Canucks cutting ties with prospect Aidan McDonough: report

It appears Aidan McDonough’s time with the Vancouver Canucks is coming to an end.

The 24-year-old winger, who was the topic of much discussion coming out of the NCAA just last year, will not be getting a qualifying offer according to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal. It means that McDonough will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The #Canucks will not be qualifying Aiden McDonough.

They worked so hard to get him and now letting him walk.

He will have interest on the July 1st market.

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) June 27, 2024

McDonough scored 77 points in 72 combined games over his last two seasons of college hockey with Northeastern University. He chose to sign with the team that drafted him in March 2023 and appeared in six games for the Canucks at the tail-end of last season, scoring one goal.

But this season did not go well for the 6-foot-3 forward. McDonough didn’t get a sniff of the NHL, tallying just 19 points (11-8-19) in 58 AHL games with the Abbotsford Canucks.

McDonough improved his stock considerably after Vancouver picked him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. A goal-scoring power forward, he has great size but likely needed to improve his foot speed to become a regular at the NHL level.

Perhaps that will happen someday, but it doesn’t look like it will be in Vancouver.

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