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Final cuts coming soon after Vancouver Canucks put another player on waivers

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Oct 3 2025, 7:15 pm
Final cuts coming soon after Vancouver Canucks put another player on waivers
Simon Fearn/Imagn Images

Nils Ă…man is likely off to Abbotsford.

The Vancouver Canucks announced on Friday that Ă…man had been placed on waivers for the purpose of being assigned to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.

During practice on Thursday, Ă…man was the odd forward out. He skated on a defensive pairing with Victor Mancini, while the other 15 Canucks forwards took part in line rushes.

Although Ă…man stuck around with the Canucks until now, it was pretty clear that other depth players had outplayed him since day one of training camp.

Here are Canucks on the bubble still fighting for a roster spot:

  • Braeden Cootes
  • Jonathan Lekkerimäki
  • Aatu Räty
  • Linus Karlsson
  • Arshdeep Bains
  • Max Sasson

These were the lines from the Canucks morning skate, courtesy of Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor:

In total, there are 27 players still on the Canucks roster. They’ll need to trim that down to 23 players or fewer before opening night.

One of the players who will assuredly be sent down is goaltender Nikita Tolopilo, who has been practicing with the team but has not played since a third-period stint versus the Seattle Kraken last week.

That leaves the Canucks with three other cuts they’ll have to make.

At least one of those will come at forward. If the Canucks choose to keep 18-year-old Braeden Cootes, then Max Sasson is the most likely player to get cut. While players like Aatu Räty, Arshdeep Bains, and Linus Karlsson require waivers to go to Abbotsford, Sasson does not.

On defence, the Canucks have four bubble guys who could be sent to the AHL:

  • Pierre-Olivier Joseph
  • Elias Pettersson
  • Victor Mancini
  • Tom Willander

At least one of those guys will be ushered down to the AHL before the Canucks final roster is released. NHL teams have until Monday to solidify their final rosters, with the regular season beginning on Tuesday. The Canucks play their first regular-season game at Rogers Arena against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Players on the roster bubble have one last chance to impress management, as the Canucks play their final preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena tonight.

For Ă…man, the waiver wire is a familiar spot. Last season, he made the opening-night roster but was placed on waivers less than a month into the season.

The Avesta, Sweden, native was the first European free-agent signing made by Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, back on June 7, 2022. Ă…man became an unrestricted free agent after the Colorado Avalanche, who originally drafted him in the sixth round back in 2020, chose not to sign him.

Ironically, two of the three original contracts handed out by Allvin were given to forwards who remain on the Canucks roster. The Canucks GM made Bains his very first signing back in March 2022. He then signed Karlsson to an entry-level deal in May 2022.

The Canucks’ only other signing sandwiched between the contracts for Bains and Karlsson was an extension for goaltender Spencer Martin, who is now playing in the KHL.

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