A shorter pre-season means fewer chances to prove yourself to an NHL team, as Aatu Räty well knows. Or knew. He's out of chances for this season, with veteran players just getting two games because of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Make It, Fake It, or Face It

The Canucks still have 31 players hanging around after two days of cuts. That means eight have to go, but there are two remaining pre-season games on the schedule before the crunch comes. Edmonton comes to town on Thursday, and the Kraken arrive on Saturday to round it out. Odds are good that only a couple decisions will remain by Saturday's Last Chance Saloon.

Those who have gone are either back to junior, released to their AHL contracts, or sent to Abbotsford. Most of the Abby returnees are waiver-exempt, including the players released to their AHL contracts. Those players don't have a deal with Vancouver, but with Abbotsford, and had professional tryout contracts for the pre-season.

Waiving Bye-Bye

It's unlikely that the three players Vancouver put on waivers will be selected by another team, as the selecting team would then need to put a player of their own on waivers. Actually, that's just Detroit; every other team in the league still needs to put anywhere from one (Seattle) to eleven (Florida, Ottawa) more players on waivers. Which does make things interesting for the Canucks.

I will be disappointed if Trey Fix-Wolansky is lifted from the current list by another team. I'm looking forward to seeing him in action, and I always like it when smaller guys get their break. "Smaller" being relative in this case: if anyone wants to cast a more height-accurate Wolverine, here ya go.

The waiver wire does offer an opportunity for Vancouver, though. Finishing 31st in the league last season does offer a benefit beyond the draft pick. Until November 1st, they get dibs on any player any team tries to send down. That's not just the pre-season, but all of October for them to try out waiver pickups.

No team is getting a star off the waiver wire, but there might be a useful player or two available. There may even be more than that, depending on how other teams' seasons go.

Pick and Choose

Should, for instance, Thatcher Demko start the season on the injured reserve list, maybe Vancouver would look for a goalie. They have a PTO man in Chris Driedger, but they also haven't played him yet. If the team decides they want to keep the duo of Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo in Abbotsford and undisturbed, waivers are an option.

Getting a veteran skater makes more sense to me. It's possible the Canucks want a third goaltender to wait in the stands, and then great! Whoever's around can move from there to the bench in a pinch. But if the team wants to rotate in a mix of younger guys with steady vets, taking up a roster slot with a third goalie limits their options.

The objectives here - other than the unstated one - are to see which of the kids can hack it and which vets should guide them. And if those veteran skaters just happen to do well enough that their market value goes up by, say, March 1st? Well, so much the better!

But it's a balancing act. There will be ups and downs throughout the season, and you don't want to teach your kids how to lose. Grabbing someone off the waiver wire isn't replacing a top-six skater, and you probably don't know them very well. Adding someone who just got crushing news to your young squad might not be the best choice. Plus, of course, you want to get your kids enough ice time to make the year worth the losses.

I mentioned that the Canucks will have first bite on any waiver fodder until November 1st. That's true, but frankly, the Canucks will probably have that right through to next Summer. If one of their current vets does start the year hot and is moved out a few months in, then might be the right time to hit the waiver wire.

Adding Zach Aston-Reese now can mean losing a "quad-A" guy you actually want in Abbotsford. Adding him (or someone like him) when you've bumped up a young player means you can leave Abby alone for a bit longer.

Speaking of Which...

Arshdeep Bains and Braeden Cootes look like they're getting along, don't they? With Cootes now allowed to join the AHL, that's about as good news as the prospects can give us. It's a bit disappointing that Bains has yet to find his creative side at the NHL level, but only a bit. Overager free agents rarely do, and he's been great in Abbotsford. Your AHL team needs heroes, too. And if he just happens to run a first line with one of Vancouver's star rookies, well, don't that fit nice!

Cootes shouldn't be in the NHL this year, and that confirms it for me. He's going to have a good welcome in Abbotsford, so let him.

Räty, on the other hand, still seems to be on the bubble. He shouldn't be, but if the team is determined to keep Jonathan Lekkerimaki up with the big squad, it's hard to see who he bumps. Räty is a good profile for a 13th forward in every way but his age. He has AHL scoring chops, but when he's in the lineup, it's been as a defensively focused player.

Word is that Filip Chytil won't play at centre. That's mixed feelings, right there. He carries the puck as well as anyone on the team, but that's where the open-ice hits lie. It's not like the wing is less physical, but those high-impact blowups are a lot rarer along the walls. Fingers crossed he makes it through the season - especially if he goes to a new team for a good price. He can be healthy there, wherever "there" happens to be. I'm fine with that.

Max Sasson does seem to be returning to centre, which should let him use his speed more. On the downside, he's less likely to produce Cy Young numbers there. With 13 goals and six assists last year, he showed what he can create as a finisher. Maybe feed him a little more penalty-kill time, and make him someone the opponent's second unit has to watch out for.

Last note for now: it's disappointing Kirill Kudryavtsev has already been sent to Abbotsford in favour of Victor Mancini. To my mind, Mancini has further to go to be the player he wants to be. Yes, he's right-handed, so that's an advantage, as is his size. And paycheque. But Kudryavtsev is better at the game if your game is defence. Maybe they'll surprise me and the world by sending down Mancini, keeping Guillaume Brisebois as their extra blueliner.

Two games to go before they start counting.