Sven Baertschi, who has repeatedly asked for a trade from the Vancouver Canucks after spending most of the 2019-20 season in the American Hockey League, is staying home.
The Swiss winger confirmed on Twitter Saturday afternoon that he has chosen to opt out of the remainder of the 2019-20 season, which is set to resume this week with training camps across North America, including at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
He cited “concerns and risks of Covid-19 to my family” as his reason for the decision.
“I wish all of my teammates succes.”
Baertschi had been skating with his teammates at Rogers Arena as part of the team’s Phase 2 preparations ahead of training camp, which starts on Monday.
Canucks general manager Jim Benning said the team supported Baertschi’s decision.
“Sven informed us late yesterday that he has chosen to opt out of the NHL Return to Play Program. It was a difficult decision but ultimately one we respect and understand,” Benning said in an email.
“We have added Kole Lind to our Return to Play roster and will continue to focus on preparation for training camp.”
Although Baertschi spent much of the season with the AHL’s Utica Comets — he had a six-game cameo in November — he was invited as one of three extra forwards for training camp, which begins Monday and runs until the resumption of exhibition play in Edmonton at the end of the month.
Under the terms of the NHL’s return to play plan, which was ratified Friday by both the league’s owners and its players’ union, players may choose not to participate, with no conditions.
Baertschi would be the second player to announce he’s not going to take part in the NHL’s summer program, following Travis Hamonic of the Calgary Flames.
Hamonic made his announcement on Friday evening.
Baertschi was placed on waivers on the eve of the season and when he cleared, was re-assigned to the Comets, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate. He played well in Utica and was recalled in November. He played well during his recall but didn’t score.
Upon being returned to Utica, his agent Andre Rufener asked the Canucks to trade him to another NHL team. The Canucks tried several times and at one point authorized Rufener to make his own enquiries.
But noting came to fruition and Baertschi played out the season in Utica.
Baertschi has one more year remaining on a contract that carries a cap hit of just over $3 million. When he’s on an AHL roster, his cap hit is reduced by about $1 million.
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email [email protected]
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
