and didn’t play during that time, earning his AHL salary of $500K rather than the $775K he earns at the NHL level. He played three times for Vancouver last week, including this past Monday night against San Jose.

Sasson has provided solid depth scoring this season, both in the NHL and AHL. With Vancouver this season, the 24-year-old has a goal and four helpers in 12 games, while in the AHL his offensive numbers are a shade better, posting four goals and five assists in 16 games. The Birmingham, Michigan native was undrafted out of the USHL and has carved out a solid but brief professional career thus far, reaching the NHL in his second full season of pro hockey.

Brisebois returns to Vancouver after having spent the entire season with Abbotsford. The 27-year-old dressed in 17 NHL games two seasons ago but has not seen NHL action since. It’s unlikely he will dress tomorrow night as the Canucks have seven healthy defensemen right now, and Brisebois will most likely serve as the seventh defender. Brisebois has just a single goal in 23 AHL games this season.

As far as the injuries to Pettersson and Hughes go, both players were being re-evaluated today by Canucks medical staff before the team makes a final judgement on their availability tomorrow.

Guillaume Brisebois, Jett Woo Clear Waivers

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9/27: The Canucks announced that both Brisebois and Woo cleared waivers and they will be assigned to AHL Abbotsford.

9/26: The Canucks placed defensemen Guillaume Brisebois and Jett Woo on waivers Thursday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. They’re the first training camp cuts from across the league this season who are not waiver-exempt.

Teams now have 24 hours to place claims for either player. If none are placed, both players can be assigned to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks on Friday. Waiver priority is still decided by the reverse order of last season’s standings until Nov. 1.

Brisebois, 27, is entering his eighth professional season. All of them have come with the Canucks organization. A third-round pick in 2015, Brisebois was limited to just eight games last season with an upper-body injury that delayed his season debut until March. He posted zeros across the board in eight games with Abbotsford after clearing waivers.

The Quebec native has made 27 NHL appearances, a career-high 17 of which came in the 2022-23 campaign. He’s scored once and added two assists, posting a -7 rating and 38 blocks while averaging 14:15 per game.

A serviceable stay-at-home defender at the AHL level with good skating ability, Brisebois will almost certainly clear waivers and look to re-establish himself as a regular in Abbotsford. He’s made 249 career AHL appearances for Vancouver’s affiliates in Abbotsford and Utica, posting 60 points and a +31 rating. He’s in the second season of a two-year, $1.55MM extension he signed in 2023 that carries a one-way salary structure this year, so he’ll be well-compensated with a $775K salary even if he spends the entire year in the minors.

Woo, 24, lands on pre-season waivers for the second year in a row. The 2018 second-round pick was recalled on a few occasions last season for injury insurance but didn’t manage to get into a game. He’s still yet to make his NHL debut, playing all four of his professional seasons thus far entirely for Abbotsford or Utica. He’s logged 19 goals, 46 assists, 65 points, and a +18 rating in 200 games on the farm. He is coming off a career-high 31 points in 2023-24, so he may be a name to watch for a mid-season recall if injuries strike in Vancouver.

Pacific Notes: Flames, DeAngelo, Brisebois

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With the Flames heading into what looks to be a longer-term rebuild, there has been speculation that some of their remaining veterans might want a change of scenery.  However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), GM Craig Conroy appears to be taking more of a wait-and-see approach with his current roster:

His plan is to start the year, see how it goes, and then decide what he’s going to do with some of these players. He’s asked his players to keep an open mind, see how this year goes, and then he’ll start looking at what he might need to do or what they want to do.

While some rebuilding teams have been okay with tearing it down and enduring some rough losing seasons, Conroy has talked about staying competitive during this stretch.  Accordingly, it makes sense that he’d like to hold onto his remaining veteran core for the time being.  Projected to operate just $3MM above the cap floor per PuckPedia, if the time comes to move a high-priced veteran, Conroy will have to make sure any move wouldn’t put them below that lower limit.

More from the Pacific:

  • Unrestricted free agent Tony DeAngelo expressed an interest in attending Oilers camp on a PTO deal but it appears the team has said no, suggests Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. The 28-year-old is a right-shot defender, the side the team appears to be prioritizing but while he has a track record of some offensive success (with two 50-plus-point seasons), last season was a struggle for DeAngelo who managed just 11 points in 31 games while being a frequent healthy scratch.  That certainly hasn’t helped his market so far in free agency.
  • Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has fully recovered after dealing with a recurrence of concussion symptoms that cost him most of last season, relays Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. The 27-year-old only played in eight late-season games in the AHL in 2023-24 due to the symptoms.  Brisebois has 27 career NHL appearances under his belt, all coming with Vancouver as he is the longest-contracted player in the organization having been signed to them since late in 2015.

Vancouver Canucks Place Guillaume Brisebois On Waivers

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Guillaume Brisebois on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Abbotsford. Brisebois has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve for the entirety of the season after suffering a lower-body injury during training camp.

Drafted 66th overall by the Canucks organization back in the 2015 NHL Draft, injuries have prohibited Brisebois from becoming a full-time member of Vancouver’s defensive core. With month-long injuries keeping him out of action in 2021 and 2022, this recent injury to Brisebois has kept him away from the organization for five months.

Only accruing 27 NHL games under his belt in the last six seasons, Brisebois has been much more of a fixture in Vancouver’s AHL affiliates, playing for both the Utica Comets and Abbotsford Canucks over his career. In 241 games played for the Canucks’ AHL affiliates, Brisebois has scored 14 goals and 60 points overall, while also tallying one assist in seven career playoff games.

Although concern for another injury is at an all-time high for Brisebois, there may still be an avenue for him to become a depth defenseman in Vancouver. With limited cap-space mobility, the Canucks currently have four defensemen set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1st, which may give Brisebois a pathway to make the full-time jump to the NHL.

Canucks Place Guillaume Brisebois On LTIR

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The Canucks announced Tuesday that defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has been placed on long-term injured reserve. In a corresponding transaction, forward Jack Studnicka was moved to the active roster after being brought up on emergency recall last Thursday.

Brisebois, 26, has not played yet in 2023-24 after sustaining a lower-body injury late in training camp. The 66th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft had remained on Vancouver’s roster as an extra skater but did not appear in their first two games of the season, both wins against the Oilers.

A mainstay with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate since turning pro in 2017, Brisebois played in a career-high 17 NHL games in 2022-23, recording his first NHL goal and adding two assists for three points along with a -2 rating. Averaging 16:32 per game, Brisebois’ defensive game didn’t translate well to the majors – he posted a rather aggressively low 37.6% Corsi share at even strength and averaged being on the ice for a goal against per game.

It’s unclear if Brisebois will remain on the roster once his LTIR stint is done or if he’ll be waived for the purpose of assignment to AHL Abbotsford once healthy. Assuming his LTIR placement is retroactive to the beginning of the season, he will be eligible to return for the Canucks’ game on November 4 against the Stars. Players on LTIR must miss at least ten games and 24 days of action.

Brisebois is in the first season of a two-year, $1.55MM extension signed with the Canucks in March. While the contract is a one-way deal in 2024-25, he’s still getting paid on a two-way structure this season – the minimum $775K in the NHL and $375K in the AHL.

Studnicka was brought up on emergency recall after cap constraints and injuries forced the Canucks to play short for their first of two games against the Oilers last week. Skating in a fourth-line role, Studnicka scored in 7:19 of ice time during the team’s 4-3 win over Edmonton on Saturday.

Canucks’ Carson Soucy Out Week-To-Week

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Oct. 8: Soucy is out on a week-to-week basis and is a likely candidate for injured reserve to begin the campaign, per Sportsnet’s Randip Janda.

Oct. 7: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy left Friday night’s preseason game against the Calgary Flames with an apparent injury. The team tweeted out the news late last night and haven’t released much information about the undisclosed ailment. There is also no word if the move to keep Soucy out of the game was a precautionary choice, or something else.

Soucy signed a three-year deal with the Canucks in the offseason and was expected to play a big role in their defensive unit. He left the game late in the second period after getting tangled up with Flames forward Yegor Sharangovich. On the play, the 29-year-old appeared to hurt his left knee, and while he stayed out for the rest of his shift, he went straight down the tunnel as soon as he got to the bench.

If Soucy is out for any length of time it could really cause issues for Vancouver’s defensive depth. The team is already dealing with an injury to Guillaume Brisebois who was likely to make the team, and with Soucy out they may not have a good option to fill in for the big rearguard. The Canucks are probably a bubble playoff team at best and will need a lot of good luck this season to get into the postseason.

The Canucks begin the regular season against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, October 11th.

West Notes: Thompson, Kurashev, Canucks

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Despite a big win for the Vegas Golden Knights against a divisional rival last night, there was a concerning setback near the end of the game. Goalie Logan Thompson, who was making his first appearance in 18 games after being sidelined with a left leg injury, left the team’s 3-2 win against the Calgary Fames with a lower-body injury.

Thompson left the game with less than 10 minutes remaining after making 37 saves on 39 shots. He was replaced by Jonathan Quick, who stopped all five shots he faced, helping the Golden Knights extend their lead atop the Western Conference. The team has not yet issued an update on Thompson’s status, but it’s something to watch out for in the coming days as the Pacific Division leaders approach the playoffs without the full health of their starter. It’s worth noting that in Thompson’s absence, Quick has been much-improved since joining the Golden Knights, posting a 5-1-0 record and a .908 save percentage.

More updates from the Western Conference on Friday:

Vancouver Canucks Extend Guillaume Brisebois

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The Vancouver Canucks announced today, through a team release, that defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has signed a contract extension. It is a two-year contract with the first year being a two-way deal and the second season being a one-way agreement.

The two-way deal in 2023-24 means Brisebois will earn a different salary if he is sent to the American Hockey League. In 2024-25, he will earn the same salary whether he playing in the NHL or AHL which guarantees an NHL payday for that season. Capfriendly confirmed the deal is worth $775,000 per season. If Brisebois plays in the minor leagues next season, he will earn $375,000.

The 25-year-old defender has split this season between the NHL’s Canucks and the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. He has one point in nine NHL games and one goal and six points in 36 AHL contests. Brisebois will add some depth to the Canucks blue line that saw Luke Schenn and Riley Stillman leave ahead of the trade deadline.

Brisebois was a third-round pick of the Canucks in 2015 and has appeared in 19 career NHL games for them so far in his career. He has also played 241 games in the AHL, taking strides this season to be among the most trusted defensemen in Abbotsford.

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