Roster Moves: Vancouver Canucks Assign Three, Including Jonathan Lekkerimaki to the AHL

After a pretty disappointing road trip, the Vancouver Canucks return to Rogers Arena tomorrow night to kick off a short three-game homestand by facing the Los Angeles Kings, a team that sits five points ahead of them in the Pacific Division standings.

Last night's loss in Winnipeg was a tough one, with the Canucks allowing six goals for just the third time this season, as Rick Tocchet shouldered part of the blame when meeting with the media post-game.

On Wednesday, upon returning back in Vancouver, the team announced that they've sent forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Max Sasson, along with defenseman Guillaume Brisebois down to the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks.

Given that the Canucks didn't call any players up to the NHL today, this is strictly a salary cap related move which will allow them to accrue more space they can use at the trade deadline in March.

There's also a good possibility that Brisebois, Lekkerimaki and Sasson suit up tonight
as Abbotsford hosts the Ontario Reign at Abbotsford Centre for a 7 pm PT puck drop.

As has been the case all season long with the Vancouver Canucks and these salary cap related moves, Brisebois, Lekkerimaki and Sasson will all likely be called back up to the National Hockey League ahead of tomorrow's game against the Kings.

Lekkerimaki, 20, has put up three points (two goals, one assist) in his first ten games in the National Hockey League, while Max Sasson has six points in 19 games.

As for Guillaume Brisebois, who dealt with concussion issues for the majority of the 2023-24 season which limited him to just eight games in the AHL, he's appeared in three games for Vancouver in 2024-25, marking his first time in the NHL since the 2022-23 campaign.

Puck drop for tomorrow night's game against Los Angeles at Rogers Arena is set for 7 pm PT on Sportsnet Pacific.