Ahead of free agency opening on July 1, the Vancouver Canucks have re-signed several members of the Abbotsford Canucks' Calder Cup-winning team.
On Monday morning, the Canucks announced the re-signing of pending restricted free agents (RFA) Aatu Räty, Max Sasson, and Arshdeep Bains, as well as the re-signing of pending unrestricted free agent Guillaume Brisebois.
All four players will have identical $775,000 cap hits, which is the league minimum for the 2025-26 season, but there are some minor differences between the deals after that.
Aatu Räty ought to be in the NHL
Aatu Räty's season didn't end the way he had hoped, as he was injured for most of the Calder Cup Playoffs and was limited to just six games. Apart from that, however, it was a solid season for the 22-year-old centre.
Räty finished second on the Abbotsford Canucks in scoring in the regular season despite spending 33 games in the NHL. He scored up 17 goals and 40 points in 43 AHL games, while showing he could put the puck in the net in the NHL too, tallying 7 goals and 11 points in 33 NHL games.
The 22-year-old centre also showed improvement in his defensive game and was dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 57.4% of his draws. Since he'll be eligible for waivers next season, odds are that Räty will make the Canucks out of training camp and should be able to hold down a bottom-six role, particularly if the Canucks are unable to add a second-line centre and Filip Chytil steps into the top-six.
Accordingly, Räty got a one-way contract that pays him the same in the AHL as it does in the NHL. That it's a one-way deal is likely a moot point, as he's unlikely to get sent down to the AHL, but it's still a vote of confidence in the young centre.
Räty's contract is for two years with an average annual value of $775,000. He will still be an RFA when the contract expires, with his rights still held by the Canucks.
Max Sasson gets a one-way vote of confidence
Like Räty, Max Sasson also got a one-way deal and will be paid the same $775,000 salary whether he's in the AHL or the NHL. That's a big vote of confidence in the 24-year-old forward, who spent the majority of last season in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks.
Sasson's deal, however, is a one-year contract, though he'll still be an RFA when it expires.
What might hurt Sasson's chances of making the Canucks out of training camp is that he's one of the few fringe players still exempt from waivers, making it more likely that he gets sent down to start the season. At least with a one-way deal, Sasson will be making NHL money no matter what.
Speed is the calling card of Sasson's game, and he showed it was NHL-caliber last season. NHL Edge clocked his top speed at 23.1 mph, which is above league average and ranks in the 88th percentile of NHL forwards. He tallied 7 points in 29 games with the Vancouver Canucks and gave the team reason to believe he could hold down a bottom-six role in the future.
In the AHL, Sasson was a top-line forward, playing a complementary role to top scorers like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson. Sasson had 13 goals and 32 points in 41 regular season games, then was fourth on the team in scoring in the playoffs with 14 points in 24 games to help the Abbotsford Canucks win the Calder Cup.
Now, the 24-year-old Sasson will be looking to prove he belongs in the NHL.
Arshdeep Bains gets a two-year deal
Arshdeep Bains is coming off a fantastic AHL season. He led the Abbotsford Canucks in scoring with 43 points in 50 games, then was second in the Calder Cup Playoffs in scoring with 24 points in 24 games.
The 24-year-old winger showcased the creative, playmaking side of his game in the AHL, frequently finding teammates with seeing-eye passes through traffic to set up scoring chances.
In the NHL, however, Bains played a stripped-down, simplified game. He had just one goal and no assists in 13 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season, and primarily seemed to be focused on not making mistakes on the defensive side of the puck.
If Bains can find a way to bring more creativity and playmaking at the NHL level, he could be an intriguing bottom-six forward for the Canucks, but Bains still needs to take some steps to get there.
That's why Bains's contract is a little bit different from the other RFAs. The two-year contract is a two-way deal in the first year, paying $775,000 in the NHL but $290,000 in the AHL. It becomes a one-way contract that pays the same $775,000 salary in both leagues in the second year.
That suggests the Canucks anticipate Bains needing more seasoning in the AHL next season before becoming a full-time NHLer in the following season. With Bains eligible for waivers next season, however, there's a chance that another team could claim Bains if the Canucks try to send him down to the AHL.
Bains will still be an RFA when the contract expires in two years.
Guillaume Brisebois gets a two-way contract
Few active players have been in the Canucks organization longer than Guillaume Brisebois.
The veteran defenceman was drafted in the third round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the same year as Brock Boeser, who is about to depart from the Canucks as an unrestricted free agent. Only Thatcher Demko, drafted in 2014, has been in the Canucks system longer than Brisebois, but Brisebois signed his first NHL contract a year before Demko did.
Brisebois played a key defensive role in the Abbotsford Canucks' Calder Cup run, impacting the games far more than his 3 points in 24 games would suggest. It was a big season for Brisebois, not least of which because he was mostly healthy after missing almost the entire 2023-24 season with issues stemming from a concussion.
Brisebois also appeared in three NHL games this past season.
The Canucks love Brisebois's character and leadership, which will be important with a young defence corps in Abbotsford in the coming year.
Brisebois's one-year contract is a two-way deal that pays $775,000 at the NHL level and only slightly less — $500,000 — at the AHL level. That's commensurate with what Brisebois brings on the ice and in the room in Abbotsford.
Cole McWard won't receive a qualifying offer from the Canucks
The Canucks also announced which restricted free agents will be getting qualifying offers to retain their signing rights.
Jett Woo and Nikita Tolopilo have received qualifying offers, which are contract offers that a player is typically expected to reject as they continue to negotiate a new contract with the team. Both Woo and Tolopilo will likely re-sign with the Canucks sometime this summer, barring their inclusion in a trade.
Cole McWard, Christian Felton, Ty Glover, and Tristen Nielsen did not receive qualifying offers, so will become unrestricted free agents (UFAs).
The following qualifying offers have been made: pic.twitter.com/aNPORCPRYH
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 30, 2025
Of those four, the only real surprise is McWard, who looked very close to making the NHL just two years ago.
McWard had 26 points in 67 games for Abbotsford this past season, then only appeared in 12 of their playoff games, as he fell behind Victor Mancini and Jett Woo on the depth chart and was scratched.
That's the issue for McWard: he never took that next step, and then got passed by other defencemen. The additions of Mancini and Elias Pettersson, who proved he could play on the right side, made it hard for McWard to push for an NHL job. Add in Kirill Kudryavtsev also proving he could play on his off-side, and there was no room for McWard.
McWard was a significant contributor to the team's PK, but Abbotsford got torched in his minutes at 5-on-5 during playoffs
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) June 30, 2025
Outscored 8 to 4 in his minutes at 5v5.
Outscored 5-zip at 5-on-5 with the game tied 😬
Team simply got better results with Kudryavtsev on his off side https://t.co/L1DZUysWVN
The Canucks also have top prospect Tom Willander coming next season on the right side. The Canucks' young depth on defence pushed McWard out.
Nielsen has been an important player in Abbotsford, but just hasn't shown enough to prove he can make it to the NHL. Glover played a depth role for Abbotsford, while Christian Felton split time between the AHL and ECHL last season.
