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Max Sasson

Canucks Reassign Braeden Cootes, To Recall Max Sasson

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According to head coach Adam Foote (per Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor), the Vancouver Canucks will reassign forward Braeden Cootes to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Vancouver will recall forward Max Sasson from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks in a corresponding roster move. The Canucks confirmed Cootes’s reassignment, but didn’t do the same with Sasson’s recall.

So ends Cootes’s improbable run to the Canucks roster to start the 2025-26 campaign. Vancouver selected Cootes with the 15th overall pick of this past summer’s draft, and he cracked the team’s opening night roster after an impressive training camp and preseason. On October 9th, Cootes became the first 18-year-old to play for the Canucks since fellow first-round selection, Petr Nedvěd in 1990. 

His debut will end after three games. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native went scoreless, earning a -2 rating while averaging 10:47 of ice time in a largely sheltered role. Further, his 28.1% CorsiFor% at even strength and -1.8 Expected +/- indicates that Cootes may not have been as ready for the show as previously believed. Ahead of an upcoming five-game road trip, it has become the right time to move Cootes into a more comfortable environment.

He won’t have to travel very far to rejoin his old team. Located approximately 140 miles south of Vancouver, Cootes will continue his season with the Thunderbirds, where he scored 26 goals and 63 points in 60 games as the team’s captain. He was even more impressive on Team Canada for the U18 World Junior Championships, scoring six goals and 12 points in seven games, and capturing the gold medal against Team Sweden.

Replacing Cootes in the lineup will be a familiar face from last season. Sasson played in 29 games for the Canucks last year, scoring three goals and seven points while averaging 10:20 of ice time per game. Although he didn’t offer much on offense, he was an exceptional defensive forward, managing a 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength. Still, he may have another offensive gear to his game, considering he finished last year with 13 goals and 32 points in 41 games with AHL Abbotsford.

Canucks Re-Sign Four Players

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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.

Minor Transactions: 4/17/25

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With several teams seeing their 2024-25 seasons come to an end in recent days (with more to come tonight), there has been an influx of players being returned to the minors.  We’ll keep track of the moves that have not been already covered here.

  • The Ducks have returned wingers Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo to AHL San Diego, per a team release. Nesterenko played in a career-best 20 games with Anaheim this season, potting four goals and two assists.  With the Gulls, he has 13 goals and 21 assists in 48 contests.  As for Colangelo, he had ten goals and two helpers in 32 NHL outings while he’s just shy of a point per game in the minors with 35 points in 38 contests.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defensemen Kirill Kudryavtsev and Victor Mancini, forwards Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, and Ty Mueller, along with goaltender Nikita Tolopilo to AHL Abbotsford. Raty, Sasson, and Karlsson saw the most action with Vancouver this season with Raty being the most productive with 11 points in 33 appearances.  Mancini got into 16 games after being acquired in the J.T. Miller swap, while the other three all made their respective NHL debuts in recent days.  They will be big additions to an Abbotsford team who has been the hottest team in the league over the last several weeks.
  • The Devils announced that they’ve returned forwards Mike Hardman and Marc McLaughlin to AHL Utica. Both players were recalled on Wednesday and suited up in their regular season finale.  Hardman had an assist in two NHL games while contributing 35 points with the Comets.  As for McLaughlin, his NHL season wrapped up with two goals and three assists in 14 games between New Jersey and Boston while adding 19 points in 48 outings between their respective AHL franchises.

Canucks Recall Max Sasson

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With the Canucks dealing with more injuries up front with Nils Aman leaving practice early Friday and Nils Hoglander’s availability in question, they’ve added some extra forward depth.  Per the NHL’s Media Site, Vancouver has once again recalled winger Max Sasson from AHL Abbotsford.

It’s the eighth recall of the season for the 24-year-old NHL rookie.  Sasson has played in 24 games with Vancouver this season, collecting two goals and four assists while averaging a little over ten minutes a night of playing time.  However, none of those appearances have come since late January as aside from a brief recall late last month, he has exclusively played in the minors.

Sasson had a strong first professional year in 2023-24, picking up 18 goals and 24 assists in 56 games with Abbotsford.  Despite the frequent travel to and from the big club, he has produced at a similar clip in terms of per-game numbers this year, tallying 10 goals and 17 helpers through 39 AHL appearances.

While not specified, it’s likely that Sasson’s recall will qualify as an emergency one given the uncertainty with the injuries to Raty and Hoglander.  Accordingly, it won’t count against their post-deadline regular recall limit of four.

Canucks Recall Max Sasson

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The Canucks announced that they have recalled forward Max Sasson from AHL Abbotsford under emergency conditions. He will give Vancouver a forward to insert into the lineup for tonight’s road game against the Blue Jackets if there’s an unexpected absence. If he doesn’t play, the Canucks must return him to the minors tomorrow. Vancouver’s active roster now stands at 26.

Sasson, 24, gets added to the NHL roster for the seventh time this season, his first recall in nearly two months. Undrafted, the Canucks signed him to an entry-level contract out of Western Michigan in 2023.

At the time, Sasson was coming off a breakout sophomore campaign with the Broncos that saw him post 15-27–42 with a +20 rating in 38 games. The center finished the year with three points in 13 combined regular-season and playoff games for Abbotsford on a tryout before his ELC with the Canucks went into effect for the 2023-24 campaign.

That minimal offensive production wasn’t a sign of things to come for Sasson. In his first professional season, the Michigan native seamlessly transitioned to top-six minutes for Abbotsford, finishing fifth on the team in scoring last year with 18-24–42 in 56 games with a +14 rating. His performance didn’t warrant an in-season call-up, but it did vault him up the depth chart heading into 2024-25.

Sasson’s minor-league offense has dipped slightly this season from 0.75 points per game to 0.70 (9-17–26 in 37 AHL GP). The good news is he’s been a serviceable fourth-line center when called upon by the big club. Through his first 24 NHL appearances, the Michigan native has 2-4–6 with a plus-three rating, averaging 10:06 per game. He’s recorded 13 blocks and 14 hits and averages just over a shot on goal per game. His possession numbers are average, posting a 47.4 CF% at even strength that mirrors the Canucks’ CF% without him on the ice. As expected for a rookie, one area of concern is faceoffs – he’s 26-for-62 on draws, a 41.9% win rate.

At 24 years old, he’s not considered a prospect. Still, he has done enough in his two years in Vancouver to prove himself a reliable call-up option – even giving himself a chance to make the opening night roster next fall as a cheap extra skater. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer. PuckPedia relays he’s owed a qualifying offer of $813,750 and will be eligible for salary arbitration.

Canucks Announce Four Roster Moves

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The Canucks will get some help tonight versus Nashville as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Dakota Joshua and defenseman Noah Juulsen have been activated off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, winger Kiefer Sherwood was placed on injured reserve while winger Max Sasson was assigned to AHL Abbotsford.

Joshua had missed nearly the last four weeks with a leg injury.  It has been a tough year overall for him as his start to the campaign was delayed while recovering from testicular cancer.  Upon returning, he wasn’t as impactful as he was last season.  He has two goals and two assists through 24 outings although his physicality is still present as he has 83 hits while logging 12:21 per night with limited time on special teams.

As for Juulsen, he landed on IR retroactively last week with an undisclosed injury.  He winds up missing a little over two weeks with the issue.  Juulsen has played in 32 games this season, predominantly on Vancouver’s third pairing.  He’s still looking for his first point but does have 57 blocks and 89 hits in 16:34 of playing time per night, the highest that number has been since the 2018-19 season.

Sherwood has been a nice addition to Vancouver’s bottom six group this season.  He has recorded 13 goals and eight assists in 47 games while recording a league-high 273 hits; for comparison, no other player has reached 185.  He left last Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury and assuming they back-date his placement, Sherwood will be eligible to return as soon as Friday versus Dallas.

Sasson loses his roster spot to make the activations happen.  He has been up with Vancouver for six separate stints this season, spanning 24 games altogether where he has two goals and four assists in a little over 10 minutes a night.  After putting up 42 points in 56 AHL games last season, Sasson’s per-game numbers are down a bit with Abbotsford this year although he still has nine points in 16 outings.

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.

Vancouver Canucks Assign Three Players To AHL

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Like every team in the National Hockey League, the Vancouver Canucks have played their final game before the short holiday break. Per the AHL transactions page, the Canucks have papered down forwards Phillip Di Giuseppe, Max Sasson, and Linus Karlsson bringing their roster down a minimum of 18 skaters and two goalies.

The roster moves will give Vancouver a relatively large window of salary cap relief despite all three players earning below $900K on their current contracts. The Canucks don’t play until Saturday when they take on the Seattle Kraken meaning all three players will likely be recalled then.

The veteran Di Giuseppe played in three games for Vancouver during his recent call-up from December 17th to today, tallying two assists and 12 hits while averaging 12:39 of ice time. He’ll likely spend more time on the Canucks roster for the rest of the season after returning from an injury earlier in the year. Di Giuseppe is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM agreement signed with Vancouver and can bring quality defensive play toward the bottom of the lineup.

Sasson, the second forward included in today’s transaction, is starting to rack up playing time in the NHL. The former Western Michigan University standout has scored one goal and five points in 12 games for the Canucks this season and has seen his ice time climb to or near 13 minutes in three of his last four games. There’s a legitimate chance his playing days in the AHL are over for the foreseeable future unless Vancouver makes a notable outside addition to their bottom six.

Karlsson also sustained an early-season injury keeping him out of the lineup for both Vancouver and the Abbotsford Canucks for much of the 2024-25 regular season. He’s gotten off to a hot start in Abbotsford scoring five goals and six points in seven games but he failed to find the scoresheet during his pair of contests in the NHL. He’s an interesting offensive weapon Vancouver could toy with toward the bottom of their forward grouping given that Karlsson is only a year removed from scoring 23 goals and 60 points in 60 AHL games.

Canucks Recall Four From AHL

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The Canucks have brought up some reinforcements before their game tonight against Boston.  The team announced (Twitter link) that forwards Aatu Raty and Max Sasson along with defenseman Mark Friedman were recalled from AHL Abbotsford, reversing the paper assignments from Friday as expected.  However, they also revealed that they’ve recalled goaltender Arturs Silovs using the emergency goaltender exemption.

Raty, Sasson, and Friedman have all been shuffled back and forth in an effort to keep Vancouver out of LTIR and banking as much cap space as possible.  Raty has four points in 20 games so far this season while Sasson has four assists in nine outings with the Canucks.  Playing time has been harder to come by for Friedman who has suited up just twice so far.

As for Silovs, he has spent most of the season on Vancouver’s roster with Thatcher Demko being sidelined for the first couple of months.  However, he wasn’t able to play at the same level as he did last season and in the playoffs as he struggled to a 4.11 GAA and a .847 SV% in his first seven outings, leading to his re-assignment to the minors recently.

Vancouver only had three open roster spots (stemming from the three paper demotions yesterday) which meant that the Canucks had to use this exemption.  Teams are limited to using this for a maximum of two times per season and Silovs can only be on the roster on this exemption for 48 hours.  He’s taking the place of Kevin Lankinen as head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link) that the netminder is dealing with the flu.

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