Mailbag Part 2: Extremely Belated Edition

With all the injury trouble the Canucks have had over the years, I think it’s fair to have questions about the Canucks medical staff. The problem is that the average hockey fan probably doesn’t know the first thing about the field of medicine. So all anyone can really do is react to what they hear. The recent revelations about Thatcher Demko and Antoine Roussel definitely sound bad, but unless you’re familiar with neurology it’s tough to judge the staff too harshly for clearing them to fly. As someone who hasn’t taken so much as a high school biology class, it would be unfair for me to speculate as to whether or not these issues could have been prevented.

In general, it seems as though the team staff would be wise to err on the side of caution from now regarding injuries that affect the head, but I don’t think that’s unique to the Canucks. The league itself has had a myriad of problems when it comes to dealing with concussions, and everyone is culpable.

It really depends on how many games he plays. He averaged a point-per-game during his brief stint in the AHL before being called up, but it’s tough to say whether or not that’s sustainable. My guess is he’ll probably finish the season at a strong clip, somewhere around 0.7 or 0.8 points per game; but if there are injuries to the big club he might not get the chance to see much more AHL ice. I get the sense the team wasn’t exactly eager to send him down to the farm in the first place.

Jack Daniels.

I don’t think it’s up to Jim Benning. Nikita Tryamkin probably has a spot if he wants it. It’s just a matter of whether or not he’s willing to uproot his life and leave the financial security of a KHL gig.

I’d like to see how the players at the top of this year’s draft progress before I commit to that, but I don’t hate the idea. You could even argue trading Bo Horvat for futures this year might line up better with their rebuilding timeline. The issue is obviously who’s available with that pick.

Do the Canucks have a turn-the-other cheek culture? This is a team that’s spent significant money and assets on players like Derek Dorsett, Luca Sbisa, Brandon Prust, Erik Gudbranson… the list goes on. Even if they did, would that automatically be a bad thing?

The league suspended Matheson for two games and I’m inclined to believe that will do more to deter players from taking liberties with Pettersson in the future than anything the Canucks could have done.

As far as whether or not the team is worth watching without Pettersson in the lineup? That remains to be seen. It won’t be nearly as entertaining, that’s for certain.

No.

Obviously the league has handed down a two-game suspension since I received these questions, but I was pleasantly surprised with the league’s decision. I had hoped Matheson would get a game or two, but wouldn’t have been the least bit shocked if they had elected not to administer supplemental discipline. I have to say that overall I’ve been impressed with the job the Player Safety Department has done since the promotion of George Parros.

I’m inclined to believe the inevitability of injuries will probably solve a lot of their problems for them. The other option is a trade, which you have to think will probably be on the horizon at some point this season.

It seems unlikely to me that Gudbranson would be moved in the first year of a four-year extension. I also think the fact that he’s right-handed will keep him on the roster for the time being. I also think we should probably give the Canucks a bit more credit. I’ve been as critical as anyone of them over the past few years, but even I don’t think they’d be so reactionary as to trade a player because of a single game.

Your guess is as good as mine.

I’d probably put him behind all three players you mentioned, although it’s worth noting I’m too young to have seen Snepts play.

If I were Lars Eller I’d be looking to taunt them even more after Marchand’s reaction. That’s the whole point of taunting.

I think fans have a tendency to overestimate the degree of familarity executives or coaches have with their market, with the exception of former players. At the time of the Steve Moore incident, Jim Benning was wrapping up his time with the Buffalo Sabres organization, Travis Green was playing for the Boston Bruins, and John Weisbrod was working in administration for the NBA’s Orlando Magic. The most notable person in the organization who would have been intimately familiar with the situation in Vancouver at that time left during the offseason. I’m not saying there’s no possibility it played a role, but I doubt it was at the front of anyone’s mind immediately after the game.

I’m assuming you’re referring to Pettersson and not Petrus Palmu, who isn’t likely to be calling many shots from Utica. To be honest, I think any suggestions that the events against Florida are going to fundamentally alter the Canucks as an organization are probably an overreaction. It’s certainly not impossible or unheard of for an elite player to use their superstar status as leverage to extract concessions from their team, I don’t think there’s any risk of that happening with Boeser or Pettersson, and certainly not so early in their careers.

I go back and forth on this all the time. The Canucks look good at the moment because the league chose to suspend Matheson, but given the league’s track record for most of its history, it’s hard to fault players who take matters into their own hands.

I understand the desire for pushback. At the end of the day, you just want to believe the players and personnel who make up the organization you channel so much energy into actually give a shit. There are a number of levels to that. Even as somebody who doesn’t endorse fighting, I’m not sure I would want to see the scrums or the pushing and shoving taken out of the game unless it happens organically.

Overall, I thought Green’s comments struck the right note. Sometimes the players just miss things. We’ve seen the team respond more violently to hits that weren’t nearly as dirty.