Well he was virtually the last cut, so they were clearly trying to get a look at him. I believe Tocchet said they would try to get him into sunny games this season.
There are several things that could go into Lekk being a late cut. They include:
1. Your conclusion that he came close to making the team.
2. The team wanted to get as long a look at him as possible.
3. For a long while it looked like the Canucks might have to start the season using LTIR. If they were doing that than they would want to have Lekk on the season opening roster to avoid taking his potential performance bonuses into their total cap hit.
4. They wanted to showcase him, putting him with to offensive linemates in the hope he'd have good production in the preseason.