Cap considerations: Canucks yo-yo’ing two players to Abbotsford
Arshdeep Bains may have scored his first NHL goal for the Vancouver Canucks last night, but he’s headed to the AHL this morning—on paper at least.
The team announced today that they had assigned both Bains and defenceman Erik Brannstrom down to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks in a move that isn’t expected to keep them there for very long.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that D Erik Brännström and F Arshdeep Bains have been assigned to Abbotsford (AHL).
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 27, 2024
This same move was made on Friday as a way to accrue as much cap space as possible ahead of the trade deadline. With the Canuck finally not dipping into LTIR for the first time in years, sending down two waiver-exempt players for even a day will help the team accrue more cap space throughout the season.
Vancouver can accrue cap space through little “yo-yo” moves like this as each team’s payroll is calculated daily, so having both Bains and Brannstrom off the NHL roster for a day will save a bit on the cap.
This is all being done with the hopes that GM Patrik Allvin can make a big splash at the trade deadline later this season. Last year, the team acquired defenceman Nikita Zadorov and forward Elias Lindholm to bolster their playoff lineup.
With the Canucks set to be back in action on Monday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, fans should expect another announcement that both players have been called back up to the NHL before then.
Bains has been impressive with the Canucks in his first four games of the season. Though he has struggled to get on the scoresheet, he did record his first NHL goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. The Surrey native also has plenty of family roots in India, and his first goal was fittingly scored during a Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi broadcast.
While this may seem like a small, inconsequential, move, it should be something that fans get used to as the Canucks aim to go even further in the playoffs this year.