As we all know, the NHL trading deadline has passed with nothing happening in Canucks land. However around the league there was quite a moves, and one that often gets overlooked is the ‘papering’ of players down to the AHL. Generally not something most fans are aware of but it was brought back to the forefront again today with the Maple Leafs recalling quite a few players.

But this is quite commonplace as teams look to give themselves the ‘option’ of assigning their players back to the AHL after the conclusion of the NHL season.

The reasoning and mechanics of the transaction are broken down fantastically here.

When looking at the AHL transactions page, you can see a plethora of moves from around the league doing exactly that. Sending a player down, having them on the ‘Clear Day Roster’ and then recalling them. This includes top prospects like Darnell Nurse (EDM), Matt Murray & Derrick Pouliot (PIT), Noah Hanifin (CAR) and Kyle Rau (FLA).

How does this relate to the Canucks?

Well, there were no Canucks players assigned and recalled today. The players that could’ve been eligible to do this are Bo Horvat, Ben Hutton and Markus Granlund.

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This is obviously subject to the transaction page being updated at a later time – but given that we are hours after the deadline, it’s a safe assumption that all the transactions have been captured.

Horvat is not surprising given that they he is now completing his second full season with the Canucks, but that option was there to do so and the Canucks chose not to. The reasoning behind that can be understood.

Hutton is a mild surprise, as he is just finishing his first NHL season and looks to be a mainstay on the Canucks roster for years to come. At least having the option in the future would’ve been a prudent thing to do. But the risk of injury and fatigue likely outweighed the possible benefit.

So that brings us to Markus Granlund, and simply put, why not?

The Canucks were trying to do this exact same thing with Adam Cracknell:

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Part of #Canucks decision to place Cracknell on waivers was revealed: not only for #AHL playoffs, but also cap relief if Edler/Sutter return — Jon Abbott (@HockeyAbbs) February 29, 2016

Unfortunately, he was claimed on waivers before he ever got there. But it’s safe to assume the Canucks were trying to help the Comets in their playoff bid. So why wasn’t the same done with Granlund?

It would’ve helped the Utica Comets and also been beneficial to Granlund’s development to play in some playoff games.

Assuming Granlund plays all the remaining games for the Canucks, he will have appeared in 54 NHL games and 12 AHL games this season. So adding a playoff run wouldn’t be a huge burden on his workload for the year. It would also allow him to play with prospects like Alexandre Grenier and Brendan Gaunce, who may be linemates next year.

Simply the Canucks could’ve assigned Granlund to the minors, and then recalled him hours later. Nothing would have changed, and he would’ve never had to leave the building. It would’ve just simply be a paper transaction to allow the option in the future.

It all just seems like a missed opportunity for Granlund. Canucks management has preached that playing in high pressure situations is beneficial to a player’s development and have referenced the Comets playoff run last season as a leaping off point for Sven Baertschi and Jacob Markstrom. So wouldn’t that also apply to Markus Granlund?

Thee paid a steep price to acquire Granlund, thus his development and growth as a hockey player should be of importance. A simple transaction like this, at least gives them the option. If they don’t use it in April, then that’s fine, but the option was there. It harkens back to our suggestion that the Canucks need to do better at managing their assets, and that just seems like another case of that.





