Canucks have four cuts coming and here's who they could be
The Vancouver Canucks cut 15 players on Wednesday, including top prospect Adam Novotný. That left the team with 17 forwards, nine defencemen, and four goaltenders on the roster, a total of 30 players.
Three of those players, however, are injured, meaning their active training-camp roster is down to 27.
The deadline for getting down to the 23-man roster limit is on Monday at 2 p.m. PCT, which means the Canucks have just four days to cut four more players.
That is, they only need to make four more cuts if they don’t make any claims off the waiver wire.
So, who’s still on the Canucks’ roster and who might be among those four final cuts?
All eyes on Lekkerimäki
The Canucks have a decision to make with Lekkerimäki. (Bob Frid/Imagn Images)
Here are the forwards arranged by the most recent line combinations the Canucks have been running in practice:
Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Linus Karlsson
Liam Öhgren – Marco Rossi – Brock Boeser
Drew O’Connor – Filip Chytil – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Paul Cotter – Braeden Cootes – Brendan Gallagher
Arshdeep Bains – Aatu Räty – Matthew Stienburg
Absent: Max Sasson
Injured: Akil Thomas
According to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Max Sasson is absent for family reasons but will be back soon, giving the Canucks 16 healthy forwards on their roster.
The Canucks will presumably carry 13 or 14 forwards on their opening-night roster, which means two or three cuts are coming.
Looking at these forwards, the big question is whether Jonathan Lekkerimäki will be in the opening-night lineup. He’s exempt from waivers, so he can be sent down unless he gives the Canucks a good reason to keep him around.
So far, Lekkerimäki hasn’t provided that reason.
While Lekkerimäki had two assists in the Canucks’ first preseason game, that was more due to the work of his linemates, Braeden Cootes and Arshdeep Bains. Lekkerimäki struggled in puck battles and frequently mishandled the puck, including a turnover on the final Seattle Kraken goal.
Matthew Stienburg might be the most obvious cut from this group, as the 25-year-old forward has played just eight NHL games and was presumably signed as AHL depth.
But Stienburg was one of the most noticeable Canucks in the preseason opener, and it’s not surprising to see him still with the team after two rounds of cuts. There’s a chance that Stienburg could stick around if the Canucks want to carry 14 forwards, especially because he’ll have to clear waivers.
Braeden Cootes also seems likely to be sent to the AHL, even though he’s had flashes of brilliance in the preseason. There’s no need to start him in the NHL, particularly given that general manager Ryan Johnson has been clear that he doesn’t want to “yo-yo” players.
Then there’s Arshdeep Bains, who has made a strong case to stick with the Canucks to start the season, even if it’s in the press box as the 13th forward. While Bains is unlikely to get claimed off waivers if he does get sent down to the AHL, the Canucks might not want to take that risk.
Will Mancini earn a spot?
Mancini has failed to impress in preseason so far. (Bob Frid/Imagn Images)
Here are the Canucks’ defencemen arranged by their most recent pairings:
Zeev Buium – Filip Hronek
Jamie Oleksiak – Luke Schenn
Elias Pettersson – Tom Willander
Guillaume Brisebois – Victor Mancini
Injured: Jack Thompson
It’s entirely possible that there will be no further cuts from the defence corps. If the Canucks decide to start the season with eight defencemen and have both a left-side and right-side defenceman in the press box in case of injury, then they’re already set.
If the Canucks want to go with seven defencemen, however, Mancini might be the odd man out. The 24-year-old defenceman has struggled in the preseason, particularly when it comes to reading the forecheck and breaking the puck out of the defensive zone.
In addition, Mancini is exempt from waivers, so he could be sent down to the AHL without risk.
The other possibility is that the Canucks could claim a defenceman off waivers and subsequently send Mancini down to Abbotsford.
Of course, the Canucks could instead put Guillaume Brisebois on waivers and send him to the AHL, but it’s looking more and more like they want to keep the veteran defenceman around.
Battle of the backups
Tolopilo would need to clear waivers before being sent to Abbotsford. (Bob Frid/Imagn Images)
Finally, there are four goaltenders remaining at camp:
Kevin Lankinen
Nikita Tolopilo
Chris Driedger (PTO)
Injured: Thatcher Demko
With Thatcher Demko likely injured to start the season, the Canucks could sign Chris Driedger as Lankinen’s backup and put Tolopilo on waivers to send him to Abbotsford. But Tolopilo has looked good in training camp and his one preseason game, and arguably outplayed Lankinen last season.
There is one other possibility: the Canucks could claim another goaltender off waivers.
There could be some intriguing young goaltenders on waivers, such as Leevi Meriläinen of the Ottawa Senators or Dylan Garand of the New York Rangers.
If the Canucks believe that one of those waiver-wire goaltenders is an upgrade on Tolopilo, they could put in a claim and risk losing Tolopilo on waivers in turn.