Canucks place forward Vitali Kravtsov on NHL waivers

The Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Vitali Kravtsov on waivers. General manager Patrik Allvin made the announcement on Thursday morning ahead of the club’s practice at UBC.

The Canucks signed Kravtsov, 25, to a one-year deal with an NHL cap hit of $775,000. The contract is a two-way deal, and if Kravtsov clears waivers and goes to the AHL, he will earn a salary of $450,000. We will find out at 11 AM Pacific if another NHL team chooses to claim Kravtsov off waivers.

Kravtsov, who was the New York Rangers’ selection at ninth overall of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, is in his second stint with the Canucks, as the club traded for him at the tail end of the 2022-23 season. Kravtsov left for the KHL after that season, and after enjoying some success in Russia over the past two seasons, Kravtsov eyed an NHL comeback with the Canucks this season.

Unfortunately, he never did much to stand out during training camp and the preseason games he got into. If he clears waivers, he will go down to Abbotsford and look to build up the parts of his game that are holding him back from NHL success.

The Canucks have also assigned Joseph LaBate — who was placed on waivers on Wednesday — to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks after LaBate went unclaimed on waivers. The Abbotsford Canucks’ training camp kicked off yesterday and runs through Friday at the Abbotsford Centre before a scrimmage on Saturday, October 4th at the Chilliwack Coliseum. LaBate, who signed with the Canucks as a free agent this past offseason, had a relatively strong preseason, during which he showed an ability to get under the opposition’s skin. He should be a welcome addition to an Abbotsford Canucks team that lost some veteran leadership following their Calder Cup Championship victory.