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Canucks Recall Nikita Tolopilo And Ty Mueller

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The Canucks have brought up a pair of players for their game tonight against Minnesota, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Nikita Tolopilo and forward Ty Mueller from AHL Abbotsford on an emergency basis.

It’s the third recall in the last two months for Tolopilo, who has still not made his NHL debut.  The 25-year-old has played in 34 games with Abbotsford this season, putting up a 2.68 GAA and a .901 SV%, numbers that are pretty close to his first year in North America last season (2.83 and .905, respectively).  He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.  Sportsnet 960’s Brendan Batchelor adds (Twitter link) that Thatcher Demko didn’t take part in the morning skate, suggesting that Tolopilo’s recall is to cover Demko’s spot on the roster.

As for Mueller, it’s his first career NHL recall.  The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Canucks in 2023 and signed one year later.  This is Mueller’s first professional season and he has fared reasonably well, sitting fourth on Abbotsford in scoring with 12 goals and 26 assists in 62 games.  Batchelor adds (Twitter link) that Max Sasson is not taking part in the morning skate so it appears Mueller – who lined up on the second line at the skate – is up to take Sasson’s place.

With both moves qualifying as emergency recalls, they won’t count toward Vancouver’s post-deadline regular recall limit.

Brock Boeser Unlikely To Stay With Canucks This Summer

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The Canucks have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason. For the fourth time in the last five years, they’ll end their season with more focus on exit interviews than must-win games. In the case of this year’s Canucks squad, an early end will also bring tough questions about star players back to the surface.

Trade rumors swirled around the team’s offense for much of the season, with winger Brock Boeser at the forefront of a lot of speculation. Boeser was believed to be a top name at the Trade Deadline after failing to agree on an extension with Vancouver. But a rich asking price kept the former 40-goal scorer in place past the deadline. Now, a few months later, Boeser shared that a return seems unlikely when asked about his next contract by Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre:

Honestly, it’s unlikely at this point. It sucks, it’s unfortunate. I’m just trying to play good hockey, and then I’ll worry about everything after that. We all know it’s been a roller coaster of a year. There’s been a lot of different things.

News that Boeser is headed out of Vancouver isn’t necessarily a surprise given that contract extension discussions didn’t yield much traction throughout the season even as those talks were held close to the deadline.  But still, likely losing a long-term core player for no return in a year that saw Vancouver also miss the playoffs has to sting for GM Patrik Allvin.

Barring an unlikely change of heart over the next two-plus months, Boeser will test unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.  He’ll be doing so on a bit of a down year relative to his performance a year ago when he had 40 goals and 33 assists, both career highs.  Through 71 games this season, Boeser has 25 goals and 24 helpers, numbers that are closer to his career norms.

Back in late February, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that Boeser declined a five-year, $40MM extension, an offer that would have given him a $1.35MM raise compared to his current deal.  Had he been able to replicate his 40-goal effort from 2023-24, he’d have been well-positioned to beat that on the open market.

But last season is also the only time that Boeser reached the 60-point mark, let alone 70.  In previous years, his point totals have ranged from 45 to 56 with some of those coming in shortened seasons between injuries and a shorter schedule in 2019-20 and 2020-21.  Even with some significant increases coming in the salary cap, how much more could Boeser realistically command when his track record of production is more of a high-end second liner most years?  That question will be answered in a few months and it doesn’t appear that the Canucks will be the team to provide it.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed to this post.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Jonathan Lekkerimaki

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Earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve reassigned forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Now that the Calder Cup playoffs are around the corner, Lekkerimaki may finish the year with Abbotsford.

Lekkerimaki has been rostered with the Canucks since the trade deadline. Before then, he had been a frequent call-up in November and January, scoring two goals and one assist in his first 11 contests. Unfortunately, he hasn’t broken out in any meaningful way with more consistency in the NHL, scoring one goal and two assists in 13 games between March 5th and April 5th.

To say the least, it’s been a difficult transition for a prospect Vancouver was understandably high on entering the 2024-25 campaign. The Canucks drafted Lekkerimaki with the 15th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, and brought him to North America toward the end of last season.

Still, he’s performed up to par at the AHL level. Throughout the year, Lekkerimaki has scored 19 goals and 28 points in 32 games for AHL Abbotsford, which is good for 16th in points-per-game average among AHL rookies.

The transition to the NHL can be intimidating, and it’s clearly impacted Lekkerimaki’s performance this year. Hopefully, for Vancouver’s sake, Lekkerimaki will feel comfortable down the stretch with AHL Abbotsford and regain the confidence he’ll need to succeed at the NHL level.

Vancouver Canucks' AHL Affiliate Sign Aku Koskenvuo

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  • The Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate signed goalie Aku Koskenvuo to an amateur try-out agreement, per a team announcement. The 22-year-old, Finnish prospect just wrapped up his third NCAA season at Harvard, posting a respectable .902 save percentage on the season. And while the team’s 2021 fifth round selection only secured an ATO, it is likely Koskenvuo will receive an entry-level deal at some point soon.

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 Notes: Tocchet, Pettersson, Chytil, Höglander

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Confirming a report from last week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the Vancouver Canucks are firmly committed to Rick Tocchet for the 2025-26 NHL season and beyond. Friedman asserts that Vancouver will extend Tocchet this off-season or utilize their team option for another year.

Tocchet wants to keep his upcoming extension negotiations private, stating, “I am so focused on making the playoffs that I really don’t want to make it about me right now.” In a similar vein, Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor prodded Tocchet about his situation with the Canucks, and he articulated that his only focus was beating the Seattle Kraken tomorrow night. Unless something drastically changes over the next few weeks, it’s all but a guarantee that Tocchet will be back behind the bench for Vancouver next season. 

Despite winning the Jack Adams Award last season, Tocchet will have a difficult time guiding the Canucks back into the postseason for a second consecutive season. Vancouver is six points removed from the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and has significant injury concerns mounting.

According to Harman Dayal of The Athletic, Tocchet shared that Elias Pettersson has skated ’once or twice’ since succumbing to an upper-body injury against the New York Rangers on March 22nd, and there’s no guarantee he’ll return for the regular season. Tocchet appeared hopeful regarding Pettersson’s injury status, but they’ll find it increasingly difficult to catch the St. Louis Blues without their top center and third-highest scorer.

Pettersson isn’t the only center the Canucks won’t have either. Batchelor reported earlier that Tocchett believes the “odds are against” Filip Chytil returning this season due to having little consistency in his concussion recovery process. Chytil, who was limited to 10 games last season due to a concussion, hasn’t played for Vancouver since March 15th after receiving a dangerous hit from behind by Chicago Blackhawks’ Jason Dickinson.

Per Tocchet’s suggestion, it’s likely Chytil will finish the 2024-25 campaign with 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games, with six of the points coming as a Canuck. He’s signed through the 2026-27 season with a $4.4375MM cap hit.

Still, it’s not all bad news on the injury front in Vancouver. Circling back to the report from Dayal, Tocchet believes Nils Höglander is the closest of the trio to returning. Höglander has been an effective secondary scorer for the Canucks this season, posting six goals and 21 points in 66 games. Höglander similarly exited Vancouver’s recent game against the Rangers in the second period due to an undisclosed injury.

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Arturs Silovs

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Now that Thatcher Demko appears healthy after recording back-to-back wins earlier in the week, the Vancouver Canucks no longer needed three goalies on the roster. The odd-man out is Arturs Silovs, as the Canucks announced they reassigned Silovs back to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, earlier today.

Due to Demko’s recurring injuries throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Silovs has been an oft-called-upon third netminder for Vancouver. He’s doubled his career games total this season, managing a 2-6-1 record in 10 games for the Canucks with a .861 SV% and 3.65 GAA. If the topical save percentage and goals-against average weren’t bad enough, Moneypuck has Silovs ranked 66th out of 72 netminders with 10 or more games played this year with a -10.2 goals saved above expected.

It’s a far cry from his impressive performance in last year’s playoffs. Vancouver tasked Silovs with backstopping the team through the back half of their Round One matchup against the Nashville Predators after Demko and Casey DeSmith fell to injuries. Including a series-deciding shutout in Game Six against Nashville, Silovs helped the Canucks take the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games.

Unsurprisingly, his time in Abbotsford this season has provided better results. Despite being rostered for Vancouver for much of the year, Silovs has posted a 11-4-0 record in 15 games with the AHL Canucks with a .902 SV% and 2.53 GAA. His save percentage has dropped mildly compared to last season, but Silovs has still proved a quality goaltender at the AHL level.

Canucks Expected To Exercise Rick Tocchet's Team Option

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Despite being rumored as a coveted option by the Philadelphia Flyers, there’s little expectation Vancouver Canucks’ head coach Rick Tocchet will be available to other teams this summer. In an article from Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription required), a source from inside the Canucks organization has indicated the team will exercise their option on Tocchet’s contract for next season, and are already viewing him as next year’s coach.

There’s no doubting the Canucks’ interest in an extension either. Since taking over for Bruce Boudreau halfway through the 2022-23 season, Vancouver has managed a 104-61-25 record under Tocchet’s stewardship, putting him second in organizational history in points percentage. Additionally, Tocchet helped the Canucks win their first division title since the 2012-13 season, which is even more impressive considering he had to navigate through a murky relationship between the team’s top two forwards at the time, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • Moving back to British Columbia, context has been provided regarding the Canucks’ call-up of Max Sasson earlier this morning. According to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, forward Teddy Blueger is questionable for tonight’s contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to the flu. Unfortunately, if his illness were to prohibit him from playing tonight, it would be the first time Blueger has missed a game all season. The consistent bottom-six forward has scored eight goals and 23 points in 72 games with Vancouver this season.

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’ Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander Out At Least Four Games

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The Vancouver Canucks will be without star centerman Elias Pettersson and top-six winger Nils Hoglander for the remaining four games of their current road-trip per NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Both players missed Vancouver’s team practice on Sunday after each leaving Saturday night’s game with injury. Pettersson exited with roughly five minutes left in the second period. He didn’t appear to sustain an injury, though none of his final five shifts lasted longer than 30 seconds. Hoglander exited with under two minutes left in the second and also didn’t appear injured, though he did get in a choppy stick battle in his final shift. Both players are out with undisclosed injuries.

The Canucks were two games into their second six-game road trip of the season. Pettersson and Hoglander were both pivotal pieces of the lineup in the road trip’s kickoff game against St. Louis on Thursday. Pettersson led all forwards with 20 minutes of ice time and recorded two assists, while Hoglander scored one assist in 17 minutes of ice time. Neither scored in their limited action on Saturday, and Vancouver will now be forced to fill two glaring holes in their top-six.

Rookie Aatu Räty is expected to earn an immediate promotion to the lineup. Räty hasn’t played since January 31st, which was itself a one-off start after not receiving routine NHL minutes since December. He’s appeared in 21 NHL games in total this season, netting just four points split evenly. Räty has been far more productive in the minor leagues, where he leads the Abbotsford Canucks in both total and point-per-game scoring with 39 points in 41 games. The Canucks recalled Räty ahead of Saturday’s game, and he’ll now have a golden chance at hardy minutes with Vancouver away from home for another week.

The Canucks are also carrying rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who has rotated into the NHL lineup throughout March. He’s managed seven appearances and one assist through the month, bringing his season-long totals up to four points in 18 NHL Games. Lekkerimaki has also scored 19 goals and 28 points in 32 AHL games this year. He’s received as little as nine minutes of ice time through his recent stretch in the top flight, though Hoglander’s absence should break open at least a third-line role. Räty and Lekkerimaki could also be beneficiaries of the large chunk of power-play minutes that both Pettersson and Hoglander leave behind.

This will be a great chance for Vancouver’s top prospects to show they can shine. The Canucks will need all the support they can get, as they find themselves five points away from a Western Conference Wild Card with two games in hand. They’ve posted a menial 5-4-1 record over their last 10 games – not enough to get ahead the red-hot, 8-1-1 St. Louis Blues or the productive 5-2-3 record of the Calgary Flames. Even with opportunity at hand, it’s hard to imagine the rookies will live up to Pettersson’s 45 points in 64 games this season, which leads all Canucks forwards. Hoglander’s 21 points in 66 games, and gritty middle-six role, will likely be a bit more acheivable to match.

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