As general manager Jim Benning states in his media availability (relayed by David Edelstein), the teams which he had been in talks with had found other solutions come trade deadline.
Bärtschi missed the majority of last season with a concussion and only played six games with the Canucks this season (two assists). While he is doing well in the AHL and, thanks to his one-way contract, is paid his NHL salary, his agent André Rufener already disclosed to TSN in December that they would like to find a new home for the forward.
Benning, at the time, also admitted that Bärtschi was doing quite well (four goals, 19 assists in 16 games), but that this did not really matter, as the team had evolved "and our skill players are more hard skill than soft skill.” Two months later, the Swiss forward has now recorded ten goals and 29 assists in 37 games for the Utica Comets.
