The 麻豆传媒映画Canucks declared their opening day roster on Monday, seemingly signifying that they were done making cuts from the team. It turned out that wasn鈥檛 the case as they had one more move to make or, rather, a pair of moves.
On Tuesday, the Canucks put winger Zack MacEwen on waivers, freeing up a roster spot to sign Alex Chiasson, who was with the Canucks on a professional tryout (PTO). Chiasson signed a one-year contract with a league-minimum salary of $750,000.
Let鈥檚 break this down.
Return of the Mac (to the AHL)
Over the last couple of seasons, Zack MacEwen has been held up as proof of the 颁补苍耻肠办蝉鈥� ability to develop players in the AHL. MacEwen spent 155 games with the Utica Comets, working his way up from a depth role to the top of the lineup and eventually up to Vancouver.
MacEwen made waves in the 2019-20 season, scoring 5 goals in 17 NHL games and getting some top-six time on a line with Bo Horvat. Last season, however, he struggled to find the back of the net, finishing with just 2 points in 34 games.
It seemed clear that MacEwen鈥檚 path to staying in the NHL wasn鈥檛 as a goal-scoring, top-six forward. Instead, he needed to find a role on the fourth line, where his size and willingness to play the body could still see him contribute to the lineup. From there, his above-average hands and decent shot could just be a bonus, rather than the focus of his game.
Accordingly, MacEwen got a look on the penalty kill during the preseason as the team looked to replace not just the traded Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel, but also Tyler Motte, who is still recovering from off-season surgery, and Brandon Sutter, who GM Jim Benning reported is dealing with long COVID symptoms.
Unfortunately, MacEwen鈥檚 preseason was just a little too quiet, apart from an ill-fated fight against Zack Kassian. There were too many other players pushing for a spot and MacEwen didn鈥檛 do enough to stand out from the pack. When the Canucks traded for the 6鈥�3鈥� Juho Lammikko, who brings penalty-killing acumen to go with his grit, the writing was on the wall.
When it became clear the Canucks were going to sign Alex Chiasson, the wall came crashing down.
Assuming MacEwen clears waivers, he鈥檒l be assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks, where he鈥檒l be in a familiar position: attempting to earn a call-up to the NHL. The Canucks still like the 25-year-old winger and he could quickly find his way back to 麻豆传媒映画if injuries strike.
UPDATE (Oct 13): He did not, in fact, .
Don鈥檛 go Chiasson waterfalls
Alex Chiasson has been on several PTOs in his career. Every time, he earns a real contract.
First, it was the Washington Capitals in 2017, walking onto the team on a PTO and getting a one-year deal out of training camp. He played 61 regular season games for the Capitals and another 16 in the playoffs as the Capitals won their first-ever Stanley Cup.
Some Capitals were able to parlay having a Stanley Cup on their resume into a big payday on their next contract but Chiasson instead had to settle for another PTO, this time with the Edmonton Oilers. Once again, he turned that PTO into a one-year deal and cashed in for 22 goals while playing on the power play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
That finally earned Chiasson a two-year contract with the Oilers but, when it expired, he found himself having to sign yet another PTO.
鈥淚鈥檝e bet on myself three times,鈥� said Chiasson. 鈥淪o far, I鈥檝e come out on the right side of it. It鈥檚 not always been easy. Sometimes you leave and you don鈥檛 know where you鈥檙e heading and how long you鈥檙e going for but I鈥檝e learned as time goes 鈥� and this is my tenth year in the league 鈥� go one day at a time and just try to show what I鈥檓 capable of doing.鈥�
The Canucks brought him into training camp and initially played him with bottom-six forwards like Jason Dickinson but it seemed clear there was a top-six opportunity for him. Sure enough, as camp and the preseason progressed, Chiasson got time with top-six forwards and on the first power play unit.
When the Canucks practiced on Monday and Tuesday, Chiasson wasn鈥檛 just in the top-six but on the top line with J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.
鈥淗e鈥檚 super-talented,鈥� said Chiasson of playing with Pettersson. 鈥淗e鈥檚 really calm out there and an easy guy to play with. He reminds me a little bit of Leon [Draisaitl]. He鈥檚 a guy that likes to have the puck, he doesn鈥檛 need anyone close to him. He鈥檒l find the plays when they鈥檙e there.鈥�
A big reason why 颁丑颈补蝉蝉辞苍鈥檚 opportunity expanded is that Brock Boeser suffered a mystery injury that could keep him out of the lineup for the start of the regular season. But Chiasson also found a way to impress the 颁补苍耻肠办蝉鈥� coaching staff and complement a top player like Pettersson with his ability to win board battles down low and get open in front of the net.
Most importantly, he provides a different element on the power play, where he has the size and experience to be a net-front presence.
There are some causes for concern, of course. As much as Chiasson has been effective on the power play in the past, that was only with McDavid and Draisaitl. He鈥檚 never been able to produce much at 5-on-5, so it鈥檚 unclear if he could actually be a long-term fit in the top-six.
Once Boeser returns, where does Chiasson fit? He鈥檚 unlikely to stick on the first power play unit and will he provide enough value on the second unit? And, if he ends up on the fourth line, will he be asked to kill penalties? He was a regular on the penalty kill early in his career but hasn鈥檛 killed penalties for the last two seasons.
Still, on a league-minimum deal, it鈥檚 hard to find fault with signing Chiasson. If he can be a complementary player and score a few goals 鈥� he was on-pace for 16 goals over 82 games last season 鈥� then he鈥檒l be a bargain.
