Report: Canucks “working the phones big time” in attempt to reward players after hot start
8 months ago
Like many in this city, Vancouver Canucks management seems to be buying into what they’ve seen from this year’s team to this point.
On Tuesday, Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dhali — The Team reported the following:
“When you talked about the Seahawks, you nailed it. They are 5-2, the Seahawks, and they they just added an All-Star all-pro defensive lineman and their coach said ‘we’re rewarding these guys’. You nailed it, that’s what the Canucks management is doing right now. They believe in this team. I’m hearing the Canucks would like to add, they’re trying to get better, it’s not easy in a capped out NHL. I’m not saying anything’s imminent, but I am saying they are working the phones big time. A 5-2-1 start, if you can make some moves right now to improve the roster, why not? You know what, management is obviously pretty impressed with his 5-2-1 start. I’ll just leave it at this. They’re working the phones.”
The Canucks have gotten off to a promising 5-2-1 start, and their most recent game was arguably one their most impressive to date — as they went toe-to-toe and more than held their own at 5v5 against a contender-level New York Rangers squad on Saturday night.
The team has many in the city excited, as they’ve been playing a far more sustainable and structured game to get to where they are now.
The last trades the Canucks made have been to shore up their backup goaltending position while freeing up some cap space, and improving the bottom six. They accomplished this by sending Tanner Pearson and a third round pick to the Montreal for goaltender Casey DeSmith; followed a few weeks later by acquiring forward Sam Lafferty from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fifth round pick.
So far, both acquisitions have worked out extremely well for the team, as DeSmith is currently sporting a .914 save percentage through his first four starts with the Canucks, and has greatly lightened the amount of pressure on All-Star starter Thatcher Demko.
Lafferty, on the other hand, has been a great improvement on the Canucks’ bottom six, as on top of solid penalty killing and defensive abilities, he’s shown some strong forechecking and 5v5 play while tallying a goal and an assist through eight games in the blue and green.
We’ll see where the Canucks look to improve this year’s team as they attempt to reward their players for a much-needed solid start to the season.
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