Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet did not seem to take too kindly to the suggestion that Jonathan Lekkerimäki needed more ice-time.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Tocchet went on a bit of a rant, stating:
“The team is working hard and I don’t know where you want me to play him. Do you want me to play him at centre? He’s on the power play. He’s a young kid. We have to be careful. We know what we’re doing when it comes to young guys. I think you guys in the past were [expletive] about the franchise putting these guys in too quickly. I think so. We’re not doing that. We’re taking our time.“It’s the same thing with Pettersson (D-Petey). Same thing with Mancini. You have to marinate these guys. You’ve got to protect them. We’re protecting their confidence. I think they’ve done a hell of a job on this road trip. This is a good taste for these guys. Whether they play 10 or 12 minutes or I get them out in a shootout, when I put them out there, I’ll make those decisions.”
Now, no one really likes to be told how to do their job. But part of Tocchet’s frustration here may stem from the fact that post-deadline roster restrictions in the NHL are limiting the Canucks’ options when it comes to handling their young call-ups.
The early days of the 2024/25 season were practically defined by prospects yo-yoing up and down from Abbotsford, all in a bid to maintain cap room and accrue spending space. But as of the 2025 Trade Deadline, those days are over.
Roster rules get a bit strange after the deadline. The limit on the total number of players on an active roster, which is 23, goes away, and teams are allowed to carry as many individuals as they can fit under their (still-existent) cap.
And to prevent teams from abusing this, a new limit is placed on recalls from the minors. After the deadline has passed, teams are allowed just four non-emergency call-ups for the rest of the season. Which is not that many!
This doesn’t prevent teams from covering injuries. If a team looks as though they might have to ice a roster of less than 18, they are allowed an emergency recall, but said recall must be returned as soon as the ‘emergency’ ends.
On March 7, 2025, the Canucks used their last day of free recalls to ‘paper’ a number of players down to Abbotsford, retaining their playoff eligibility. Those players were Victor Mancini, Arturs Silovs, and Lekkerimäki, with all of Aatu Räty, Max Sasson, Linus Karlsson, and Arshdeep Bains already on the Abbotsford roster at that time.
(Interestingly enough, this list does not include Nils Åman or Elias Pettersson (D), both of whom were on the Canucks roster as of the Trade Deadline, and neither of whom were ‘papered’ down. Thus, neither will be eligible for the AHL playoffs.)
Since the deadline passed, the Canucks have made two of their four allowed regular recalls. The first would appear to have been burned right away, on the Saturday morning following the Trade Deadline. Silovs was sent down to Abbotsford to start over the weekend, and Nikita Tolopilo was recalled to cover his backup duties in Vancouver.
The very next day, Sunday, March 9, Tolopilo was re-assigned, and Silovs was recalled again under emergency conditions when it looked for a moment like both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen might miss action at the same time. But because of the emergency conditions, Silovs’s recall did not count against the four-recall limit.
The Canucks have also employed the emergency recall option a couple of other times as their forward injuries have occurred. Linus Karlsson came up on March 18 to cover Filip Chytil’s spot when the former exited the lineup with a concussion.
But the Canucks had to use their second official call-up on March 23 to add Aatu Räty to the roster in the wake of both Filip Chytil and Elias Pettersson’s injuries. This was not considered an emergency, as the Canucks had enough players on their roster at the time to fill the lineup – just not enough forwards or centres.
Another emergency recall was used on March 28 to bring Max Sasson in to cover a potential absence from an unknown Canuck. When that player played anyway, Sasson had to be sent back down right away.
So, that leaves the Canucks here in early April with just two official recalls left. And that definitely limits their options.
Some, for example, would like to see Lekkerimäki assigned to Abbotsford if he’s only going to play limited minutes in Vancouver. Well, that’s a little tricky because Lekkerimäki is currently up under regular recall conditions.
In order to send him down, the Canucks would first have to send down anyone up under emergency conditions (just Karlsson at the moment). Then they’d have to send down Lekkerimäki. And then they’d either have to burn one of their two remaining regular recalls to bring someone like Karlsson back up to cover the roster spot, or they’d have to dress one of their seven defenders as a forward for a while. None of that sounds ideal.
The Canucks will want to maintain as much flexibility as possible, and that means keeping their hands on at least one regular recall. Especially if they’re considering shutting down a player or two if and when they fall out of contention.
Or, if the Canucks still intend to sign Tom Willander in-season, at that point they’d have to re-assign their emergency recall (Karlsson), give Willander that roster spot, and then recall Karlsson under regular conditions so as to ensure they still have enough forwards. If that’s the plan, the Canucks are currently operating as if they’ve only got one regular recall to burn.
Maintaining that flexibility means dealing with the players they currently have on the roster, more or less. Which means it’s not so easy to just take someone like Lekkerimäki in and out of the lineup, and it leaves managing his minutes as perhaps the only realistic option.
Which, to bring it back to the top, probably has a little something to do with Tocchet’s frustration level in answering those questions.
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