The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed former Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy on NHL waivers Wednesday morning.
Soucy had signed a professional tryout contract with Columbus after not landing a new team over the summer ahead of the 2026-27 season. He appeared in two preseason games for the Blue Jackets, finishing with 11 penalty minutes and two shots on goal while averaging 16:25 of ice time. That work was enough to earn him an NHL contract, as he signed a one-year, one-way deal worth $1.15 million with Columbus on opening night.
The 6’5″, 212-lb left-shot defender has played in seven of the Blue Jackets’ 10 games this season. In those outings, he has collected one assist, four penalty minutes, five shots on goal, four blocks, and 17 hits, while posting a minus-five rating and averaging 14:45 of ice time.
If he clears waivers, Soucy will head to the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, where he would join Corson Ceulemans, Colton White, Charlie Elick, Boston Buckberger, Adam Clendening, Guillaume Richard, and Luca Marrelli.
Soucy’s run in Vancouver covered one and a half seasons of his three-year contract with the Canucks. He was part of a shutdown duo with Tyler Myers in 2023-24, helping Vancouver reach 50 wins, capture the Pacific Division, get past the Nashville Predators in the playoffs, and fall one goal short of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers.
The next season went the other way. Soucy’s defensive game dropped off, and the Canucks dealt him to the New York Rangers at the NHL trade deadline for a 2025 third-round pick (Kieren Dervin).
A year later, the Rangers moved him to the New York Islanders for another third-round pick. He played 30 games for the Islanders, but the club did not bring him back this offseason.
In Other News...
Eric Tulsky Just Clarified Carolinas Nikita Nikishin Contract Leverage
The latest wrinkle in the Nikita Nikishin discussion is less about Carolina specifically and more about how the NHLs 10.2(c) category works for young players who have not yet reached normal restricted free agency. In that setup, a player like Nikishin has no real marketplace to test, which leaves the club with all the leverage and makes the contract path look very different from what fans are used to seeing in other leagues.
For Vancouver, the comparison lands close to home because the way the Canucks handled Zeev Buium has been cited as a clean example of treating a 10.2(c) player like an extension of the entry-level system. It is the kind of cap and contract nuance that can shape negotiations for years, and it also shows why these cases matter beyond the immediate signing, especially when a team is trying to balance future flexibility with a players long-term value. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Skid Is Putting Several Veterans In Serious Trade Danger
The losing streak has pushed Vancouver into a difficult spot, and it is starting to sound like the front office is prepared to treat the slump as more than a temporary rut. Reports around the league have suggested the Canucks are willing to look at meaningful changes, with the emphasis on getting younger while still adding NHL-proven pieces that can help stabilize the roster.
Ryan Johnson is the one driving that evaluation, and the list of veterans now in the conversation gives a sense of how wide-ranging the thinking could become. Jake DeBrusk, Drew OConnor, Filip Chytil and Luke Schenn have all come up as possible trade material, and even Elias Pettersson has been mentioned in the broader discussion, which is enough to tell you this is not just about tweaking the edges of the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Linked To Former Top Pick Who May Need A Fresh Start
Kevin Korchinski has emerged as a name to watch for the Canucks as they continue sorting out their blue line and looking for young talent that fits a longer-term rebuild. The former top pick has struggled to carve out a regular NHL role in Chicago, with limited action this season and much of last year spent in the AHL, which has only sharpened the sense that a change of scenery could help unlock more of the upside that once made him such a coveted prospect.
What makes Vancouver an interesting fit is the opportunity it could provide. The Canucks are in a position to offer more playing time than Korchinski has found with the Blackhawks, and that kind of runway can matter for a defenseman still trying to establish himself. For Chicago, the question is whether the organization can keep him in the mix at the NHL level or whether it eventually has to make a tougher decision to move on. [Read more 🡒]
