Only a couple of months after signing a new deal that could help him return to the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks have put forward Vitali Kravtsov on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate his contract. Kravtsov was brought back to the Canucks organization in hopes of bringing some middle-six offensive depth to the team, though the forward was unable to crack the lineup out of training camp and has only played with the Abbotsford Canucks this season.
Kravtsov is a former first-round pick, selected ninth-overall by the New York Rangers in 2018. He was traded to Vancouver back in 2023, playing in 16 games and putting up a goal and an assist. After his contract expired that year, he returned to the KHL where he spent the next two seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Kravtsov’s 2024–25 season was fruitful offensively speaking, as he scored 27 goals and 31 assists in 66 games, leading the Canucks to take one more shot with the forward by signing him during the 2025 off-season. He participated in Vancouver’s training camp this season, skating in a couple of pre-season games, but ultimately didn’t make the impact that the Canucks had hoped he would and was sent down to the AHL. Kravtsov had a goal and three assists in 10 games played with Abbotsford this year.
The Canucks conduct this move with both their NHL and AHL clubs suffering from depleted lineups. With Vancouver still missing Conor Garland, Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Nils Höglander, Victor Mancini, and Derek Forbort, the team has needed to pull from an Abbotsford lineup still missing players like Jett Woo, Guillaume Brisebois, and Nikita Tolopilo. With Kravtsov’s contract terminated, the AHL Canucks will look to fill yet another spot in their lineup.
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