There are undoubtedly a plethora of questions Vancouver Canucks fans are wanting answers to, ahead of the 2024-25 season. In this respect, we assume any queries surrounding the status of Tucker Poolman come near the bottom of the list in terms of importance.
However -- whether fans like it or not -- we do indeed have an update regarding Poolman. We just hope that you're all sitting down for the latest news regarding everyone's favourite Canucks defenceman, to avoid you from falling over in shock.
Poolman's career is over with the Canucks
Yes, we are indeed being ever so slightly facetious because, as expected, the 31-year-old will not be playing this coming season. The news was confirmed by Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, courtesy of a report from Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650.
This is of course no surprise, given that it was always accepted Poolman was going to sit out the entire campaign, just as he did last season. In what is an unfortunate situation for the blue liner, he has been dealing with ongoing neurological complications from migraines.
As a result of this, the 2013 fifth round draft pick has been limited to 43 games with the Canucks, with all but three appearances coming during his first season in Vancouver, in 2020-21. He is now entering the final season of the four-year, $10 million deal he signed with the team.
Not so fast on Poolman to LTIR
What remains to be seen, is how the Canucks utilize Poolman in the coming months? To begin with, it was believed he and his $2.5 million salary would be placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) for the whole of 2024-25, which was the case last season.
However, as we wrote about on Tuesday, Allvin ideally wants to avoid using LTIR this season full stop if possible. Of course, this is not an ideal situation, with the Canucks general manager acknowledging that they will have to go down this road at some point.
With this in mind, the plan is to hold off on placing Poolman on LTIR until around the trade deadline if possible. Taking this approach would allow the Canucks to accrue some valuable cap space during the season.
This is crucial, given that at the time of writing, the Canucks only have $190,833 of cap space heading into the 2024-25 regular season. Poolman might not be suiting up this season, but it seems that he still has a key role to play in how the campaign goes.