West Notes: Canucks, Lundkvist, Duchene, Pospisil
Under the new CBA rules, players sent to the minors must play in at least one game before being recalled. However, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the Canucks asked for a waiver of that rule as it applies to defenseman Victor Mancini. In order to maximize their LTIR pool when they moved Nils Hoglander on there, they needed to swap out Mancini for Jimmy Schuldt. Their hope was to get a waiver to allow them to immediately recall Mancini to the active roster since it wasn’t quite the same type of paper transactions that some teams engaged in daily in previous years. Considering the 23-year-old remains with AHL Abbotsford, it’s fair to say their request was denied but his stint in the minors is likely to be a short-lived one.
Elsewhere out West:
- The Stars announced Monday (Twitter link) that defenseman Nils Lundkvist was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The placement is retroactive to October 21st so he’s eligible to be activated as soon as Thursday although the expectation is that he’ll miss multiple weeks. The 25-year-old got off to a strong start to his season with three points in his first four games after recording just five assists in 39 outings in 2024-25. Notably, Dallas lacks the LTIR space required to recall a replacement so if they need one in the short term, they’ll likely have to move Lundkvist to LTIR at some point.
- Still with Dallas, Victory Plus’ Brian Rea relays (Twitter link) that the Stars will be without forward Matt Duchene tonight against Columbus. Originally listed as probable for this one, he’ll instead miss his second straight game due to an upper-body injury. After surpassing the 80-point mark for just the second time in his career last season, Duchene has a goal and an assist in his first two outings in 2025-26.
- Flames winger Martin Pospisil skated on his own for the first time on Monday as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury that has caused him to miss the first seven games of the season, notes Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The 25-year-old had 25 points and 301 hits in 81 games with Calgary last season. With Daniil Miromanov clearing waivers and being sent down today, the Flames now have an open roster spot to activate Pospisil when he’s cleared to return, barring any further roster movement between now and then.
Canucks Announce Multiple Roster Moves
4:15 p.m.: The Canucks have announced additional roster moves, reassigning Schuldt to Abbotsford and recalling defenseman Tom Willander and forward Nils Aman. The move adds an experienced center to the Canucks’ roster to help fill in for the loss of Chytil. Aman isn’t the caliber of player Chytil is, and won’t be able to bring the same level of offense, but he nonetheless has 130 games of NHL experience and offers some size and defensive reliability to head coach Adam Foote.
Willander, 20, appears to be a replacement for Mancini, as he is also a young right-shot blueliner. Willander was the 11th overall pick at the 2023 NHL draft and made his pro debut earlier this month with Abbotsford. He has spent the last two seasons playing college hockey at Boston University (scoring 49 points across 77 games) and with this recall is now eliigible to be dressed for an NHL game and has a chance to make his NHL debut.
11:11 a.m.: The Vancouver Canucks announced multiple roster moves, largely to maximize their LTIR capture. This morning, the Canucks shared that they’ve placed forwards Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimaki on the injured reserve (retroactive to October 19th), and have moved Nils Höglander to the LTIR (retroactive to October 7th).
Additionally, Vancouver has reassigned defenseman Victor Mancini to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, while recalling Joseph LaBate and Jimmy Schuldt in a corresponding roster move.
Unfortunately, the injury designation for Chytil was expected. The Canucks second-line center was on the receiving end of a massive hit from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson during yesterday’s contest, causing Chytil to leave the game prematurely. Although a major penalty was initally assessed, it was rescinded upon review, and no supplemental discipline is expected from the league’s Department of Player Safety.
Outside of losing a top-six center, there’s larger cause for concern with Chytil specifically. Throughout his time with the New York Rangers, Chytil suffered multiple concussions, limiting him to only 66 games from 2023 to 2025. Already dealing with a thin pool down the middle, Vancouver would struggle to put together a serviceable defensive core if Chytil is out long-term.
Meanwhile, Lekkerimaki also left last night’s game prematurely. Unlike Chytil, it was not as apparent what caused Lekkerimaki’s injury. Still, he was filling in for Brock Boeser, who missed the game for personal matters.
Lastly, Höglander’s move to the LTIR, as well as the roster moves, were purely based on financial reasons. The Canucks are already operating close to the upper limit of the salary cap, and they’ll maximize their LTIR capture via the move.
Hoglander is eligible to return after Vancouver’s October 26th matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, though it’s not apparent he’ll be ready to return at that point. Additionally, although he should be expected back on the roster relatively soon, Mancini must play in at least one AHL game before being eligible for recall, per the league’s new rules regarding paper transactions.
Canucks Recall Victor Mancini
12:01 p.m.: Joseph’s landing on IR is indeed the corresponding transaction, the Canucks announced. The placement is backdated to Sep. 30, so he’s eligible to return at any time.
9:48 a.m.: The Canucks are set to recall defenseman Victor Mancini from AHL Abbotsford, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. The team has since confirmed the move. While he wasn’t on the opening night roster the Canucks submitted yesterday, he will be eligible to play in Vancouver’s home opener on Thursday against the Flames.
Vancouver’s initial roster submission was at the 23-player limit, however. They’ll need to free up a roster spot before officially recalling Mancini. In all likelihood, that will be moving defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to injured reserve. He missed the Canucks’ preseason finale while dealing with what head coach Adam Foote called a minor issue, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy relayed at the time. He hasn’t practiced since, though, leaving his status for Vancouver’s first regular-season game in doubt. The Canucks can backdate Joseph’s IR placement to when he first sustained the injury, meaning he’ll have already missed the required seven days and could return as soon as this weekend.
Mancini, 23, was one of Vancouver’s final cuts from training camp. His waiver-exempt status meant he faced an uphill battle for a depth job over non-exempt veterans like Joseph. A 2022 fifth-round pick by the Rangers, he’s coming off his first professional season – one that saw him unexpectedly break camp with the Rangers last fall. He ended up making 31 NHL appearances as he bounced between the majors and the minors throughout the year, splitting them nearly evenly across New York and Vancouver after he was included in January’s blockbuster J.T. Miller trade.
The 6’3″ righty showed definite room for improvement in his two-way game. His 2-6–8 scoring line worked out to 0.26 points per game, more than passable for a rookie rearguard whose primary upside is as a defensive specialist. He failed to succeed at his calling card, though, posting some rather troublesome possession numbers despite being given a relatively advantageous deployment. Despite starting 53.9% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone, Mancini only controlled 40.3% of shot attempts – a nearly 12% relative downgrade compared to his teammates in both New York and Vancouver.
In 30 AHL appearances last year, Mancini netted four goals and nine assists for 13 points and a -4 rating. He added a 3-5–8 scoring line with a -6 rating in 24 playoff games as he helped Abbotsford to a Calder Cup championship.
Mancini carries an $870K cap hit and is kicking off the final season of his entry-level contract, making him a restricted free agent without arbitration rights next summer. The Canucks opened the year with $1.34MM in cap space, according to PuckPedia, leaving them enough room to call him up with Joseph (and Nils Höglander) still counting against the cap on IR.
Evening Notes: Markstrom, Willander, Mancini, NHL Top 10
The New Jersey Devils could be the next team to extend their starting goaltender. On the heels of a five-year, $34MM contract extension for Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, the Devils are now working out a new deal for Jacob Markstrom, per The Fourth Period. Markstrom is entering the final year of a six-year, $36MM contract originally signed with the Calgary Flames in 2020.
Markstrom earned a second-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting on the second year of his last contract, after posting 37 wins and a .922 save percentage in 63 games of the Flames’ 2021-22 season. He fell drastically in 2022, landing at a .895 save percentage in 59 games with Calgary, and only rebounded to a .905 in 48 games of 2023-24. That prompted a summer trade to greener pastures, landing Markstrom with a playoff contender in the New Jersey Devils. He posted a middling .900 save percentage in 49 games of his first season with the Devils. That’s far from the .910 mark that Markstrom routinely challenged at his peak, but on a well-rounded Devils squad, average numbers from the aging veteran have proven supportive enough. He is sure to take a big hit on both term and salary in his next contract, which could take him through the rest of his career.
Other notes from across the league:
- The Vancouver Canucks made a pair of important decisions earlier today. They have assigned top defense prospects Tom Willander and Victor Mancini to the minor-leagues, after both clung to the camp roster to nearly the final day. Mancini played his first full season in the pros last year. It was certainly eventful, spread between NHL and AHL ice time with the New York Rangers and Canucks, and ending with a Calder Cup win with the Abbotsford Canucks. In total, he recorded eight points in 31 NHL games and 21 points in 54 AHL games on the season. Meanwhile, Tom Willander was a core piece of the National Championship runner-up, the Boston University Terriers. He posted 24 points in 39 games with the club – one point fewer, in one game more, than he managed in his freshman season. Willander is nonetheless a pillar of consistency on both ends of the ice, and will look to prove that soon with his pro debut in Abbotsford.
- The NHL has announced their top-10 players, wrapping up their Top 50 Players series just two days before Opening Night. The list is, of course, headlined by Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. His teammate, Leon Draisaitl, holds the third spot, while Colorado Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar hold #2 and #4 respectively. The rest of the list includes, in turn: Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Jets goalie and reigning MVP Connor Hellebuyck, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Canucks defender Quinn Hughes. It’s hard to argue any other names should be featured on the list, though Panthers fans may feel salt in the wound seeing their captain, and perennial Selke Trophy candidate, landing in the top-10 on the heels of a season-ending injury.
Minor Transactions: 4/17/25
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.
Minor Transactions: 3/7/25
Similarly to the NHL, AHL playoff rosters are also due today before the trade deadline. Any player currently rostered in the AHL is eligible for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, regardless of a future call-up. Today’s list will continue to grow until the 3 p.m. deadline.
- According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Although the reassignment came with a formal announcement from the team, it should only serve as a paper transaction for Bichsel to ensure he’s eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs. The rookie defenseman has scored two goals and three assists in 20 games for the Stars this season, averaging 14:54 of ice time per night. He’s made his presence known by averaging over four hits a game, but he’s been on the wrong end of some highlight videos early in his NHL career. Dallas confirmed it as a paper transaction later, recalling Bichsel quickly after the deadline.
- As alluded to yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed the reassignment of netminder Aleksei Kolosov to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Given that he’s been Philadelphia’s third-string option for much of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kolosov’s reassignment extend beyond the trade deadline. The second-year netminder has a 4-8-1 record in 15 games with the Flyers this season with a .870 SV% and 3.45 GAA. His performance hasn’t been any better with AHL Lehigh Valley as he’s recorded a 2-4-1 record in seven AHL contests with a .874 SV% and 3.59 GAA.
- The Calgary Flames are making Adam Klapka available to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, per a team report. Similarly to Kolosov, this reassignment may extend through the deadline. Klapka has spent much of the year in AHL Calgary, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 31 contests. He’s been far less utilized by the Flames, registering one goal in 13 contests and averaging 8:10 of ice time per game.
- According to Andy Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey, the San Jose Sharks are expected to reassign defenseman Jimmy Schuldt and Jack Thompson to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. As a minor contextual update, Max Miller of The Hockey News believes Thompson’s reassignment is a paper transaction to make him eligible for the AHL postseason. Despite low scoring output, Thompson has been an effective defenseman for the Sharks this season, averaging a 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength, the best on the team among defensemen with more than 20 games played.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve reassigned forward Joseph Labate to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. As one of the most feel-good stories of the 2024-25 campaign, Labate took the ice in the NHL for the first time in eight years this season. The 31-year-old winger had spent the last several years bouncing around on AHL contracts with a one-year pitstop in the KHL. He scored six goals and 13 points in 33 games with AHL Cleveland before being elevated to an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets.
- After announcing that defenseman Colton Parayko would miss the next six weeks due to a knee injury, the St. Louis Blues were expected to make a recall on defense. The team announced that recall this morning, sharing that they’ve brought up Matthew Kessel from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Phoenix, AZ native has already spent time as a seventh defenseman for the Blues this season, tallying three assists in 27 games while averaging 13:05 of ice time per game.
- Strictly as a paper move, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned forward Colton Dach and defenseman Ethan Del Mastro to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Both players will remain in the Blackhawks’ lineup for the rest of the season before they are returned to AHL Rockford at the end of the season, should they qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Dach has scored two goals and six points in 18 games with Chicago, while Del Mastro has registered two goals and three points in 12 contests.
- As expected, the Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Carter Mazur on injured reserve one day after his debut. Mazur suffered a dislocated elbow approximately one minute into his NHL career, and he’s likely done for the regular season. In a corresponding transaction, the Red Wings have recalled forward Dominik Shine from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Shine is only a couple of weeks removed from signing the first NHL contract of his career, tallying one assist in four games for Detroit in late January.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced they’ve reassigned forward Owen Beck and goaltender Jakub Dobes to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for eligibility in the Calder Cup playoffs. Beck has been an extremely effective forward for the Rocket this year, scoring 13 goals and 32 points in 47 games. Meanwhile, Dobes has made a name for himself in Montreal, managing a 6-2-1 record in 10 games with a .909 SV% and 2.63 GAA, including one shutout.
- The Los Angeles Kings aren’t entirely sold on Brandt Clarke‘s future with the team. A report from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN this morning indicated the Kings were shopping Clarke on the trade market, and they’ve now reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, along with Samuel Helenius (Twitter Link). Both players should be back on the NHL roster tomorrow, with the move signifying they’ll be eligible for the AHL postseason. Still, it’s a notable development as it indicates Los Angeles may want Clarke in the AHL for the Reign’s postseason run rather than their own.
- According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned defenseman Riley Stillman to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Stillman filled in for Dmitry Orlov in last night’s contest but didn’t make it through the full game due to getting his face cut by a skate. He finished last night’s contest against the Boston Bruins with zero points after skating in 18 seconds of the game’s action.
- In addition to Schuldt and Thompson, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News shares that the Sharks have reassigned defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and forward Collin Graf to AHL San Jose. They’re both expected back on the Sharks’ roster later today or tomorrow, but the roster move will make them eligible for the AHL postseason. Mukhamadullin and Graf have both spent much of the year with the Barracuda. In short order, Pashelka reports the Sharks have recalled both players back to the NHL roster.
- Due to another injury to netminder John Gibson on Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks were expected to recall another goaltender. Anaheim announced they’ve recalled Ville Husso from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, to fill the void left by Gibson. It’s Husso’s first call-up with the Ducks since being acquired from the Red Wings on February 24th. He posted a 1-5-2 record in nine games in Detroit this season with a .866 SV% and 3.69 GAA.
- For the fifth time this year, the New York Rangers have assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Ruhwedel has primarily played for AHL Hartford this season in his first extended stay in the AHL since 2016-17. The veteran defenseman has recorded three goals and 12 points in 36 contests with a +8 rating.
- After a flurry of trade activity over the last couple of days, the Seattle Kraken are making a small roster move for the benefit of their AHL roster. The Kraken announced they’ve reassigned forwards Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and have recalled John Hayden in a corresponding transaction. The former debuted in the NHL last night, notching four hits and one takeaway in 9:53 of ice time.
- In a major boost to their playoff chances, the AHL’s Providence Bruins will have several players available for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports the Boston Bruins have papered down Marat Khusnutdinov, Vinni Lettieri, Patrick Brown, Ian Mitchell, Riley Tufte, and Matthew Poitras to the AHL for their postseason eligibility. All six players are expected back on the Bruins roster by this evening or tomorrow morning.
- As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have papered down forward Jiří Kulich to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Kulich has been an impressive player for AHL Rochester over the last few seasons and should continue to be in the postseason. He’s scored 53 goals and 94 points in 123 games on the Americans’ roster. Later in the day, the Americans announced that forwards Isak Rosen and Joshua Dunne were recalled on an emergency basis so they won’t count toward the post-deadline limit.
- According to a team announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have returned defenseman Cam Dineen to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, from his emergency recall. Unlike many of the roster moves on today’s list, Dineen has a solid chance of playing the remainder of the year with AHL Bakersfield. The 26-year-old defenseman has scored five goals and 29 points in 45 games for the Condors this season while only registering one game with the Oilers.
- In addition to recalling Emil Andrae, the Philadelphia Flyers are also making two more player recalls to their NHL roster. The team announced they’ve recalled forwards Olle Lycksell and Rodrigo Abols to the NHL roster for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Abols has scored one goal and one assist in nine games for the Flyers this season, while Lycksell has gone scoreless in six contests.
- The Vancouver Canucks have joined in on the mix of teams ensuring their top prospects are eligible for the AHL playoffs. They have assigned defenseman Victor Mancini, forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and goaltender Arturs Silovs to the AHL. Lekkerimaki has three points in 12 NHL games this season, while Mancini didn’t manage any scoring in his sole appearance with the Canucks so far. Silovs has operated as the team’s third-string goalie and has a 1-6-1 record and .858 save percentage on the year. All three players were subsequently recalled soon after the deadline.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Jack St. Ivany from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. The 25-year-old has played in 19 games with Pittsburgh this season, recording one assist while averaging 16:22 of playing time per game.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Victor Mancini, Place Thatcher Demko On IR
6:01 PM: The Canucks officially announced the roster moves. Demko’s placement is retroactive to February 8th, meaning he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time.
3:02 PM: According to the team’s play-by-play radio commentator Brendan Batchelor, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled defenseman Victor Mancini from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouver will open up a spot on the active roster for Mancini by placing netminder Thatcher Demko on the injured reserve.
Demko’s placement on the IR will likely be made retroactive to February 8th. He left the Canucks’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs after only 10 minutes due to a lower-body injury. During the 4 Nations Face-Off break it was announced that Demko wouldn’t join the team on their current five-game road trip and his recovery timeline is considered week-to-week.
It’s becoming somewhat of a lost season for the eight-year netminder. Due to lingering injury issues from the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Demko’s 2024-25 debut was delayed until December 10th. He hasn’t been inspiring when healthy either managing a 6-6-3 record in 17 starts with a .891 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average.
The newfound injury concerns are especially unfortunate when considering Demko’s season last year. The San Diego, CA native was instrumental in Vancouver’s return to the postseason posting a 35-14-2 record in 51 starts with a .918 SV% and 2.45 GAA. His 21.2 Goals Saved Above Average according to Hockey Reference accounts for 82.8% of his total GSAA throughout his career.
Demko’s future in British Columbia became even cloudier yesterday when the Canucks’ signed fellow netminder Kevin Lankinen to a five-year extension. Lankinen has been objectively better for Vancouver this season and his new contract will run four years longer than Demko’s current deal with the team.
Meanwhile, the freshly acquired Mancini could debut with the Canucks this evening. He’s tallied one assist in five games in AHL Abbotsford since being acquired from the New York Rangers as a part of the package for J.T. Miller.
Vancouver may still need an injury replacement for Quinn Hughes during tonight’s contest and Mancini would have to battle defenseman Elias Pettersson for that role. Pettersson has proven better defensively in limited action but Mancini has outscored him with one goal and four assists throughout 15 games with the Rangers.
Canucks Recall Linus Karlsson, Assign Victor Mancini To AHL
The Canucks have tweaked their roster for their final game before the break. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Linus Karlsson from AHL Abbotsford and have assigned defenceman Victor Mancini to Abbotsford.
Karlsson has been recalled now four times this season. In his first three stints, the 25-year-old played in a total of nine games with Vancouver, picking up a goal in just under 10 minutes a night of playing time. While offense has been hard to come by at the NHL level – he has just six points (all goals) in 82 career NHL appearances – that hasn’t been the case in the minors. With Abbotsford, Karlsson has a dozen goals and six assists in 17 outings after recording 60 points in as many games last season with them. Despite the promotion, he did not suit up against Toronto.
As for Mancini, he was one of the pieces of the recent J.T. Miller trade and was brought up earlier this week although he didn’t see any game action with Vancouver. The 22-year-old played in 15 games with the Rangers earlier this season, recording five points while logging a little more than 15 minutes a night, solid numbers for his first taste of NHL action. Mancini also has 23 AHL appearances on the campaign, all with New York’s affiliate in Hartford where he has 10 points. Mancini should get a chance to make his debut with Abbotsford on Tuesday against San Diego. He’ll likely be joined by Karlsson for that one with the forward likely to be sent back down following tonight’s game.
Canucks Activate Kiefer Sherwood
The Vancouver Canucks have activated forward Kiefer Sherwood off of injured reserve. Sherwood has missed Vancouver’s last four games with an undisclosed injury. His return brings some sense to Vancouver assigning Aatu Raty and, after he cleared waivers, Phillip Di Giuseppe to the minor leagues.
Sherwood is expected to return to the lineup in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll join a lineup full of new faces, including recent trade acquisitions Marcus Pettersson, Victor Mancini, and Filip Chytil. Sherwood should maintain his role on the team’s third line despite the lineup shuffle. He’s been one of the brightest performers in Vancouver’s bottom-six, boasting 13 goals and 21 points in 47 games this season. Sherwood has also recorded a staggering 273 hits – while no other Canuck has managed even 100 (Noah Juulsen has 99). In fact, Sherwood’s lofty hit totals lead the entire NHL by nearly 80 hits – with Philadelphia’s Garnet Hathaway ranked second with 197 hits. So long as he maintains his current hit pace, Sherwood is on track to finish the season with 453 hits – which would stand as an NHL record.
Sherwood has doubled down on the role of goal-scoring wrecking-ball after recording 10 goals, 27 points, and 234 hits in 68 games with the Nashville Predators last season. He seems to be finding plenty of comfort in his first year with the Canucks, sat just seven points shy of surpassing his career-high in scoring from last year. This news sets him up to continue pursuing new scoring heights, and the hit record, in a Canucks roster with plenty of minutes opened up by the trading of top forward scorer J.T. Miller.
Canucks Recall Victor Mancini
The Vancouver Canucks have moved to get the full benefits of their recent trade by recalling defenseman Victor Mancini from the minor leagues. The Canucks acquired Mancini alongside centerman Filip Chytil and a protected 2025 first-round draft pick from the New York Rangers on Friday in exchange for J.T. Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and prospect Jackson Dorrington. Miller was a late scratch in Vancouver’s Friday game and made his second debut with the Rangers on Saturday – netting two goals on six shots. Sunday’s game against Detroit will mark Chytil and Mancini’s first chance to debut with their new club.
A move to Vancouver will mark some of the first Canadian games of Mancini’s career. He grew up playing youth hockey across Michigan, before briefly joining the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede and U.S. National Team Development Program in 2018-19. He moved to Sweden for his age-17 and age-18 seasons – 2019-20 and 2020-21 – joining Frolunda HC’s youth program and becoming the first non-Swede to captain the U20 team in his latter season. Mancini scored 24 points across 57 games with Frolunda’s U20 club, which wasn’t enough to convince teams to draft the stocky defender in his first years of draft eligibility – 2020 and 2021. That prompted a return to the United States, where Mancini was finally able to earn a fifth-round selection in 2022 after a strong freshman season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He played one more year with the Mavericks before turning pro with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Mancini worked his way into an NHL debut earlier this season. Over the last two years, he’s totaled five points in 15 NHL games and 13 points in 30 AHL games.
Mancini is the son of prolific USA Hockey manager Robert Mancini. The eldest Mancini began his hockey career as an assistant coach with Lake Superior State University and Ferris State University from 1985 to 1992, then elevated to Michigan Tech’s head coaching role for the next four seasons. He stepped down from collegiate coaching in 1996 and began serving as an assistant coach, director of player personnel, and eventually a head coach for Team USA at U17, U18, and U20 tournaments – as well as joining the team at the World Championship in 1997 and 1998. He then took on scouting with the Edmonton Oilers for four years, became the general manager and head coach of the Saginaw Spirit for three years, returned to Edmonton as a development coach, then moved to South Africa to coach the country’s men’s national team for four years. He supported South Africa’s climb to Division 2B, then operated as Romania’s U20 GM in 2018. Robert has since retired from his management career, but now gets to watch his only son suit up for what used to be his division rival.
Victor Mancini will likely slot into Vancouver’s third pairing, competing with Derek Forbort for minutes. That would slot him immediately behind fellow new acquisition Marcus Pettersson, who will also make his Canucks debut on Sunday. The duo are both welcome depth behind superstar defender and Hart Trophy candidate Quinn Hughes, who has dealt with nagging injuries throughout the season.