After an explosive weekend on the trade front and what seems like the millionth overtime loss of the season for the Vancouver Canucks, loyal CanucksArmy readers have questions. So many questions.
Some want to know about the new guys. Others want to know about the players already in place. And more than a few want to know how much more this management group has in mind before the NHL’s March 7th trade deadline. With that in mind, let’s jump in and do our best to provide answers to the many submissions to this week’s CA mailbag.
Ah yes, a power play question. And wouldn’t you know it in Filip Chytil’s debut, the Canucks did not have a single opportunity to work with the man advantage. (That’s the third time in the past 11 games, by the way, that has happened. What are the odds the Canucks would run into such well-behaved opponents?) The Canucks have yet to practice with Chytil in the fold, so the power play plans remain a mystery. He was sixth among New York Rangers forwards in power play time, so he’s no stranger to working with the man-advantage. And with JT Miller no longer in the fold here, there is a prime spot on PP1 available. I’d certainly give Chytil an opportunity with the top unit and trot out Chytil with Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk and see what that looks like. Of course, you need a healthy Quinn Hughes to make that part of the plan fly. Let’s see what Tuesday brings against Colorado and we also need to see the Canucks draw a penalty or two.
This is going to be worth monitoring for sure. Sunday night was a promising start with Filip Chytil going 9 & 3 in the circle and the team, as a whole, winning 59% of its draws against the Red Wings. Not all face-offs are equal. I guess where I’m most interested is in power play face-offs since Miller took the majority of those. And penalty killing since there is such value in winning short-handed draws.
Teddy Blueger can continue to take the bulk of the penalty killing face-offs, but JT Miller was a clear cut second option to take PK draws. Times change and teams change. And the club’s make-up down the middle has been fundamentally altered. It may be a while yet before we can reach conclusions on overall face-off prowess, but it’s certainly something worth watching. It’s yet another area where you’d like to see EP40 find a way to be more assertive.
This one is complicated because it assumes Quinn Hughes is still a Canuck in two years time. But let’s work with that assumption and explore the suggestion. I think you can see what management is trying to do with the acquisition of Marcus Pettersson. That gives this team three legitimate top four defenders in Hughes, Pettersson and Filip Hronek. And that’s a solid base to work with. In two year’s time, the hope certainly has to be that Tom Willander is patrolling the blueline and bringing surplus value on his entry level contract.
Beyond that, D-Petey has shown some really promising signs in just three NHL appearances, but beyond that in his development in his first full year in Abbotsford. It’s far too soon to know exactly what they’ve got in Victor Mancini, but clearly he was more than just a throw-in in the JT Miller trade. There’s upside and an organizational belief that this guy can and will play meaningful minutes for the NHL Canucks. Beyond that, the team still hopes players like Cole McWard, Kirill Kudrayavstev and Sawyer Mynio will become NHL regulars. So yes, you can see the vision of the future of the Canucks blueline. Of course, so much of it hinges on getting Quinn Hughes to sign an extension. 
When the Canucks brought in Marcus Pettersson that immediately bumped Carson Soucy to third on the team’s left-side depth chart. Except that on Sunday night, he fell to fourth and, as a result, was a healthy scratch. That’s a rough look. It’s been a tough season for Soucy. Full stop. But now bigger questions enter the equation. If D-Petey gets opportunities and continues to impress, does Soucy become expendable? It’s probably a touch too soon to entertain that notion, but at the same time, with a year beyond this one left at $3.25M, do you want to be devoting that much money to a third-pair blueliner?
In his current form, Soucy is not netting the return the Canucks paid for Marcus Pettersson (and let’s be clear Dallas paid the first for Mikael Granlund, not Cody Ceci).. But when on his game Soucy is a low-maintenance veteran who has shown he can play the right side in a pinch and as such would likely have some interest from good teams looking to add to their defensive depth. It’s important to note that Soucy has a full trade protection for the remainder of this season, however if he’s not playing here that may change his mind on the situation. It’s hard to figure out why Soucy’s game has dipped the way it has this season, but if the Canucks run with a left side of Hughes, M. Pettersson and some combination of Derek Forbort/D-Petey, is Soucy now solely a right-side option? Or is his spot on the depth chart up for debate entirely?
Well, first things first, Pettersson is 18 months older than Hronek. One was born in May of 1996 the other in November of 1997, so they’re not that far apart in age. And, yes, I think there are a number of similarities in the things they can and will do for the Canucks. They’re not identical players. Pettersson is more abrasive while Hronek is likely more mobile with a little more offensive upside.
But both have the ability to headman the puck and help the transition game and, if the team can get a new deal done with Pettersson, both will be big-minute fixtures on the blueline here for years. AFP Analytics is projecting an extension of 8-years at $5.75M per season for the newcomer. I wonder with a rising cap and Pettersson’s camp knowing the Canucks can’t afford to lose him after flipping a first round pick for him on Friday if that deal doesn’t wind up starting with a six. But if it gets up over $6.5M per season…wait a second, is that somebody asking about Nikita Zadorov?
Well, look at that. It is a Zadorov question. No, Marcus Pettersson is not going to make this market forget about Zadorov. Quite frankly, I’m not sure anything is. Even his agent last week felt it was time for everybody to move on. Zadorov’s playoff run will live on in Canucks lore. He was really good for a relatively brief run, but found a way to elevate his game at the most important time of the season.
As a result, he fascinated this fan base like few have in recent times. Alas, he no longer plays here. The expectation is that Pettersson will bring a number of qualities that will help the Canucks, but he doesn’t have the swagger or the personality that Zadorov did/does. Very few do. So let’s not turn this into a comparison between the two. That’s not fair to Pettersson. Let the guy carve his own path here.
What? You’re not digging a team whose top forward has 34 points in early February? Okay, that’s understandable. We all know that this is a team with a 102-point player and a 40-goal scorer on the roster. But those are just numbers and neither is playing at anything close to that level this season. On his own, Kiefer Sherwood certainly hasn’t been boring. Let’s make that abundantly clear. But between underachievers and wildly inconsistent performers, it’s fair to describe the overall forward group as lacking much flash (and on too many nights lacking much finish, too). Hopefully, Filip Chytil can bring a dash of excitement and flair to the line-up. I am here for his exuberant celebration after scoring in his debut against the Red Wings. He made goal scoring look fun. Maybe that can rub off on a few of his new teammates.
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