The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenceman Guillaume Brisebois on the long-term reserve list, the club announced Tuesday afternoon.
Brisebois, 26, has been absent from recent Canucks practices and has yet to make his 2023–24 season debut while dealing with an undisclosed injury. The 6’2″ left-handed defender is entering the first season of the two-year contract extension he signed with the Canucks in March as a pending Group 6 unrestricted free agent.
In a corresponding move, the Canucks also terminated the emergency conditions of Jack Studnicka’s recall from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. The 24-year-old now counts against the Canucks’ salary cap ceiling as Brisebois has shifted to the LTIR list.
In additional injury news, Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy is expected to be a game-time decision on Tuesday as the Canucks take on the Philadelphia Flyers at 3:00 p.m. PT.
Brisebois will earn a $775,000 salary in the NHL and $375,000 in the AHL this season. His contract shifts to a one-way structure in 2024–25.
The Canucks originally selected Brisebois in the third round (No. 66 overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. The Longueuil, Quebec product has collected three points (one goal, two assists) in 27 career NHL games, all with the Canucks.
With all their injuries on defence, the Canucks strengthened their back-end group on Tuesday when they acquired Mark Friedman and prospect Ty Glover from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for AHLers Jack Rathbone and Karel Plasek.
In the wake of the Friedman trade, Vancouver hockey insider Rick Dhaliwal reported on Twitter that the Canucks continue to show interest in unrestricted free agent defenceman Ethan Bear, who remains sidelined while recovering from shoulder surgery.
The Canucks currently boast a 2–0–0 record after opening the season with back-to-back wins over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. They’ll look to improve to 3–0–0 with a victory over the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon.
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