On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal dive into the Canucks’ line shakeup ahead of tonight’s game in Seattle. The most notable shake up is in forward Sam Lafferty moving up to the first line beside Elias Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev.
“You can understand from Tocchet’s perspective in the sense that he thinks that line plays too slow and methodical; Sam Lafferty is basically the opposite of that,” Harm said. “He brings a lot of physical attributes but lacks offensive skill. Pettersson’s now got two big speedsters on his wing, who hopefully can help them play on the inside more. They’ve been stuck on the perimeter, trying to get a little too cute. Sometimes you need to play a north-south style. That said, I would like to see Hoglander get a shot there”
Quads responds: “How many times have we seen Sam Lafferty drive hard to the net on the rush? That’s something the Pettersson line can absolutely use; you’re going to get to the inside with him on your line… To your point, I think we see Hoglander get a shot on that line tonight too.”
“Changing up the lines is long overdue,” Quads continued. “The only line that remains completely unchanged is the one that we’ve talked about; the Dakota Joshua, Teddy Blueger, and Conor Garland trio. That line has been going.”
“I hope that whatever happens from shuffling the lines is, Hoglander gets more minutes,” Harm chimed in. “To me, he’s been one of the team’s top offensive strength drivers. The club has otherwise looked a bit flat generating chances.”
“I’m curious to see what happens with Juulsen tonight. I thought his performance against the Avs the other night was one of his better games… He was transitioning the puck cleaner, making more decisive decisions and that’s been the biggest problem for him this season. If that’s an avenue he can clean up, he’s at least more competent… If he struggles again, McWard deserves a shot,” Harm said, referencing Canucks’ prospect Cole McWard, who has spent this season with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
The guys are then joined CanucksArmy writer Wyatt Arndt to talk about the latest around the team.
Quads mentioned the rumours surrounding Pettersson and a potential ailment, and Wyatt gave his thoughts on how Kuzmenko has responded to Pettersson’s slump:
Wyatt: “He’s a tremendous passenger player, but I don’t think he can drive a line, at least we haven’t seen it yet. Last year was a white unicorn for Kuzmenko. He was always going to be a bit of a work in progress.”
“How do you think the power play will adjust with Hronek instead of Kuzmenko?” Harm asked.
“If you can get more of those switches and baits with Hughes and Hronek, that’s nothing but good,” Wyatt answered, “If you’re going to replace Kuzmenko with anyone, how can you go wrong with that? Their (Hughes and Hronek) chemistry keeps getting better and better.”
The guys wrap up their time with… some football trivia with Wyatt.
You can watch the full replay of today’s episode down below!
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