The Vancouver Canucks have assigned forward Max Sasson to AHL Abbotsford. General manager Patrik Allvin made the announcement early Wednesday afternoon.

Since today is a team day off and because Abbotsford isn’t playing, the Canucks are able to send Sasson down to the minors in order to increase their salary accrual rate. Fans will remember earlier in the year when the Canucks would assign Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty to Abbotsford on nearly every day off only to recall them to the NHL the next day. This is all done with an eye on accruing cap space so that the Canucks can be more flexible at the Trade Deadline.

It remains to be seen if that’s what’s happening here, as the Canucks could choose to call up Sasson or a different player from Abbotsford or could be gearing up to clear a roster spot for JT Miller, who has been on a leave of absence since November 18th and missed the Canucks’ most recent road trip. There’s no indication that Miller will be back for this homestand, as the team is quite clearly giving Miller as much time as he needs, and since we’ve seen them do this before, this move could be more about cap gymnastics than anything else.

By sending Sasson down to Abbotsford, the Canucks go from accruing $2,651.91 to $7,183.16 for today. It is worth mentioning that the Canucks could have also chosen to send Aatu Räty down to Abbotsford to maximize their cap savings, so the fact that they didn’t could indicate that Sasson won’t be recalled tomorrow.

Sasson appeared in five games with the Canucks, including his NHL debut, where he picked up his first NHL point by setting up Teddy Blueger for a goal against the Ottawa Senators. Sasson followed that up with another assist, but went pointless over his next three games to close out the road trip.

Whatever the future holds, Sasson showed relatively well in his first taste of NHL action and could be an option to play in the Canucks’ bottom six down the line. The Canucks signed Sasson as a college free agent at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. He tallied 42 points through 56 AHL games with Abbotsford last season and is up to nine points in 16 AHL games this season.