Vancouver Canucks place former 1st round pick on waivers in shocking move

Erik Brannstrom has not quite panned out the Canucks hoped he would when they signed him in free agency this summer.

This season he has played in 28 games for the Canucks, putting up three goals and five assists.

In total, he has appeared in 294 NHL games, the vast majority of which came with the Ottawa Senators after he was traded there by the team that drafted him, the Vegas Golden Knights.

In fact, Brannstrom never played a single game for Vegas.

Now his time in Vancouver could be coming to an end as he has been placed on waivers this afternoon.

The move clearly indicates that the Canucks are not happy with his performance this year which is a bit peculiar as he has been on pace for a career year in terms of offense.

In fact, he has already matched his career high in goals with three.

Perhaps there are other factors at play here. After all, the Canucks have been heavily involved in trade rumors.

Particuarly, Elias Pettersson has been rumored to be on the trade block.

JT Miller has also been in trade rumors as him an Pettersson continue to feud.

It seems likely that one of the two forwards will be gone by the trade deadline.

Perhaps the team is hoping to get a defenseman as part of the return, and thus sending Brannstrom down could be a precursor to a larger move.

Be sure to keep an eye on the Canucks as we could get major news from them at any moment.