Not so fast on Mark Friedman starting season with Canucks
In an interesting turn of events, the Vancouver Canucks have placed defenceman Mark Friedman on waivers with a view to assigning him to Abbotsford.
You may well have read our five takeaways article on Monday, which shared our thoughts on the announcement of the Vancouver Canucks' opening day roster for the 2024-25 season. We ended the article with the following snippet:
"It's good to see Mark Friedman on the opening day roster, as there was genuine concern he might have to be placed on waivers with everything else which was happening surrounding the team."
Well, it's turns out we might have spoken too soon - actually scratch that ... we did speak too soon. As confirmed by the Canucks via social media on Tuesday, Friedman was placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford in the AHL.
What will the Canucks do with the open spot?
In the process this opened up a spot on the Canucks' opening day roster, which was still the case at the time of writing. It will be interesting to see whether this means someone such as Dakota Joshua is ready to return, or to help the Canucks accrue that invaluable cap space.
Regardless, the Canucks will be hoping Friedman is able to clear waivers and indeed head to Abbotsford. While he would not be considered an important loss per se if he is claimed, he still represents some value to the organisation.
Yes, the 28-year-old can effectively be considered the equivalent of a fourth pairing at the NHL level. However, this just alludes to him providing quality depth as and when needed.
A useful trade acquisition
Friedman was acquired as part of a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins around this time a year. He went on to play 23 games for the Canucks and for what it's worth, set a couple of personal single-season bests with a +4 rating and 35 blocks.
Critics have been known to reference the Toronto native's size -- or lack thereof -- as an obstacle, but despite this has proven to useful defensively, known for keeping the game simple and minimising mistakes. Now, it's a case of whether he will continue his hockey journey with the Canucks organisation, or be claimed and begin over elsewhere.
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In all, Friedman has played in 88 NHL games over parts of six seasons dating back to the 2018-19 campaign. For his career, he has produced 13 points, 70 penalty minutes, a +7 rating, 94 blocks and 135 hits, while averaging 13:06 of ice time.
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