Looking at why Arshdeep Bains returned to the Canucks earlier than expected

When the Vancouver Canucks were finalising their opening day roster, one of the key decisions was choosing between Aatu Räty and Arshdeep Bains for one of the valuable 23 spots. In the end, the Canucks went with Räty, thus meaning Bains was assigned to Abbotsford.

At the time, we wrote that there was a very strong chance Bains would be back with the Canucks sooner than later. Well in the end it didn't even take a week, as it was announced via social media on Thursday that Bains has been recalled from Abbotsford.

So why did this happen so quickly? Well for a start, Allvin and company clearly felt the need to take some action following the disappointing 6-5 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames in Wednesday night's season opener.

Just looking for that chance

Now this doesn't necessarily correlate to Bains actually playing on Friday night, when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers. He was one of the extra forwards during Thursday's practice, i.e. taking part in drills but not playing on one of the revamped lines.

However, just being back in the mix has to count for something. Bains was excellent in training camp and impressed during the preseason, and is now getting another opportunity to prove himself to the Canucks.

Now admittedly, Bains doesn't exactly resolve the Canucks' defensive issues which were on show versus the Flames. However, as per Patrick Johnston of The Province, he does offer a solid forechecking presence which could help shake up the forward lines.

Suter's absence might help Bains

Another factor which might assist Bains' chances of getting into the lineup, is the continued absence of Pius Suter. Yes Suter is only listed as day-to-day with his ambiguous upper-body injury, but until he does actually return, it represents another potential opening for Bains.

Who Bains would actually replace in the current lineup is of course open to debate, but we would pick Kiefer Sherwood as the most likely candidate. In any event, we do believe Bains is worthy of the chance to add to the eight games he played in the NHL last season.

Yes, there's no denying Bains struggled during his eight appearances in 2023-24. However, it's tough to be too critical of someone who was being exposed to the NHL regular season for the first time.

Ultimately, it will be up to Rick Tocchet to decide if Bains gets a chance, and for what it's worth, the Canucks head coach has been extremely complimentary of the young player of late. In the background of all this, worse case scenario is that he is still waiver exempt, so can be reassigned back to Abbotsford with no issues.

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