Canucks sign former-Flyers prospect Joacim Eriksson

Former Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Joacim Eriksson has opted to forego the final year of his Swedish Elite League contract to sign a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks, a source close to the situation confirmed to me Friday afternoon. Swedish reporter Elin Ala confirmed to me via email the team to be the Vancouver Canucks who have acquired Eriksson’s services.

The 23-year-old had one season left with Skelleftea HC, the club he helped to their first Swedish championship title since 1979. All that remains in league approval of the deal.

SEL players under contract have the option to transfer and sign with NHL teams, as long as they do so by a June 15 deadline.

Eriksson was a seventh-round selection of the Flyers (196th-overall) in 2008, but the team surprisingly did not sign their most-promising young goalie prospect by the June 1, 2011 deadline, allowing the Gavle, Sweden-native to become a free agent. At that time they inked Niko Hovinen, a move that did not work out well for the team.

Eriksson spent two years in Swedish juniors backing up Florida Panthers netminder Jacob Markstrom (who was also taken in the 2008 draft), then made the decision to move on to Leksand IF of Sweden’s second tier Allsvenskan to secure more playing time. That gamble turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to Eriksson,

The 6′ 2, 195-pounder played well during his three seasons with Skelleftea HC, but his stock really rose during the 2012/13 regular season and playoffs. In 30 appearances, he posted a 21-9 record with a 1.67 GAA, .931 save percentage and five shutouts, then followed that up with a perfect 9-0 mark in 10 postseason games, posting a 1.06 GAA and .952 save percentage.

NHL teams have showed a great deal of interest, and Eriksson will make the official announcement as to his intentions on Saturday, June 15.

After a second non-playoff season in the last seven years, it’s no secret that Philadelphia wants to make big-time improvements to their overall defensive personnel. With the probable amnesty buyout of Ilya Bryzgalov to take place 48 hours after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins, rumors began that GM Paul Holmgren was looking for a young franchise-goaltender.

Reports surfaced that he was in talks with Los Angeles Kings’ Dean Lombardi regarding Jonathan Bernier, and there were also murmurs that Holmgren may right a wrong and finally sign Eriksson.

Like Eriksson, Bernier, who turns 25 in August, has a tremendous upside, but the price to pry him out of the City of Angels will indeed be steep. It’s likely that Lombardi, who has seen great amount of interest from a number of other clubs regarding Bernier, will demand a package including center Sean Couturier and quite possibly the Flyers’ first round pick (11th-overall).

That may be more than Holmgren is willing to give up, and Couturier’s name has come up as an asset that could be moved to add another elite defenseman in addition to pending UFA Mark Streit, whose rights were acquired from the New York Islanders Wednesday for minor-league forward Shane Harper and a 2014 fourth-round pick.

As an UFA Eriksson could have been a great fit for Philadelphia, and signing him would not have cost the club any young roster players or picks. Instead, a fan base already traumatized by former-Flyer Sergei Bobrovsky’s success in Columbus — a likely Vezina-winner — will have another possible new nightmare developing out west.