It might be time for the Vancouver Canucks to make a call and summon Aatu Räty from AHL Abbotsford and return Jonathan Lekkerimäki.

This could come as a surprise considering the team’s scoring troubles, having scored more than three goals in just one of their previous 18 games (and no, we aren’t counting their 4-3 shootout win). Why would they want to send down their top prospect with such an elite release if they can’t score?

Well, the simple answer is that he just isn’t scoring.

Now, it isn’t all his fault. Lekkerimäki hasn’t always been put in a position to have that success.

Here are Lekkerimäki’s games since his call-up:

Throughout the first four games of his call-up, Lekkerimäki was stapled to Filip Chytil’s right wing. He started off shooting, but it really tapered off after his first two games. Those efforts found him with a seat in the press box for games against the Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks before returning to the lineup in Sunday’s contest against the Utah Hockey Club. However, he found himself on the fourth line, playing sub-9 minutes of ice time.

The bread and butter of Lekkerimäki’s game is his shot, but he hasn’t been utilizing that. He has logged just six shots over those five games. So, if he isn’t shooting or playing in a position where he can succeed offensively, why is he in the lineup?

As a developing young sniper, he needs to be put in a position where he can score. Playing such limited minutes, he’s not going to get that here in Vancouver. Lekkerimäki is much better suited for a top six role in Abbotsford, where he can be the relied-upon offensive player to build his confidence and succeed.

Now, if the Canucks send Lekkerimäki down, they will have just 11 healthy forwards on the roster. And there are a few plain and simple reasons why Räty should be the beneficiary.

With the recent injury to Chytil, the Canucks have four natural centremen on the roster: Elias Pettersson, Pius Suter, Teddy Blueger and Nils Aman.

At this year’s NHL Trade Deadline, the Canucks were reportedly in the market for a centreman. Now that they lost Chytil for an undetermined amount of time, that leaves them even more depleted down the middle of the ice. More specifically, in the faceoff dot.

The Canucks currently sit 22nd in the NHL in faceoff percentage, winning 49.4% of their draws.

In the game without Chytil on Sunday night against Utah, the Canucks had one centreman above a 38% win rate in the faceoff circle. Here is how the four centremen finished:

Before the JT Miller trade, faceoffs weren’t really an issue. Miller won 409 of his 698 draws, good for 58.60% – far and away the leader in the clubhouse.

Since the Miller trade, here are all of the main centremen and how they have done in the faceoff dot:

Clearly, the team has struggled in this regard, but that’s the avenue in which Räty exceeds.

During his 21 games in Vancouver this season, Räty has won 56.04% of his faceoffs (102-80). He has had so much success on faceoffs because of his unique technique where he flips his stick backwards, so the blade of his stick acts like more of a scoop for him to win the draws back.

Now, he hasn’t had offensive success – scoring just two goals and two assists during his time in Vancouver – but if you’re going to play the extra forward from Abbotsford in a bottom-six role, Räty brings more to the table as a bottom-six role player than Lekkerimäki does.

Could it be Nils Aman who comes out of the lineup for Räty? Quite possibly. But if the team decides to keep Lekkerimäki up with the big club, that would need to come with an elevated role in the lineup.

We’ll see if the team makes any roster moves ahead of Tuesday night’s contest against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets. And while the centre depth hurts even with Räty in the lineup, his faceoff ability might be an advantage in a category the team is already lacking. And if it comes at the expense of Lekkerimäki, it might be best for him to continue to develop down in the AHL.