One of the two remaining players from the 2011 run to the Cup final may have taken a step back, but his presence is still very crucial for the Canucks’ success.

Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev are the first two players to hop over the boards when the Canucks need to kill off a penalty. They are the defensive pair that Travis Green trusts the most when the team is trying to defend a lead and while Edler has certainly lost a step, he’s still one of the most important pieces on the team’s back end.

This year the Canucks have been able to be competitive due to the health of their defence corps. Edler has only missed 10 games so far this season, which is quite good for a player who has struggled with injuries for most of his career. He has not only been moved off of the first powerplay unit, but taken off of the powerplay entirely due to the addition of Tyler Myers as the second unit’s power play quarterback.

You’ll never hear him complain about it though. Probably because he never talks to the media. He’s been able to dodge the Jeff Patersons and Brendan Batchelors of the world for most of his time in the NHL. It may be the most impressive thing he he’s done over his time in Vancouver.

Though he has had limited power play time this season, he has been able to find a lot more offence at 5-on-5.

Alex Edler is currently producing more points per minute at even strength than ever in his 13-year career.

He is also generating scoring chances at a higher rate than ever in his career. While he has been on the ice this season, the Canucks have generated 28.3 scoring chances per 60 minutes, the highest total of his 13-year career.

Edler is finding success with a very simple trick: get the puck on net. Whether it’s shooting the puck into a crowd or firing a hard pass on the ice for a redirection. Edler is finding success at 5-on-5 with something that fans in the stands have been screaming at him for years:

SHOOT!

With players like JT Miller, Tanner Pearson, Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson around the net, Edler should be firing as many pucks as he can towards these crowds. The players in the NHL are better than ever at tipping pucks past goaltenders and Edler should continue to fire shots into these crowded areas because it is well known that good things happen when you put the puck on net.

Edler is also targeting stick blades from the point a lot. We see Bo Horvat angle in a lot of these type of plays. It’s almost like the slap pass but it is the quickest way to get the puck on net while simultaneously changing the angle on the goaltender.

Many of the Canucks are beginning to use this tactic and it seems like one that could help Edler squeeze out some more points. This type of play generates a decent amount of goals and a ton of rebounds because it catches the goaltenders out of position.

Edler has also been stepping up a lot this season and throwing that 33-year-old body of his more often. His physical game may speak louder than his words.

Though Edler has seen his power play minutes disappear this season he is still playing a ton of minutes at 5-on-5. Alex Edler currently sits second on the team in 5-on-5 minutes per game. He is trailing only Tyler Myers, who plays just over 17 and half minutes.

Not everything has been great for Edler this season. He is third in the league among defencemen when it comes to taking minor penalties with 25. His slower foot speed and poor decision making at times causes him to grab and hook a lot in his defensive zone.

He has however been near the the top of the league when it comes to blocked shots. Through 55 games he has blocked a total of 150 shots. That is good enough to put him at third in the league, only trailing Edmonton’s Oscar Klefbom (172) and Columbus’ David Savard (155). (Chris Tanev sits in fourth with 148, in case you were wondering.)

Alex Edler may not say much to the media, but his actions on the ice speak volumes. There’s an old saying about defencemen: if you’re not saying his name, he’s doing his job. For the most part, that’s Alex Edler’s mentality this season.

He may not play a flashy game, but that hasn’t been his job this season. He is going to come out and play a ton of 5-on-5 minutes, move the puck up the ice, and get the puck on net. There’s not much more you can ask for from a 33-year-old defenceman.

Edler will be a vital piece for this Canucks team in the final stretch of the regular season. If the team can turn back to their winning ways and make the playoffs, I would expect to see him become one of the emotional leaders on this team. His quiet, calm demeanour could be something that helps an Elias Pettersson or Quinn Hughes in a playoff series when things start to get out of hand.

Edler currently holds the franchise record for goals, assists, and points as a defenceman. I would love to see him get another playoff run or two with the Vancouver Canucks. His story would be fun to talk about in the playoffs as he has really seen this team go up and down roller coaster over his 13 seasons in Vancouver.

For now, he is going to keep his mouth shut and keep trucking along through the season. Even if he’s in the shadows now, he is vital to this team’s playoff chances and as long as Edler and this defence corps can remain healthy for the remainder of the season, fans should still believe that Vancouver will finally see playoff hockey this April.