This season has been quite the struggle for Vancouver Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy. In what was a standout defensive campaign last year, highlighted by shutting down the league’s best player, Connor McDavid, expectations were high for him to carry that over with all the turnaround on the blueline this offseason.

However, that didn’t translate, and Soucy’s defensive analytics are some of the worst of his career. The Canadian defenceman has two goals and eight points this season but is on pace to finish with the worst plus/minus rating of his career. In fact, outside of his three games in 2017-2018, Soucy has always finished as a plus player.

Just in the month of January, Soucy played 15 games and recorded two points with a minus-five rating while seeing his minutes decline as the month went on. All of this ultimately led to him earning a seat up in the press box, serving as a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Soucy met with the media on Wednesday after practice and discussed his handle on the scratching and how he processed it:

“I’ve been there before,” Soucy chuckled. “After 50 games in, a reset isn’t a bad thing. It’s not terrible to watch a game from up top. You kind of see certain plays develop easier up there that you can hopefully translate back in. And then ultimately you just work hard and get a workout in, do some conditioning and come back ready to play.”

While this is never an easy thing to go through, Soucy is well aware of his struggles and didn’t disagree with the coach’s decision:

“Yeah. I know I have more to give, especially coming from last year. I think a tough start has led to not my best play, but like I said, a little reset, comeback, try to get that confidence and that aggressiveness back.”

In the short window between his scratching, NHL insiders Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli both reported that the Canucks have made him available in trade. Soucy has a full no-trade clause for the remainder of this season that switches to a 12-team no-trade clause next season. Soucy spoke about hearing his name in recent rumours and how the internal competition can push him to improve:

“Unfortunately, yeah. But at the same time, with the new additions that have come in, I like our last couple of games with this group going forward.

“This league, there’s always going to be guys pushing to play. It’s the best league in the world. You’ve got to be ready to fight for your spot in the lineup. You’ve got to be ready to elevate your play and that’s something that I’ve got to do.”

After just a one-game hiatus, Soucy returned to the lineup on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche. He played just 13:45 minutes of ice time – the second-fewest time on ice this season – playing on the third pairing with the defenceman Elias Pettersson.

Soucy had this to say regarding his latest defence partners game:

“He’s been good. Skates well, big body, physical. I like his game a lot.”

Playing with somebody who has under five games of NHL experience under his belt, you need to make his transition as easy as possible. In doing so, the veteran defenceman had played his off-side. As a left-shot blueliner, Soucy played the right side. He then touched on his feel for playing the opposite side and if he’s comfortable doing so:

“Most games, yeah. There seem to be some games where, you know, you’re getting more on your backhand, you’re having a tougher time holding the gap a little bit, or surfing’s a little different on that side. For the most part, you get decent looks in the O-zone and the neutral zone, [it] seems like you’re coming in on your forehand. But it is sometimes game by game. Sometimes, it feels like on the right side, you’re getting more on your backhand, and you’re fighting a little more. I think you just kind of get more used to it the more you play it.”

After the one game off, Soucy should be motivated to turn his season around and wants to make it work here in Vancouver. Now, with the addition of Marcus Pettersson and the emergence of Elias Pettersson, this will allow Soucy to focus on his game, playing in a lesser role. However, if his play struggles, the Canucks will have to work with Soucy and his camp to find him a fresh start before the March 7 trade deadline.