What will the Abby Canucks’ lineup look like next season?

The 2024-2025 Abbotsford Canucks is a team fans will remember forever.

Their Championship run breathed joy, excitement, and some much-needed life into a Canucks organization that desperately needed it after the season their big brother had.

But all things must come to an end.

While the players rejoiced with one another in their accomplishment, it was short-lived, as free agency was just one week later. And Abbotsford had plenty of players in need of new contracts.

Phil Di Giuseppe, Nate Smith, Sammy Blais, Jujhar Khaira, Akito Hirose, Christian Wolanin, and Guillaume Brisebois were all set to become unrestricted free agents (UFAs) on July 1.

Aatu Räty, Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Tristen Nielsen, Ty Glover, Christian Felton, Cole McWard, Jett Woo and Nikita Tolopilo were all restricted free agents (RFAs) and under team control.

With 16 skaters needing new deals, let’s take a look into how different the Abbotsford Canucks may look for next season.

Who stayed?

Of their UFAs, the Canucks only extended veteran defenceman Guillaume Brisebois. He signed a one-year, two-way contract. So he will return to Abbotsford next year.

However, the club took care of business with some of their RFAs. The Canucks extended Räty and Bains to two-year contracts, with Räty earning a one-way deal in both years, while Bains’ first year is a two-way deal, and the second year is a one-way contract. They also signed Sasson to a one-year, one-way contract. All three players signed for $775,000.

Before July 1, the Canucks qualified two of their six remaining RFAs: Jett Woo and Nikita Tolopilo. Both players were eligible for arbitration rights, but neither chose to exercise them. The other four RFAs (Nielsen, Glover, Felton and McWard) who were not tendered became UFAs on July 1.

Who left?

Two of the Canucks’ five UFAs found new homes on July 1.

Di Giuseppe signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with the Winnipeg Jets. Blais signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000 with the Montreal Canadiens. Smith, Khaira, Hirose and Wolanin are still searching for their next home.

Of the Canucks’ RFAs that became UFAs, only McWard has found a new home, signing a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with the New York Islanders. Nielsen, Glover and Felton remain on the free agent market.

Who did they bring in?

The Canucks made a handful of signings for Abbotsford in the early stages of free agency. They signed offensive defenceman Pierre-Oliver Joseph to a one-year, one-way deal worth $775,000, while signing a trio of players to two-way contracts as well: Forwards Mackenzie MacEachern and Joseph Labate and defenceman Jimmy Schuldt.

Let’s not forget that earlier this offseason, the Canucks signed Latvian forward Anri Ravinskis out of Latvia to a two-year, entry-level contract. Shortly after the 2025 NHL draft, the Canucks traded for Ilya Safonov from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Russian forward still has one more year remaining on his KHL contract, so he won’t be joining the Canucks organization next season.

It’s not out of the question for the organization to bring some of their free agents back if they can’t find new homes out there, but they also have plenty of younger players who are ready to make the jump to the professional ranks.

Forwards Vilmer Alriksson, Jackson Kunz and Josh Bloom, defenceman Tom Willander, Sawyer Mynio and goaltender Ty Young are all expected to make, if not compete, for a roster spot in the Abbotsford lineup next season.

The lineup

To end the 2024-2025 season, the Canucks iced a lineup of:

Bains – Sasson – Karlsson
Di Giuseppe – Mueller – Lekkerimäki
Blais – Khaira – Smith
Nielsen – Wouters – Klimovich

Brisebois – Mancini
Wolanin – Woo
Hirose – Kudryavtsev

Silovs
Tolopilo

Extras: Räty (Inj), Glover, Felton, Mynio

After the postseasons they had, we are expecting Karlsson to have a serious chance of making the NHL lineup. Sasson will be awarded the same opportunity as he was given a one-way contract; however, we expect the final centre spot to go to Räty.

With all of that considered, here is the projected lineup with the new players added for the Abbotsford Canucks next season:

Bains – Sasson – Lekkerimäki
MacEachern – Mueller – Klimovich
Alriksson – Aman – Ravinskis
Labate – Wouters – Bloom

Kudryavtsev – Mancini
Brisebois – Woo
Schuldt – Willander

Tolopilo
Young

Extras: Mynio, Patera

You probably noticed that there’s a certain MVP left off the list. Well, it seems more and more likely the Canucks will be trading goaltender Arturs Silovs at some point this offseason. With the organization extending Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen starting his new five-year deal, there’s no room in Vancouver for Silovs. The Canucks plan on doing right by the player by moving the 24-year-old and letting him earn the promotion he deserves.

There is certainly room for the Canucks to add some help upfront for the Canucks. It’s likely that one of Sasson or Aman is serving as an extra forward in the NHL, leaving a hole down the middle of the ice. Looking at this lineup, it appears the Canucks are instilling youth down in Abbotsord to allow them to develop, shifting from the former-NHLer third-line approach they had last season.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Does this Abbotsford Canucks lineup stand a chance at repeating as Calder Cup Champions?