Should the Canucks assign Loui Eriksson to the taxi squad or the AHL?

The Vancouver Canucks placed Loui Eriksson on waivers yesterday, but they still need to make an important decision on where he will be assigned this season.

The Vancouver Canucks finally did it. More than four years after signing Loui Eriksson to a six-year, $36 million contract, the team finally decided to place him on waivers.

As a result, Vancouver has created an additional $1.075 million in salary-cap space for now. If another team claims him off waivers, the Canucks will be able to get out from his behemoth contract that runs for two more years at $6 million per, but it’s unlikely any other club will do so.

However, the team still needs to decide where they will assign Eriksson this season, which could have major implications on Vancouver’s roster flexibility and future cap space. Right now, they could either place him on the taxi squad or send him down to the AHL.

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On paper, it makes sense to have him on the taxi squad, since the 35-year-old Swede can still be a useful piece to the team’s bottom-six and penalty kill, especially in case injuries strike. Even though he has been lamented by Canucks fans for years, there’s no denying that Eriksson can still be an NHL player when used correctly.

With that said, Vancouver could instead decide to send him to the AHL in the hopes that he doesn’t report to the team, which would allow the Canucks to terminate his contract.

The likelihood of him not reporting is small, but the chances are higher than usual since players from Utica won’t be able to be recalled this year and Eriksson will only be paid roughly 70% of his current salary, which equals to about $700,000 for 2020-21. Thomas Drance and Jeff Paterson summed it up well on their podcast, The VANcast, yesterday:

Unfortunately, he’s still owed $4 million next season, so it’s unlikely he declines to report and forgoes that amount of money. Even so, it might still be worth trying, as a potential contract termination will help Vancouver get out of their current salary cap crunch. What do you think, Canucks fans? What should the team do with Eriksson? Let us know in the comments below!