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CanucksArmy Top 25 of 2020: #24 — Sven Baertschi opts out of NHL’s return to play

Photo credit: © Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

By Zach Laing

Dec 2, 2020, 16:50 ESTUpdated: Dec 2, 2020, 18:07 EST

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Welcome to the yearly wrap up of the top read articles over the last year!

The Sven Baertschi era in Vancouver has been interesting. Once a highly-touted prospect with first round pedigree, his fall from grace over the last two years has been nothing short of a surprise.

And in 2020, the 24th most-read article on Canucks Army, penned by site editor David Quadrelli, was about how Baertschi chose to opt-out of the league’s return to play.

Sven Baertschi becomes second player to opt out of NHL’s return to play

He played 190 games in Canucks diggs between 2015-2018 scoring 47 goals and 92 points, but in 2018-19, he saw only 26 games. His games played got even less last year appearing in only six games for the Canucks, instead playing 43 games with the Utica Comets.

It also came with a trade request and it was apparent the relationship was strained.

Then, when the league made the return-to-play official and players were given the ability to opt-out, Baertschi was the second NHL player to do so citing “concerns and risks of Covid-19 to my family” as his reason for not playing.

Here’s what Quadrelli wrote in the article about the opt-out:

The relationship between the Canucks and Baertschi is certainly not a good one, with Baertschi requesting a trade from the club earlier this season. The Canucks tried their best to move Baertschi but presumably couldn’t find any suitors willing to take on Baertschi’s contract, which has one year remaining on it at a cap hit of $3.36 million.

On Twitter: @zjlaing