The Vancouver Canucks didn’t exactly set Aatu Räty up for a long runway.
With Filip Chytil back from injury, Vancouver had another route if it wanted to clear space. Victor Mancini was still exempt from waivers and could have been sent to the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL.
Instead, the Canucks put Räty on waivers, and that choice sent a clear signal about where he stood in their rebuild. It was no shock when Räty later cleared and was traded.
Räty is still only a month away from turning 24, so this wasn’t the sort of early surrender that comes with a teenage prospect. He’s had time to show he belongs in the NHL.
Even so, there’s still a real possibility he grows into the kind of player Vancouver wishes it had kept around a little longer. The Canucks have been through this before.
Vasily Podkolzin is the obvious flashpoint. Vancouver took him 10th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, then moved him five years later to the Edmonton Oilers for a fourth-round pick. The reason was roster pressure, with Daniel Sprong needing a place after Vancouver brought him in - even though Sprong played just nine games for the club.
Since then, Podkolzin has made the move look rough for the Canucks. He has settled into the Oilers’ top six, often skating beside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, and sometimes both.
He’s also opened this season with seven goals in Edmonton’s first six games. Former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau, at least, believed Vancouver cut bait too early.
There’s even another sting attached. The fourth-round pick Vancouver got in the Podkolzin deal was later sent back to Edmonton for Evander Kane.
Gustav Forsling is another name that still lingers. More than a decade after Vancouver moved on from him, the decision remains hard to ignore.
After Forsling stood out at the 2015 World Junior Championships, general manager Jim Benning decided to “sell high” and sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Adam Clendening, an older defender ready to step into an NHL role. Clendening played just 17 games for the Canucks.
Forsling’s path didn’t stop there. Chicago traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes a couple of years later, and the Hurricanes eventually placed him on waivers.
Florida claimed him, and from there he became a 40-point, two-way, shutdown defenceman who helped the Panthers win back-to-back Stanley Cups. At 30, he’s still logging top-pairing minutes for a contender.
Jalen Chatfield followed a different route, but the ending has been just as frustrating for Vancouver. The Canucks signed him as an undrafted free agent out of the OHL in 2017 and developed him with the Utica Comets in the AHL.
Then the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season complicated everything. Chatfield looked ready to push for a full-time NHL job, but Vancouver had few injuries on defence and too many veterans.
He appeared in only 18 games for the Canucks and eventually reached unrestricted free agency because he hadn’t played enough NHL games.
Carolina picked him up, and after another season split between the AHL and NHL, Chatfield became a key piece of the Hurricanes’ blue line. When they won the Stanley Cup last season, he was on their top pairing.
Arturs Silovs is the newest example, and maybe the one that stings in a different way. Vancouver spent years developing the Latvian goalie after taking him in the sixth round of the 2019 draft.
He put in parts of four seasons with Abbotsford, slowly building into a starter while flashing upside during NHL cameos. He also shined on the international stage, earning World Championship MVP honors in 2023 after helping Latvia win its first bronze medal in IIHF competition.
Silovs then turned in a huge 2024-25 season with Abbotsford, winning the Calder Cup with a .931 save percentage in the AHL playoffs and taking home playoff MVP honors. After that, Vancouver traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Chase Stillman and a fourth-round pick.
The move made sense on paper once the Canucks committed to Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen in goal and Silovs was no longer waiver-exempt. But it’s still been painful to watch him thrive elsewhere.
He’s now Pittsburgh’s number-one goaltender and helped the Penguins get back to the playoffs after three straight seasons out. In the playoffs, he posted a .939 save percentage.
There are a few other names worth keeping in the conversation, maybe only one in a serious way: Nils Höglander. Vancouver traded him to the Nashville Predators for a third-round pick, and he has started strong with his new team. If that continues, the Canucks may have another one to regret.
Adam Gaudette, now with his fifth team since Vancouver sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Matthew Highmore, found some stability with the San Jose Sharks and scored 17 goals in 66 games last season. Michael DiPietro also had a rocky start in Vancouver, making his NHL debut on an emergency basis long before he was ready and getting shelled 7-2 by the Sharks.
He was moved to the Boston Bruins in the 2022 trade for Jack Studnicka, and four years later, after several strong AHL seasons, he has finally made his first start for Boston. He looks like he’ll be Jeremy Swayman’s backup all season.
In Other News...
Rangers Fans Will Want To See Chytils Next Step In Vancouver
Filip Chytil is on the verge of finally getting into the Vancouver lineup, giving the Canucks another look at a player whose arrival has been delayed by a shoulder injury. He has been out for the first eight games, but the club is now setting up for his season debut as it heads into a meeting with the Florida Panthers, a matchup that also comes with Leevi Merilainen and Akira Schmid projected to handle the crease.
To make room, Vancouver moved center Aatu Raty off the roster, a sign the team is ready to see what Chytil can add once he is healthy. For the Canucks, the timing matters because they are trying to get their center depth sorted while the schedule keeps rolling, and for Rangers fans still tracking Chytils path, this is the next checkpoint in a season that is only just starting for him. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Just Sent A Troubling Message About Aatu Rty
Aatu Rtys season has taken an early detour, with the young Canucks forward moving out of Vancouvers NHL picture for now and heading to Abbotsford. Rty appeared in just four games this season and saw limited ice time before the organization decided to shift him to the AHL, where he will join a center group that already includes Ty Mueller, Braeden Cootes and Chase Wouters.
For Rty, it is a notable step back after spending the entire 2025-26 season in the NHL, and it underscores how crowded the middle of Vancouvers lineup has become. He has been productive in the minors before, piling up 119 points in 169 career AHL games, but this move suggests the Canucks need him to reset and stay ready for another opening when it comes. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Face A Risky New Test With Chytil Back In The Mix
Filip Chytil is on track to rejoin the Canucks after working his way back from a preseason shoulder injury, and his return arrives at a time when Vancouver is still sorting out its lineup. The move gives the club another look at a player it expected to lean on, but it also comes with the kind of shuffling that tends to ripple beyond one spot in the forward group and into the defensive mix as well.
Aatu Rty being placed on waivers shows how quickly the roster picture can change when a key center is ready to come back, and the Canucks are making other tweaks as they prepare for Florida. The Panthers arrive without Aleksander Barkov and Jacob Markstrom because of injuries, with Akira Schmid expected to start in goal, which adds another layer to a matchup already shaped by Vancouvers latest personnel test. [Read more 🡒]