Canucks Army Year in Review: Brandon Sutter

Acquired in an off-season trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brandon Sutter’s first season with the Vancouver Canucks was interrupted, then finished entirely by injuries. First by sports hernia surgery, which required surgery and kept him out of the lineup for close to two full months; then by a broken jaw, suffered in a February 9th contest against the Colorado Avalanche. In total Sutter played just 20 games this season.

Though Canucks general manager Jim Benning went on record lauding his newest acquisition for his two-way acumen and ability to add size and speed down the middle of their lineup, there wasn’t necessarily room for Sutter to play there. Instead, the Canucks played Sutter alongside the Sedin twins, occupying the right wing spot that Jannik Hansen later resided.

Hard to glean much, if anything, from counting stats in a 20 game sample. If you were to prorate his production, though, you’re probably looking at a 20 goal, 40 point season.That’s nothing to scoff at.

Sutter has never been a positive possession player in his entire career. He didn’t shake that trend this season, though just barely. His Corsi For of 50% was still the best mark of his career, and if memory serves, it was the best mark on the Canucks at the time of his sports hernia surgery, too. Will be interesting to see if that carries into next season.

Now that’s fun with small samples. I can’t imagine any scenario where Sutter is a true talent 66% Goals For player over the course of a full season. It’s apparently possible over a 20 game sample. Carrying an on-ice Sh% of 9% doesn’t hurt.

And just like that, Sutter’s dropped back down to earth. The book on Sutter has always been that he’s best at suppressing scoring chances – his team’s and the opposition’s alike. The Canucks surrender the second fewest scoring chances against among forwards with Sutter on the ice, but they also managed the fewest themselves with Sutter on the ice.

If Sutter’s first 20 games with the Canucks are any indication, he might be better than advertised. Certainly as an offensive and perhaps even as a possession player. Sutter was on pace to match his career high in goals, smash his career high in assists and be a break even possession player for the first time in his entire career.

The problem, though, is that we can’t say with any certainty that that’s a representative sample of Sutter’s true talent. Much of that time was spent with the Sedins and the ever present issues with generating sustainable scoring chance numbers reared it’s ugly head again.

Though the jury is still out Sutter as the Canucks foundational player, there’s just enough there to suggest that he’s more likely than not a good enough player in his own right. It’s up to Sutter to cement as much next season.