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Vancouver Canucks Sign Max Sasson

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced this morning that they have agreed to terms on a 2-year, entry-level contract with forward Max Sasson. Sasson, who just finished his sophomore year at Western Michigan University, will be joining the team’s AHL affiliate Abbotsford Canucks for their playoff push. Sasson’s contract will begin next season, as he will finish out this year on an amateur tryout contract.

In his second season with the Broncos, Sasson scored 15 goals and 27 assists in 38 games played. Helping Western reach the NCAA DI Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, the team lost in round one to Boston University, where Sasson was unable to put any points on the board.

The GM of the Canucks, Patrik Allvin, expressed his excitement about the deal, saying:

“He is coming off a very strong year with Western Michigan and has shown continual improvement in his game each of the last few seasons. We look forward to watching him develop at the professional level with our staff in Vancouver and Abbotsford.”

Canucks Injury Notes: Juulsen, Brisebois, Wolanin

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Vancouver Canucks Extend Christian Wolanin

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Christian Wolanin to a two-year, two-way contract extension, according to a team announcement. Per CapFriendly, the contract is worth a league minimum of $775,000 per season, with a $500,000 salary in the minors.

The deal, announced Thursday, will keep Wolanin with the Canucks through the 2024-25 season. The 28-year-old defenseman was acquired by Vancouver in free agency last July, signing a one-year contract.

Wolanin has played in 15 games for the Canucks this season, recording three assists. While he’s spent the majority of the campaign with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, Wolanin has remained on the NHL roster since Vancouver recalled him on February 18, save for a paper transaction back to Abbotsford on trade deadline day to make him eligible to suit up in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

“Christian has been a key contributor at both the AHL and NHL level this season,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement. “He has developed nicely under the watchful eye of our Abbotsford coaching staff and player development team. This has allowed him to step into his current role in the NHL and show that he can help our team get results.”

Wolanin was originally selected by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He has appeared in a total of 85 NHL games, posting six goals and 17 assists.

After largely splitting time between the NHL and AHL over the past five seasons, Wolanin found some stability in Abbotsford to begin the year. He did not disappoint, as Wolanin is amidst the best campaign of his professional career. In 49 games with Abbotsford, where he’s sure to return for the postseason, Wolanin registered an assist per game and added six goals for 55 points, accompanied by a +12 rating.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson Unlikely To Return This Season

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  • Patrick Johnston of The Province wrote an article today explaining that Vancouver Canucks’ defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson will likely not return to the ice this year. Suffering a sprained ankle in the team’s February 15th game against the Rangers, Ekman-Larsson has not played since. After being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes, Ekman-Larsson was on pace to have his best season in point production since 2018-19, but he will now be unable to eclipse that. Playing in Vancouver this year, Ekman-Larsson will finish with two goals and 22 assists, with a -24 +/-.

Injury Notes: Hronek, Spurgeon, Kassian

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The Vancouver Canucks are hoping to have one of their top blue liners back soon. Farhan Lalji of TSN reports that head coach Rick Tocchet said Filip Hronek is day-to-day and there is a good chance he will be able to play on Thursday. Hronek was acquired by the Canucks in a somewhat surprising trade deadline deal. The Canucks were not expected to be buyers, but offered up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Hronek.

The 25-year-old right defenseman is yet to make his Canucks debut as he has been out of the lineup since February 28 with an upper-body injury. It sounds like he is close to getting back on the ice, and the Cancucks may see him join them for the first time when they take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon was a late scratch for tonight’s game. The team announced he will be out of the lineup with a non-covid illness. Spurgeon has scored ten goals and 30 points in 70 games for the Wild who are in a tight battle with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars for positioning in the Central Division. While they will miss his presence against the New Jersey Devils, luckily it does not sound like a long-term absence.
  • The Arizona Coyotes announced Zack Kassian would not suit up tonight. The rugged winger is sidelined with an upper-body injury and will miss tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. The 32 year old has played 51 games for the Coyotes this season, scoring just two goals and zero assists. Kassian has one more year on his contract following this season with a $3.2MM cap hit.

Ethan Bear Activated From IR

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Before their game against the Los Angeles Kings kicks off, the Vancouver Canucks have announced that defenseman Ethan Bear has been activated from the injured reserve. Bear is been out of the Canucks lineup for almost a month now, having not played since the team took on the Boston Bruins on February 25th.

Originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft, Bear played three seasons in Edmonton, scoring a career-high 21 points during the 2019-20 season. After a down year in 2020-21, Bear was shipped off to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Warren Foegele. With an already deep defensive core, Bear decided to request a trade away from the Hurricanes, waiting until he was traded to the Canucks on October 28th.

In his first full year in Vancouver, Bear has managed to score three goals and 11 assists through 46 games played. Although he has managed to secure a +5 +/-, Bear is also on the Canucks penalty kill, which is currently a league-worst 68.18%. Things haven’t been all bad for the Canucks in Bear’s absence, as the team has gone 7-3-0 in their last ten games, beating strong teams such as the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Canucks Sign Aidan McDonough

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The Vancouver Canucks announced they have signed Aidan McDonough to an entry-level contract. General Manager Patrik Allvin announced the contract is a two-year deal, as McDonough elected to forego free agency and join the Canucks.

McDonough was a seventh-round pick of the Canucks in 2019. He has gone on to prove he should have been drafted much higher due to a stellar college career at Northeastern. He became a trusted offensive producer for them from day one of his college career and just wrapped up his fourth consecutive season as one of the team’s top offensive players.

McDonough scored 66 goals and 124 points in 124 games at Northeastern. This season was his best as he put up 20 goals and 38 points in 34 games. He helped Northeastern to a third-place finish in the Hockey East conference but they were eliminated on Saturday by Providence who pulled off a 2-1 upset victory in overtime.

The 23-year-old could have waited until this summer and became an NHL free agent, but instead elected to sign with the team that drafted him. The Canucks sure can use the help as they sit 25th in the league standings with 61 points in 65 games. They traded away Bo Horvat, signalling a retooling of the roster that has proven not to be good enough to compete with the best teams in the league, so it would not have been good to lose one of their best prospects to free agency this summer.

The 6-foot-2 and 201 pound forward will likely get a chance to jump right into the NHL lineup. The Canucks are not chasing down a playoff spot so they can afford to test him out right away and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports he will join the team immediately.

Canucks Begin Extension Talks With Noah Juulsen

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The Canucks have started extension discussions with defenseman Noah Juulsen, report Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal in a column for The Athletic (subscription link).  The 25-year-old has played in eight games with Vancouver so far this season with five of those coming this month as he plays his way into a regular role.  Juulsen, a 2015 first-round pick by Montreal, also has 20 points in 49 games with AHL Abbotsford this season.  He’s on a two-way contract worth $750K in the NHL and $250K in the minors and has a chance of remaining a restricted free agent if he plays in 16 of their final 17 games this season.  An early extension for Juulsen would obviously take that particular consideration off the table.

Canucks Sign Phillip Di Giuseppe To Two-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced via a press release that the team has signed forward Phillip Di Giuseppe to a two-year, two-way contract extension. Di Giuseppe will make $775K in the NHL and $500K at the AHL level. General Manager Patrik Allvin was very happy to report the signing as he described Di Giuseppe by saying, “He has been a reliable forward when called upon in Vancouver this year and has been an impactful player and leader with Abbotsford each of the past two seasons.”

In his second season within the Canucks organization, Di Giuseppe has only received playing time in Vancouver this season. In 13 games this year, he has registered two goals and two assists. In his limited time in Vancouver, Di Giuseppe has also spent time on the penalty kill as well. With a league-worst 68.75% penalty kill percentage, the Canucks have used a rotating door when establishing who will be on the ice when they are a man down this year.

In the minor leagues, Di Giuseppe has been far more productive. Combined over the last two years, Di Giuseppe has played 69 games for the Abbotsford Canucks, registering a total of 25 goals and 43 assists. As Vancouver begins to establish more prospect depth in the minor leagues, and Abbotsford competes for a playoff position, Di Giuseppe will be a valuable part of the Canucks organization for the next two seasons.

Aidan McDonough Expected To Sign With Canucks After NCAA Season

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With his college career set to come to an end over the next few weeks, Canucks prospect Aidan McDonough would soon be facing a choice.  He could sign with the team that drafted him or wait a few months and hit unrestricted free agency in mid-August.  It appears he’ll be choosing the former as CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (audio link) that McDonough will be signing with Vancouver once his college campaign comes to an end.  McDonough’s advisor Glen Giovanucci confirmed the report to Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston.

The 23-year-old was a seventh-round pick by the Canucks back in 2019 (195th overall) but has certainly outperformed his draft stock, quickly becoming a key producer at Northeastern.  McDonough reached the 20-goal mark and surpassed the point-per-game plateau for the second year in a row with his 20 goals and 18 assists in 33 games leading the Huskies in scoring.  Over his four-year college career, he’s averaging just over a point per game with 124 in 123 appearances.

At his age, McDonough is only eligible for a two-year, entry-level contract.  Dhaliwal notes that if McDonough’s season ends early enough, the first of those campaigns will be burned in 2022-23, allowing him to join Vancouver for the final few games this season to begin his pro career while setting him up to hit restricted free agency in 2024.

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