Canucks make Multiple Moves...

The Canucks are 3-16-1, and they've lost six in a row. And on Tuesday, they put out a post with three roster moves. Two of them are young players that need more time, but the other one is a defenseman that nobody has heard of, as they claim him. His name is Camin Crotty, and he was placed on waivers by the Minnesota Wild, which the Vancouver Canucks claimed him, and he's the most interesting name out of the moves. He's 27 years old, standing at 6 foot 3. He's played 332 games in the AHL and has worn a letter at two of his stops. So here's the real question. Is the guy that two teams passed on in two weeks a thing that can fill a hole? We'll get into that. Crotty is a right shot defenseman from Ottawa. Arizona drafted him in the third round in 2017, 82nd overall. So the Canucks are the fourth NHL organization in his story. At 18, he went to Boston University, and a lot of scouts love his game. A puck mover with a two-way ability. Played three seasons there. His last two years at Boston University were 10 points in 38 games, then 9 points in 30. the path gets interesting. He didn't make it straight to the NHL. He went to Norway in the 2020-2021 season before the next season joining the AHL team for the Arizona Coyotes. He spent four seasons in Tuscan, then 2024-25 with the Iowa Wild, where he was the captain. That Iowa season was 64 games, no goals, 10 assists. He isn't the guy you sign for points. He's the guy The guy that plays the hard minutes in the back. Think about what 332 AHL games mean. This is a guy that played 4 full seasons in the AHL with their schedule being 72 during a year. That is 4 years of back-to-backs, bus rides, and he still didn't give up. Last year he was in the Ottawa Senators AHL team. 49 games, 3 goals, 10 points. And that's where the Sens' depth chart had him. Now the NHL part. 11 games. Total. 1 assist. He debuted March of 2024 with Arizona, and he's been waiting for a steady job ever since. And his second NHL stop was a funny one for Vancouver. On April 12, 2025, Crotty made his Minnesota debut in a 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks. So the Canucks have seen him up close and personal already during that debut, but they haven't seen him on their bench. That's the profile. A AHL veteran that was a captain and of course a right-handed shot defenseman. This is the type of player that has been waiting for the opportunity to be given to him by a franchise. And with the Canucks looking for more character in the room, or at least adding someone with more experience when it comes to age, this guy falls right into their lap. And that's what makes the last two weeks so strange. He's been shipped out and moved around over the last two weeks and he hasn't really got a chance to play. On October 28th, Ottawa put him on waivers as Thomas Chabot was getting ready to return. Minnesota claimed him the next day. With Ottawa this season, he played three of the first 13 games. No points, 11 minutes and 9 seconds a night. And his last game was October 15th. Then on November 9th, Minnesota put him on waivers. Same thing, and now November 10th, Vancouver puts the claim in. Organizations in two weeks. Ottawa, Minnesota, and then Vancouver is the one that ended up landing him. Now, none of this means he's a bad player. This is an NHL team that, of course, is having a very big slump. One win in their last 20 games. We'll get into a roster move, which it's obvious that he needs more time in the AHL Before being a full-time NHL player. So bringing in a right-handed shot defenseman that has experience of being a captain has worked his way to this level. I think this is a great pickup for the Canucks. And he's free and comes cheap, about $812K on the cap, on a deal that runs through this season. The Canucks sit $15.9 million under the cap, so this barely shows up. So why use your top waiver priority to land this guy? Well, a reporter put out a tweet right afterwards. Ryan Johnson has said he loves players who've worn a letter on their chest. Crowdy wore an A at Boston University, and he captained the Iowa Wild in 2024-2025. This is the whole idea. Ryan Johnson likes and wants to bring more leadership into this Canucks dressing room. So you bring in a guy that has experience as an assistant captain, then a captain, to a group, and he plays defense to add more leadership. Hear how bad it's got inside the room, too. After Philadelphia's loss, Drew O'Connor said, No one's happy with losing. And Manny Malhotra went further. It's becoming a problem. Those are words from a team that needs something to change. A claim is not going to fix this Canucks team and make them a contender tomorrow. tomorrow, but But getting this guy into this group puts a change within the locker room, something this team needs during this slide. Remember where this started. On October 6th, the Canucks were 3rd in the Pacific. By November 9th, they were 8th. Look at what the room is going through. The Canucks have lost 16 of their last 17 games. They have 15.9 million of cap room and a record of 3-16-1 through 20. That is among the worst 20-game start in 20 years. Against Philadelphia, they had 6 shots through 2 periods. They lost 3-1. Then they got outshot 13-2 in the 3rd. On the back end, the penalty kill is 63.1%. 31st of 32 teams. They've allowed a power play goal in 16 of 20 games. Look at who's carrying it. Filip Ronik played 31 minutes and 11 seconds against Philly. That's a career high. Is that a miracle? No. But pro- Is that a miracle? No. But in a season like this, you look for a guy who can get the shift right. And that's what What Crowdy has always been. And think about the timing, Crowdy has played only 3 games this season, and he last played on October 15th. He's rested, he's hungry, and he's walking into a team that needs fresh legs. And fresh legs matter when your top defenseman is skating 31 minutes. This gives some pressure lifted off Filip Ronik and the others. Now the other half of this. To bring Crowdy into this group, the Canucks had to make a corresponding move, which was Victor Mancini Who has been reassigned to the Abbotsford Canucks? Mancini is 24. The Rangers took him 159th overall in 2022. He played three years at Omaha, and the Canucks got him in the JT Miller trade in January of 2025. The first sign came Tuesday. Mancini was not on the ice at practice. A reporter at Rogers Arena noticed, and the post came out a few hours later. And remember, he was a part of the Abbotsford's championship team just a few seasons ago. He knows what building a championship down there looks like. This season, he got into eight of the Canucks' first 20 games, 12 minutes and 25 seconds a night. That's a third pair role, and that's all he needed to be. Which means that he sat for 12 of the Canucks' 20 games. And with a young defenseman, you need to continue to grow, and that does not happen from the press box. Last season, he averaged 13 minutes and 44 seconds, and in March, he signed a two-year extension at $1 million a season. So the team believes in Mancini, and that's the part that matters. He still doesn't need waivers to go down. Seven more NHL games, and that changes. So this is the cheap way to give him time. You send him down to Abbotsford, he gets a boatload of minutes instead of sitting in the press box. They cannot rebuild his confidence and keep Mancini At 24 years old, he's a defenseman that's still growing. 8 of the 20 games is not going to cut it for a young defenseman looking to grow, but you put him in Abbotsford 20 games of top-line minutes, and that does wonders. And this is not a punishment to Mancini. This is sending a guy down, again, to grow the confidence and get him back into a role so he can thrive at that next column. The third name in the post is Akil Thomas. He was placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford. He's 26. He signed a one-year deal for 900k in July. He opened up camp on injured reserves, and he has not played an NHL game this season. That injury is why you haven't got to see Thomas this season, but now he gets a real shot in Abbotsford. In the AHL, Well, he has 196 games and 115 points. That's about 0.59 points a game, so he knows how to produce down there. So, this is a quiet report, of course, but with Akil Thomas coming back, he gets to go down to Abbotsford and get his game back. So, you put the three moves together. The Canucks picked up a captain to add to this group. They sent down a young defenseman that needs a reset and a confidence boost, and they sent down a forward that started the year on injured reserves. And it's the smallest move on the board, but again, you pick up Karady to add to a group that needs the vocal leader within this team, a new fresh face on the blue line, and someone that brings fresh legs to a team that desperately needs a win. And the easy way to look at this is Ryan Johnson shuffling names and sending people down for the sake of a change. But I look at this of a change of a new guy, a former captain and assistant captain with BU stepping into this group and hopefully becoming a vocal leader. I also wanted to give one report also says Philip Edel and Will Ender are close to return and could play Friday. So the lineup Karady walks into could change again. But before you go, let me know your thoughts on these moves down in the comment. Are you pleasantly surprised by Karady when you dive into what he brings to the team? And is this a move to get a new voice within the group? And hey, if you want to stay up to date with everything to do around the Canucks, make sure that free subscribe button you made it this far. You might as well. Again, completely free. Close to a goal of 10,000 subscribers. Want to give a huge shout out to everyone watching. I've been your host, Mark. Bye. Take care, Canucks fans. And I'll see you in the next one.