Loui Eriksson exited the lineup before the Vancouver Canucks’ Tuesday win against the New York Islanders, making way for Brock Boeser and ending a lengthy streak of consecutive games for the embattled winger. Stretching all the way back to 2019, Eriksson’s return to consistent ice-time featured plenty of minutes in the top-six alongside Bo Horvat – and the end result is still a paltry 13 points in 49 games, Eriksson’s worst pace thus far in his time with Vancouver.

Eriksson’s performance, and the impending cap issues that are slated to begin this summer, have made it obvious that the Canucks’ number one mission in the 2020 offseason will be attempting to move his contract – but it’s not exactly clear how he’s supposed to do that.

This author already speculated on the subject in a recent CanucksArmy joint, but now we want to hear your ideas for ditching Loui sooner rather than later.

Hey, maybe if we all put our heads together, we can figure this thing out before Jim Benning and Co. have to.

That’s why, this week, we’re asking:

Last week, we asked:

The slump hasn’t quite been bumped yet, but your responses are below!

 

To help get out of the slump they need to play a simple game and just focus on the basics, like positioning and taking away time and space. A more defensive approach would help the goalies gain a little confidence, which is the obvious biggest concern now. On the offence, just fire pucks on the net with someone up front without giving up a takeaway. When they pass too much, they tend to give it away or don’t get enough shots on net.

 

I would preach simplification. In the O-Zone, pass less and shoot more (with the exception of the top line – I think they know what they’re doing). Get bodies in front of the goalie and dig for those greasy goals.

The bigger question is in the defensive end. The Canucks have had a habit of getting pinned in their own zone for extended shifts that lead to goals this season. I really don’t know what you do to prevent that, but having a harder backchecking from the forward group and ensuring that we at least clear the zone when we have the opportunity would probably help.

The glass is your friend. Use it. Our only hope is to try and tighten up our defensive play to ease the load on Demko and Domingue.

So basically, I would do the same things that you can read about in almost any article on this topic currently!

 

I really liked when we had the second powerplay unit skating around. As opposed to the first unit that stood around. Gave the team a two-pronged attack and a totally different look to opposing teams.

…

They need to stop the poke check fly-bys and actually physically take the opposing player out of the play. The back check from the forwards in our zone is weak. Too often, they play a no-contact game. Giving the opposing team all the time and space they need, as they have no fear of actual physical contact.

 

A lot more MacEwen and Bailey and a lot less Roussel and Eriksson.

 

Stop playing prevent-defence every time you have a lead in the third period. And tell the forwards to stay in their zone until the puck has cleared the blueline. Way too much seagulling going on for my liking. Especially from guys like Roussel and Sutter.

 

The games the Canucks have looked extremely good are the ones where they’re playing physical down the lineup. I mean, c’mon – Petey and Miller are often throwing more hits (and actual physical hits, not Bo Horvat’s positional but non-impact “hits”) – than the entire second and third lines. More than the fourth line, too, but mainly because outside Motte, they’re too slow to catch anyone while they still have the puck. 😉

Second: the refs are putting away whistles, and only calling stuff that directly affects scoring chances, or must-calls like high-sticking and delay of game. So, if your check doesn’t have the puck and isn’t near the play, whack him! Push him! Move to block out his path. Grab his stick a little. It’s not getting called, which literally means these are legal plays. Stop laying to some imaginary rule book that didn’t matter at the beginning of the season and matters less now. Greener: this is on you, buddy. Time to join the big boy coaches.

Canucks: bring out your physical game, and play what the refs are calling. This is the stretch – this is where you start to play for all the marbles. If you can’t play this way now, you don’t stand a chance in the playoffs.

 

If I was Benning, I would remind TG that he has fresh legs in Utica and the pressbox. The recent three-game losing streak on the road showed that some of the vets had heavy legs. It might have helped to insert some fresh legs against Columbus, like MacEwen and Bailey.

The penalty on Roussel looked like he was skating uphill, a fresher Bailey might have kept his legs moving and not taken that penalty. Against Arizona JV plays a great game, but Roussel is on the ice with Demko on the bench, plus a timeout in his pocket. Green is showing us a level of stubbornness that Babcock had before he was canned. Not to mention Sutter and Eriksson – sheesh.

Three games in four nights and he doesn’t utilize the youth that was available.