Former Vancouver Canuck and Calder Cup Champion Officially Finds New Home After Becoming a UFA

Vancouver's American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, have gone from Calder Cup champions back in June all the way to the bottom of the league's Western Conference standings as of this weekend with a 3-12-1-2 record through 18 games.

To be fair, it doesn't help that the team has lost several key players since their Calder Cup win with MVP goaltender Arturs Silovs traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as some free agents deciding to move on to pursue opportunities in Europe including Akito Hirose and Ty Glover.

While Abbotsford Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson was able to bring back Jujhar Khaira recently, signing him to a one-year deal, and with fans clamouring for the club to reconnect with another member of their Calder Cup-winning group, it looks like that ship has sailed.

On Thursday morning, the Providence Bruins, American Hockey League affiliate of the Boston Bruins, shared in a press release that they're bringing free agent defenseman Christian Wolanin to the club on a professional tryout (PTO).

The 30-year-old blueliner brings 86 games of NHL experience to the Providence Bruins, along with well over 200 at the American Hockey League level, which will be very beneficial for a team sitting one point back of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Given how important Wolanin was to the Abbotsford Canucks in each of the last three seasons, it was a bit surprising seeing the Quebec City, Quebec native have to wait this long before landing another contract and even still, with it being a PTO, it's not a guarantee that he'll be with the Providence Bruins for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.

If Wolanin happens to get released from his professional tryout at any point in the weeks or months ahead, the Vancouver Canucks should consider bringing him back, likely on an AHL contract to help Abbotsford get out of the league's basement.