Should the Canucks claim Jarret Stoll off of waivers?

Photo Credit: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

The New York Rangers placed two-time Stanley Cup winning faceoff ace Jarret Stoll on waiver Monday. Stoll’s very short Rangers tenure didn’t work out and head coach Alain Vigneault told the media on Monday that the club was hoping that Stoll might get an opportunity to play with another team.

The Vancouver Canucks are still reeling as a result of a long-term injury to Brandon Sutter and could use some additional centre depth in the worst way. So should they hazard a waiver claim on a right-handed veteran pivot like Stoll?

The quick answer to the ‘should the Canucks claim Stoll’ question is that it couldn’t hurt, but we should bear in mind that he’s really not very effective at this stage of his career.

Canucks fans probably remember Stoll as he was when he was a younger man and a more dynamic player. In Stoll’s prime seasons, he was a versatile two-way centre with a booming slap shot. He regularly played the point on the Edmonton Oilers power play as I recall, and looked solid doing it. After he moved on to the Los Angeles Kings, Stoll was a sturdy if unremarkable third-line centre on a puck possession juggernaut. 

Stoll is now 33-years-old and was signed by the Rangers this summer to a bargain bin one-year deal worth $800,000. That Stoll signed such an affordable deal reflected the fact that he ran into some legal issues this summer when he carelessly ignored Cris Carter’s advice and was found to be carrying narcotics in his board shorts. It also reflected his diminished on-ice abilities. And now he’s effectively lost an NHL job to Tanner Glass…

Canucks fans may oddly remember Stoll more sharply for his Kings and Oilers tenure, but consider that the Canucks played the Rangers just last week and the most memorable moment Stoll had in that game was when he fell on a puck and was assessed a delay of game penalty. That’s really the player you’re getting if you claim him off of waivers.

With the Rangers this season Stoll has been cast as a defensive zone-start specialist, as Vigneault’s fourth-line centres often are. He’s started just 22 total shifts in the offensive zone this season. He’s started 178 shifts 200 feet from the opposing goaltender. 

On the surface it looks like Stoll is having a career year in the faceoff circle, but that’s something of a mirage. In New York, Stoll’s most frequent linemate has been a left-handed centreman in Dominic Moore. Stoll’s faceoffs splits are pretty extreme, as 76 percent of the draws he’s taken have been against left-handed centreman – who he has absolutely dominated on draws to the tune of a nearly 60 percent win rate. 

It’s not surprising, considering Stoll’s deployment, that his offense has fallen off a cliff and the Rangers have been absolutely pounded on the shot clock when he’s been on the ice. Stoll has also been a secondary penalty killing option for the Rangers, and hasn’t fared too well in that spot relative to his teammates.

So we’ve established that Stoll isn’t particularly good, even though he’s solid on draws. That said, the Canucks could probably still use him.

Vancouver’s centre depth currently consists of Henrik Sedin, a 20-year-old Bo Horvat struggling to handle significant defensive responsibilities, a 19-year-old Jared McCann who is playing well but is struggling to generate offense and a veteran journeyman in Adam Cracknell, who has played most of his career on the wing. 

Stoll is probably not a helpful piece at this stage of his career. In fact, he may be a liability. Even so, with no real acquisition cost he would probably improve Vancouver’s centre depth and provide the club with a player who could conceivably reduce Horvat’s short-handed burden. 

With Sutter and Hamhuis on long-term injured reserve the Canucks can exceed the cap for the time being and they’re currently carrying 22-men on the 23-man roster (now that Virtanen has been loaned to Hockey Canada), So Stoll can be added without any corresponding roster gymnastics. He’d at least help the club in the faceoff circle and maybe even on the penalty kill. 

It might be worthwhile then for the Canucks to put in a claim on Stoll, but that says more about where the team is at depth-wise than it does about Stoll’s potential utility.