Trade Targets for Defensive Depth

If there is anything we can glean from these first two games, it’s that the Vancouver Canucks are short on defensive depth. As much as the change around town is relished and providing solid early returns, this is an area of concern all the same.

This franchise could sit on its heels and watch the wheels spin without so much as batting an eye, but they’ve every intention of making the playoffs this season and standing pat would bode poorly for their chances. Injuries are a nasty occurrence, and they’ve always a knack for striking Canucks defencemen at the worst of moments. 

Before you know it one injury to the blue line has turned to three and having a good sixth or seventh defenceman won’t be enough. Yann Sauve should never enter an NHL arena as anything more than a fan, let alone the three games he did last season as a Canuck.

Lets look at one of the Canucks biggest issues with their roster and what they can do about fixing it.

Despite having a comparable top-six to any in the league for the latter parts of the Mike Gillis era, defence has quickly become an area of major concern. We’ve already seen this group’s paper thin depth and what happens when it’s tested. The early returns are unsettling.

Just two games into this young season, Kevin Bieksa is ailing from a shoulder injury. It’s not necessarily bad enough to keep him out of the lineup, but it is clearly hampering his ability to play. Bieksa is a borderline top-pair defenceman when healthy and those are in short supply. It’s no surprise that the Canucks are struggling to replace his production and minutes in the lineup.

For posterity’s sake, we’ll call this injury to Bieksa that allows him to play in a lessened role a half-injury. The Canucks are one half-injury into their top-four and Luca Sbisa is seeing replacement time there. This replacement time is played to the tune of an average 19-minutes a game. That works against Edmonton and Calgary, but I’ve concerns over how that holds up against actual NHL teams.

Here’s some options for the Canucks, should they be looking to add to their depth:

Few teams devalue their talent to the extent of the Toronto Maple Leafs. A prime example of this is their handling of Cody Franson. An argument could be made for Franson being the Maple Leafs second-best defenceman, yet somehow, the club and Franson are seemingly always at each others throats. Repeated contract disputes and endless trade rumours stand as testament to this. 

Franson can be relied upon to provide a right-handed offensive touch from a top-six role with significant powerplay upside. His head is regularly above water when compared to teammates in similar situations at 5v5 too. I can’t help but wonder how effective Franson would be for an even remotely competent bench boss, seeing as he hasn’t had one since Barry Trotz.

Tyson Strachan’s last season does little to flatter. Strachan wasn’t a great possession player and his offensive value is nil. These observations should be tempered though based on his low Zone Start Rel. and tough assignments. I prefer to look at Strachan’s larger body of work though, which paints the picture of a moderately useful defenceman in a depth role.

Strachan wouldn’t fix any of the Canucks immediate needs and likely couldn’t draw into their lineup when totally healthy. However, Vancouver has seen it’s fair share of injuries to their blue line in the past and I imagine it’s likely that bell will toll for the Canucks this season as well – it almost always does. The Canucks have a seventh defenceman in Yannick Weber, but they lack a great option in the eight hole. Frankie Corrado springs to mind, but little from his training camp or pre-season indicates he’s ready for the NHL yet. Strachan could fill the role that Andrew Alberts so admirably tried to for years past. 

Of returning Arizona Coyotes players from last season, none have a higher Corsi rating than David Schlemko. His deployments weren’t overly favorable, but his competition wasn’t exactly earth shattering either. In essence, he performed to a level that most teams would love to get out of a bottom-pairing defenceman.

Despite all this, the Coyotes have yet to use him once this season. Schlemko is currently their seventh-defenceman, but I’d imagine his grip on that role is tenuous at best. The Coyotes have a young defenceman in Brandon Gormley to consider and he’s well past due for NHL action. Schlemko would probably be one of the more available players on this list, if not for the fact that the Coyotes and Canucks share a division. If the price was right, though, he’s definitely a consideration.

The same reason I want Jeff Petry on the Canucks is probably one of the same reasons the Canucks can’t have him. In the days of old – before the blogger arms race – Tyler Dellow had argued at length either on Twitter or posted in his blog www.mc79hockey.com that Jeff Petry was the Oilers best defenceman. I can’t remember exactly where or when he made his point heard, but I remember the gist of it. And as is often the case, I remember he made a very convincing argument. That same blogger is now a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization. Not sure how much sway he has over these types of decisions, but if he has any it’s being exercised on retaining Petry.

Whether you agree with Dellow or not, the numbers reflect very well on Petry’s last season. Through grueling deployments and difficult competition, Petry had himself a solid year. It is rumoured that the old guard in Edmonton doesn’t see things that way, though. Petry is frequently mentioned in trade rumours and was recently a healthy scratch is favor of Darnell Nurse. Do they overlook the Canucks status as divisional rivals and send Petry across the Rockies? I doubt it. Sure would be nice though.

An often forgotten story from the latter parts of the 2013-14 campaign was the emergence of Chad Ruhwedel in Buffalo. The un-drafted defenceman was forced into service by injuries and roster vacancies, and performed admirably. Sample size is the likely culprit here, but there’s something to be said for Ruhwedel having a better Corsi Rel. than Christian Ehrhoff in Buffalo, right? 

Ruhwedel is currently plying his trade in the AHL and will likely stay Buffalo’s position in the standings forces the annual exodus of talent come trade deadline. I have to imagine this has more to do with his waiver ineligibility than ability. The Sabres haven’t many players on their blue line quantitatively better than Ruhwedel.

Nobody bats 1,000. Even the lauded history of successful prospect development in Detroit has it’s series of blemishes. Jakub Kindl is one that the Red Wings would love to rid themselves of. Drafted 19th overall, it’s safe to say Kindl hasn’t lived up to expectations. 

Detroit has had to shelter Kindl to the tune of a positive discrepancy of 3% between his Corsi competition and teammates. That’s kind of massive. Even that has yielded what I would describe as middling results. The clock is ticking on Kindl’s chances to become a top-four defenceman. Seeing as how the Wings are trying to divest themselves of Kindl to make room for younger bodies and right-handed shots, I can’t help but wonder how a change of scenery would affect his game. That said, Mike Babcock is as good a coach as the league has to offer and if he’s giving up on Kindl. That can’t bode well for his future.

And there you have it. Six guys who conceivably could help the Canucks defense, either in place of Luca Sbisa or Yannick Weber, or as a part-time fill-in when the injury bug eventually bites. Of course, there’s also the matter of acquiring these guys that has to be considered. What would you trade to pick up a bottom-pair D? Are there any other useful depth guys out there that you’d like to see in a Canucks jersey too? Let us know in the comments below!