The Vancouver Canucks have acquired defenceman Erik Brannstrom from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Tucker Poolman’s contract and a fourth round pick. General manager Patrik Allvin announced the deal late Sunday morning.

The Canucks will retain 20% of Poolman’s contract as part of the trade, meaning they’ll still be on the hook for $500,000 this year, the final year of the deal. Poolman was signed to a four-year contract worth $2.5 million annually during the 2021 offseason. He played just 40 games with the Canucks in his first season before departing with concussion-like symptoms. He attempted to comeback the season after, appearing in three games before going down with the same issues. He spent the entirety of last season on LTIR, and projects to do the same this season as well.

As a result, this trade should allow the Canucks to stay out of LTIR, which will allow them to accrue cap space during the season and be more aggressive at the trade deadline. Read more about LTIR by clicking here.

Coming back to the Canucks is 25-year-old left-shot defenceman Erik Brannstrom, who signed with the Avalanche this past offseason. Once a top prospect and a pivotal piece in the trade between Vegas and Ottawa that saw the Golden Knights acquire Mark Stone, Brannstrom has struggled to find success at the NHL level to this point in his career.

A smooth-skating puck mover, Brannstrom spent the past two seasons in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators, tallying 20 points last season and 18 points the year prior. Shortly after the trade, the Canucks announced that they had placed Brannstrom on waivers for the purpose of re-assignment to AHL Abbotsford.

The Canucks have long been trying to trade Poolman’s contract, and they finally found a deal that they felt made it worth it for them to pull the trigger.

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