After struggling to find consistent ice time to begin the 2026-27 season, the Vancouver Canucks placed Aatu Räty on NHL waivers. The day after Räty cleared waivers, the Canucks had found him a new home, sending him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr.

Throughout the preseason and the first eight regular-season games, it seemed Räty’s time in Vancouver was coming to an end. He didn’t play with the main roster in his two preseason games, and he was a healthy scratch for four of the eight regular season games, playing under 10 minutes in all but one. A fresh start for Räty seemed like the best move for both sides.

However, that doesn’t make it any easier to lose a long-time friend and teammate.

Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson spent multiple years with Räty in Abbotsford as the trio developed. They went on to succeed together, winning the Calder Cup in 2025, and all earned NHL promotions at the same time. Growing together and achieving life-long dreams with the same guy will always build a special bond. So even if his new situation may be better for him, it doesn’t make it any easier to lose what has now become more than just a teammate.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s a good friend,” Karlsson said. “It’s always sad to lose those guys. But I’m hopeful this is gonna help him in the future. I hope this is the best for him, but I mean, as a friend, it sucks for sure.”

“Yeah, I was pretty emotional when he got traded, and even thinking about it now,” Sasson said. “It’s probably going to be a better situation for him, but you know, he was one of my best friends in the organization. We came up together, kind of had the same path, grinding together in the AHL, got to the NHL pretty much at the same time. I sat next to him on the bus every single ride; sat next to him on the plane every single ride; talked for hours among hours about hockey, life, books, movies, whatever it may be. He’s an unbelievable guy, and it sucks to see him go. Hopefully, he’ll get a good run there. What I loved about him was, no matter what, he was always himself, and that’s such a big compliment to get. He never changed who he was, and we’re gonna miss him a lot around here.”

All three of Sasson, Karlsson, and Räty joined the Canucks organization at some point during the 2022-23 season. They played the majority of their hockey in the AHL until the 2025-26 season, when all three graduated to the NHL full-time. The 2026-27 season would have been their fifth consecutive season together.

Over the four previous seasons together, the trio went from AHL glory to the bottom of the NHL barrel and created plenty of lasting memories. Here are Karlsson and Sasson’s favourite few memories with Räty.

“We had a couple of dinners together, and of course that Calder Cup run,” Karlsson shared. “That’s a special memory for sure. I mean, all those guys on that team, you’re gonna have a special relationship with. So, I mean, that’s probably the best memory: that run we had there in Abbotsford.”

“Off the ice, the countless hours and conversations we had after good games, after bad games,” Sasson began. “We‘re both big into like mindset stuff, so we’d always talk about that. And then on the ice, my first game was me, him, and Bainsy. I’ll never forget playing with him in such a special moment, and you know, it’s so cool to play alongside your best buddies on the team for your first game. That’s something I’ll definitely never forget.

“Obviously the Calder Cup with him was unreal, but besides that, we went to dinner together almost every single time,” Sasson continued. “Like, he’s big into saunas; I’m big into saunas. Like, we’d spend so much time together. My girlfriend and his girlfriend are super close. Like, ties run deep. It was really, like, I think the first time that I saw, like, oh, this is a business. I mean, you obviously have seen trades and stuff, but someone that you’re just so used to leaning on, and him leaning on you, it sucks seeing him go.”

Sasson later mentioned something that Räty did for him that he still uses in his pre-game routine today:

“He could pre-scout any single lineup in the league,” Sasson recalled. “He knew every single person and what they do. One thing he told me was that I still do and will do is, he wrote 55% on a piece of tape and taped it in my stall before one of the games, and I ended up going like 7-1 that night, and then he was like, ‘See, it’s your mindset. Believe you’re gonna win it.’ So every game, I’ll write 55% and look at it before I go out there.”

In his two brief games with the Toronto Marlies, Räty has picked up a pair of primary assists. Although it didn’t work out in the Canucks organization, Sasson believes in Räty with this new opportunity, specifically praising his faceoff ability:

“I think he’s going to do a great job in Toronto,” Sasson said. I really hope he gets a run because I think he’s such a valuable asset to a team with his faceoffs. I think he can play just such a smart role, and when he’s on with his faceoffs, and he’s got the time to beat the ref, I mean, he can win 15 in a row, like that’s how good he is at faceoffs. So we’re all rooting for him.”

The faceoff discussion quickly prompted a follow-up question asking about Räty’s unique technique in the dot and whether or not Sasson will be adopting the strategy:

“It feels so goofy,” Sasson said. “But yeah, I mean, I’ve tried it. I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right to me. But I think some guys have started picking it up. Someone else does that now, and I know it’s because they probably saw him do it and how effective he was. So yeah, in like 10 years, if you start seeing every single guy do it, you’ll remember that’s the ‘Räty.'”

As sad as Sasson and Karlsson are to see their long-time teammate and friend go, their friendships run deep, with core memories going from off-ice hangouts and conversations to peaking with a Calder Cup trophy. Now, they will have to watch and cheer him on from afar, as Räty begins his new chapter in Toronto.