Former Canucks Defenseman and First-Round Pick Shockingly Leaves the NHL and Heads Overseas

Brannstrom was a pending restricted free agent with the Buffalo Sabres after being traded by the New York Rangers.

Brannstrom was part of the J.T. Miller package to the Rangers

Brannstrom began the season with the Vancouver Canucks, recording three goals and eight points in 28 games. He was traded in January to the New York Rangers as part of the package that sent J.T. Miller to Vancouver.

He did not appear in another NHL game after the trade, instead playing six games for the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack. On trade deadline day, he was dealt again, this time to the Sabres for forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

In his AHL stint with Abbotsford, Hartford, and Rochester, Brannstrom had eight goals and 23 points in 27 games this season.

A 15th overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 draft, Brannstrom was once a highly regarded prospect. He was the centerpiece of the Ottawa Senators' haul in the 2019 trade that sent Mark Stone to Vegas.

Brannstrom had 10 goals and 77 points in 294 games with Ottawa and Vancouver in his NHL career.

Brannstrom signed a one-year, $900,000 deal with the Colorado Avalanche last summer after being unqualified by the Senators, but was traded to the Canucks before the season began.