With the NHL regular season approaching, teams are being forced to make difficult decisions on players, something both the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings proved on Tuesday.
Let’s start with the Canucks, who released 13 players on Tuesday. None came as a major surprise, though one that stood out from the others on the list was defenseman Danny DeKeyser. The 32-year-old veteran, who was once regarded as a superb shut down defender, chose to attend the Canucks training camp on a professional tryout offer (PTO).
It seemed like a good bet given that they have some serious holes on the back end, but it has been evident in recent seasons that the former Detroit Red Wing has lost a step. He will now head back into the free agency pool in hopes of another opportunity, though whether or not that comes remains to be seen. If this is the end for DeKeyser, he will finish his career with 547 games played, scoring 33 goals and 146 points over that span.
The other team, as mentioned, was the Kings, who cut 21 players today. Again, there were no major surprises, but one notable name on the list was Nate Thompson. The 37-year-old went to Los Angeles on a PTO after spending the 2021-22 season with the Philadelphia Flyers. Like DeKeyser, he has slowed down in recent years, and was viewed as a longshot to crack the roster. He too will head back into the free agency pool and may have a tough time finding more work at the NHL level. To this point he has suited up for 844 career games, registering 65 goals and 164 points.
While we have seen a number of other players released on PTOs over the past several days, there are many that still remain with their respective teams. Their fate remains to be seen, but we should know soon enough as final rosters need to be set by this coming Monday.
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