It seemed like it would take some serious shenanigans for the Vancouver Canucks to avoid going into LTIR to start the 2024-25 season.
Everything was conspiring against them, from Thatcher Demko's delayed return from last season's injury to preseason injuries to Akito Hirose and Pius Suter. It felt like the Canucks' only choice was going to be putting Tucker Poolman on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and use the cap relief from his $2.5 million cap hit to get cap compliant.
But then Hirose was medically cleared and sent down to the AHL. And then Suter was back at practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. With some clever maneuvering and risking losing a player or two on waivers, the Canucks could avoid putting Poolman on LTIR, giving them the ability to accrue cap space throughout the season.
Instead, general manager Patrik Allvin outright traded Poolman, clearing most of his cap hit in the process.
Trading Poolman for Brunnstrom a savvy move to clear cap space
On Sunday, Allvin sent Poolman and a fourth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for defenceman Erik Brannstrom, while retaining $500,000 of Poolman's $2.5 million cap hit. Brannstrom was immediately placed on waivers for assignment to the AHL.
It's entirely possible that Brannstrom — a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenceman with some question marks surrounding his defensive game — could get claimed off waivers, leaving the Canucks with nothing as a result of this trade. Even if that's the case, however, this represents a win for Allvin and the Canucks.
The Canucks have been trying to trade Poolman and his cap hit for over a year, as they had hoped to get out of LTIR last season in order to accrue cap space to make it easier to add a player at the trade deadline. They weren't able to do it then but managed it now, spending their fourth-round pick to get Poolman off the books. The Canucks previously acquired the Ottawa Senators' fourth-round pick from the Edmonton Oilers for Vasily Podkolzin.
Moving Poolman means the Canucks can entirely avoid LTIR and get well under the salary cap, even before Thatcher Demko and Dakota Joshua return to the lineup. The Canucks can now ice a 23-man roster that is nearly $500,000 under the cap, allowing them to start accruing cap space as soon as the season starts.
The Canucks can accrue even more cap space during the season by juggling their waiver-exempt players — Aatu Räty, Arshdeep Bains, and Arturs Silovs — between the AHL and NHL. That could ultimately pay off in a big way by the time of the trade deadline.
If Brannstrom clears waivers, he's an excellent depth option
From the perspective of the Avalanche, the trade makes sense as they will likely have to use LTIR anyway, as Gabe Landeskog will still be out long-term to start the season. Once a team is using LTIR, it can be beneficial to go as deeply into LTIR as possible to maximize the amount of cap relief available. Having Poolman on LTIR might actually make it easier to fit Landeskog under the cap if and when he returns.
In addition, the Avalanche were likely planning on waiving Brannstrom anyway, potentially losing him for nothing. Instead, they get a fourth-round pick out of the deal.
The Canucks, however, likely hope that Brannstrom gets through waivers and can be assigned to the AHL.
The 25-year-old defenceman fell out of favour in Ottawa after failing to become the top-pairing play-driver they hoped he would be when they acquired the former 15th-overall pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Mark Stone trade. When his contract came up, he didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Senators and became an unrestricted free agent.
The Avalanche signed him to a one-year deal worth $900,000 this offseason but he evidently didn't impress during training camp and the preseason, at least not enough to make the team ahead of their other left-side defencemen.
Still, Brannstrom put up some solid results in a sheltered third-pairing role over the past two seasons, carrying a 52.7% corsi and 54.1% expected goals percentage for a couple of struggling Senators teams. He was used the least against tough competition of any Senators defenceman but he held his own in the few minutes he did play against top forward lines.
Brannstrom even played regular minutes on the Senators' penalty kill, providing some special teams value as well.
His weaknesses, however, are evident. At 5'10", he's much smaller than the giants the Canucks prefer to have on their blue line — Quinn Hughes excepted, of course. Brannstrom struggles in physical battles on the boards and in front of the net, which makes it tough for him to fully earn the trust of his coaches.
If Brannstrom does clear waivers, though, he represents excellent depth for the Canucks. Given how injury-prone Carson Soucy and Derek Forbort have been, the odds are good that the Canucks will need another defenceman on the left side at some point during the season. Being able to bring up an experienced puck-moving defenceman, who could balance out the stay-at-home types on the Canucks' blue line, would be a big benefit.
It's worth noting that Brannstrom can also play on the right side, with some arguing that he's better on his off-side. That gives him some versatility if injuries strike and the Canucks decide they need more mobility on the backend.
