The Vancouver Canucks placed defenceman Erik Brannstrom on waivers Sunday, signaling the end of his time with the club at the NHL level for the foreseeable future. But with the Canucks' continued struggles at the position, excluding the guy wearing No. 43, it is hard to feel that this move was anything but a short-sighted mistake.
Brannstrom, 25, is not big or strong. He's a 5-foot-10 puck mover with some skill and has historically thrived when playing easy minutes. The problem for him was that the Canucks did not have easy minutes to give with captain Quinn Hughes and his partner, Filip Hronek, both going down with injuries to conclude 2024.
But, the Canucks still needed a player with his profile, and recently, head coach Rick Tocchet had decided that Brannstrom was no longer needed.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that D Erik Brännström has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford (AHL).
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 12, 2025
The 2017 former 15th overall pick has not played a game for the Canucks since a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Dec. 31, when he recorded an assist and fought Ryan Lomberg. It wasn't a good fight by any means, especially given Lomberg wins that fight 1,000 times out of 1,000, but it was the thought and the willingness that mattered most.
Leading up to that game, Brannstrom had taken penalties in three straight games, a stretch where the Canucks went 1-0-2. And none of the Swede's penalties ultimately ended up in the back of the net. Are the penalties bench-worthy? Sure, but an AHL demotion seems a bit harsh.
In all situations (because power play is an important factor for this player), Brannstrom is third on the Canucks in on-ice high-danger shots for per 60 minutes (2.3), trailing only Vincent Desharnais (2.46) and Hughes (4.5), per Moneypuck.
And which player has Brannstrom been paired with the most during his Canucks tenure? Vincent Desharnais.
Moving along to another metric, Brannstrom is fourth amongst Canucks defencemen in on-ice expected goals for per 60 minutes (2.17), narrowly trailing Tyler Myers (2.2), who has been playing on the power play over Brannstrom as of late, Hronek (2.59), and Hughes (4.02).
And while the former Senator and Golden Knight's calling card is his ability to move the puck and create offence, he has not been half bad defensively, either.
At 5-on-5, because Brannstrom is not a regular penalty killer, the 25-year-old is fourth amongst Canucks defenders in on-ice shot attempts against per 60 minutes (54.31) and sixth in on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes (2.28), still placing well ahead of Carson Soucy (2.56) and Noah Juulsen (2.69).
Instead, Tocchet and the Canucks have insisted that Soucy, Juulsen, Derek Forbort, Desharnais, and even Guillaume Brisebois are more suitable options, much to the chagrin of Canucks fans.
After an impressive 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, it is hard to argue Tocchet's methods, at least for a game. But looking at the bigger picture? The Canucks have three wins in their last 10 games, and two of those wins are against Seattle and San Jose. Leading up to the game against the Maple Leafs, the Canucks had scored five goals in four games, getting blanked twice.
Now, the Canucks just better hope that Brannstrom clears waivers to even be able to retain him as an option in the future.