Canucks to make a decision on keeping Virtanen, McCann in the ‘next few days’

Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports

As Vancouver Canucks 19-year-old forwards Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen approach the nine-game barrier, at which point the first year of their entry-level contracts will be tolled, the Canucks are facing a difficult decision. Do they keep one of or both of Virtanen and McCann around for the entire season, or will the teenaged forwards be sent back to junior?

It’s a decision the club expects to make shortly, according to reporting from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

“We’re going to sit down and discuss what we will do with Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen in the next few days,” Benning told Friedman on Saturday, by way of the latest 30 Thoughts column.

The Canucks have indicated that the nine-game mark isn’t the end all, be all for their prospects. In recent years the focus of many teams has turned from the nine-game benchmark to the 40-game benchmark (a player accrues a year of service time towards unrestricted free agency after being on the roster for 40 games). That logic may work both ways too, though, as Benning denied that the club would use their prescribed usage of Virtanen and McCann to buy themselves some additional breathing room.

“At this level, it’s what you can do defensively,” Benning told Friedman. “Can you gain the coach’s trust?”

That last quote seems particularly loaded based on the way that Vancouver’s young players have been buried in the third period of close games of late.

We’re probably best served by not reading too much into Benning’s comment there, but it’s worth noting perhaps that McCann has played more often than Virtanen in the games in which they’ve both appeared. Of the two forwards, McCann hasn’t been benched for an extended period of time like Virtanen was following a rough second-period shift in his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. When we’ve seen Virtanen on the ice late in the games, its been with the Canucks leading.

As Chris Higgins returns to full health, which is imminent, he’ll have to come off of long-term injured reserve which will necessitate a roster move of some sort. The Canucks have options other than sending Virtanen or McCann back to the CHL, they could waive Adam Cracknell for example, but Higgin’s return would seem to be a natural pressure point.

It’s a natural pressure point that’s going to come into effect later this week…

“It feels good now, but I have to wait until the 30th to play,” Higgins said of his injury and timeline for return during an appearance on TSN 1040 on Tuesday morning. 

If the Canucks elect to keep just one of McCann or Virtanen, that’ll result in an interesting scenario. The club seems to have grown comfortable with the idea of McCann playing on the fourth line in recent games, which would echo the Bo Horvat development model somewhat. And McCann has been the more productive offensive player of the two teenagers. 

On the other hand, McCann has been flattened by shot attempt differential while Virtanen has excelled by the shot-based metrics (albeit in very prescribed, carefully managed minutes). Also, Virtanen’s speed and physical game seem more NHL-ready than any tool McCann possesses aside from his electrifying wrist shot, and you can easily make the argument that Virtanen brings an element of youthful snarl that the club lacks (and could use more of). 

We’ll have to await the Canucks’ decision, but one way or another, I think we can expect some sort of roster gymnastic following the game against Montreal on Tuesday night.