Yes it's still extremely early, but this doesn't change the reality that the Canucks are winless through three games to begin the 2024-25 campaign. This includes losing Tuesday evening's 4-1 loss on the road to the Lightning, which doubled as the first contest where they didn't even pick up a 'loser' point.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is looking for answers, which apparently includes making a particularly intriguing decision. Giving due credit to Rob Williams of Daily Hive, Canucks insider Irfaan Gaffar is reporting that Erik Brännström is going to be joining the team ahead of their next game on Thursday evening, against the Stanley Cup champion Panthers:
Sounds like Erik Brännström will be joining the Canucks in Florida. Played in two games for the Abbotsford Canucks after being acquired in a trade with Colorado.
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) October 16, 2024
That would be the same Erik Brännström who was only recently traded to the Canucks. This was part of the deal which saw general manager Patrik Allvin send Tucker Poolman and 80 percent of his $2.5 million contract to the Colorado Avalanche.
Allvin sounded happy enough to be bringing Brännström into the fold, At the time, he said: "Erik is a dynamic skater and skilled player who adds to our depth on the backend. We would like to thank Tucker for his time in Vancouver. It was extremely unfortunate that he was unable to continue his career here due to injury and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward."
A success during his short time in Abbotsford
However, almost as soon as Brännström arrived in Vancouver, he was placed on waivers and subsequently assigned to Abbotsford. For some, he was a solid acquisition by the Canucks, while others were puzzled by the move to bring him into the organisation full stop.
In any event, the 25-year-old impressed in Abbotsford during the first two games of the AHL season, highlighted by three assists which helped the team take three out of a possible four points. Now, he gets to show what he can do for the Canucks.
For what it's worth, Brännström does have a decent amount of experience already at the NHL level, having played 266 games, all for the Ottawa Senators between 2018-19 and last season. In that time, he has produced 69 points, a -5 rating, 328 blocks and 176 hits, while averaging 16:52 of ice time per contest.
If and where the left-shot defenceman lines up against the Panthers, will be of interest. He usually plays as part of a third pairing, but the left side of that particular pairing for the Canucks is currently manned by Derek Forbort.