The writing was on the wall for Aatu Räty when the Vancouver Canucks chose to play the likes of Paul Cotter, Drew O’Connor, and Max Sasson at centre ahead of him.
After playing in just four of the Canucks’ eight games this season, Räty has been placed on waivers.
Raty (Van) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 14, 2026
While Räty remains a faceoff ace, winning 56.8 per cent of his draws this season, there have been some significant concerns about the rest of his game. At this point, multiple Canucks coaches have been hesitant to use Räty, particularly in high-leverage situations where a defensive error could prove costly.
The Canucks have been outscored 4-to-1 when Räty has been on the ice at 5-on-5, and the Canucks have also given up two goals in the limited time Räty has played on the penalty kill.
For Manny Malhotra, who likes size and speed up the middle of the ice, Räty’s lack of foot speed likely didn’t help.
Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson tried to trade Räty, according to a report from Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, but couldn’t find a taker. Perhaps other teams knew they could acquire him for nothing in the near future.
“Had to make a hard decision,” said Johnson to Johnston. “Great kid that if he was gonna sparingly play here, feel like I owe him a new opportunity.”
The upside of Räty going on waivers is that it likely means the Canucks are ready to activate Filip Chytil off the Injured Reserve list.
Chytil suffered a shoulder injury during his first preseason game when he got tangled up with referee Riley Brace and went hard into the boards. Chytil has now been out for three weeks, but was back skating with the team at practice in a regular jersey this week, indicating he’s close to a return.
Waiving Räty opens up a spot for Chytil, but it also means the Canucks might lose Räty for nothing.
While several Canucks coaching staffs couldn’t find a regular spot for Räty, another NHL team could take a chance on a 23-year-old centre with a 59.1 per cent career faceoff percentage.