Aatu Raty’s time on the edge of the Canucks’ NHL lineup appears to be over, at least for now, as Vancouver placed the centre on waivers Wednesday with Filip Chytil poised to return.
That move says plenty about where the Canucks are right now. Even with the club sitting at the bottom of the standings, roster spots are still being treated like precious real estate. If you’re not helping the team right now, you can slide out of the picture fast.
Raty, once an intriguing piece of the Bo Horvat trade three-plus years ago, never quite turned that promise into a lasting NHL role. In 106 games with Vancouver, he produced 12 goals and never locked down a meaningful spot in the lineup.
He has been useful on faceoffs, but that alone wasn’t enough to keep him in the mix. With his skating still a limitation, the chances were already thinning before Chytil’s return pushed him even farther down the depth chart.
Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said Wednesday he had been trying to move the centre but couldn’t line up a trade.
“Had to make a hard decision,” the GM said via text. “Great kid that if he was gonna sparingly play here, feel like I owe him a new opportunity.”
If Raty clears waivers, he’ll head to Abbotsford with his $812,500 cap hit. Another team could still claim him, especially with that bargain salary attached.
This has been a story of flashes without enough staying power. Raty spent all of 2025-26 in the NHL with Adam Foote’s Canucks, appearing in 66 games and scoring four goals. Yet he never separated himself from the pack, even after showing he could be a real factor at the AHL level.
Two seasons ago, he put up 40 points in 43 regular-season games for Johnson’s AHL Canucks, then played a major role in Abbotsford’s run to the Calder Cup before a leg injury in the second round of the playoffs slowed him down and kept him from fully recovering until the title was won. He also had 52 points in a full season with Abbotsford in 2023-24.
The AHL production is real enough. The NHL version just never followed.
And with Chytil back in the fold, Raty is now behind Elias Pettersson, Marco Rossi, Chytil and Max Sasson among the team’s conventional centres. Vancouver has also used Paul Cotter and Drew O’Connor down the middle ahead of him, a clear sign that skating ability is carrying more weight than faceoff talent.
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 🡒]