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Friday Roundtable: Dropping The Hammer
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Jeff Veillette
Dec 11, 2015, 20:00 ESTUpdated:
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As we wait to see how long it will take for Dan Hamhuis to recover from his facial fracture, the Roundtable gives their suggestions on how they would fill the void his absence creates.

Dylan Kirkby

(Everybody give Dylan a warm welcome! He’s joining CA as a ‘please code this for us’ programmer, who also happens to like the Canucks)
It’s time for the Canucks to hope they’ve got another Ronnie Kenins somewhere in the organization. The Canucks aren’t in a position where they should be trading for help here, and while we’ve historically seen some intriguing names on the waiver wire, GMs are going to be extra cautious right now, knowing that the Canucks are so desperate for defencemen.
That leaves the boys in Utica then, so it’s time give each of them a whirl and see what happens. Fedun, Subban, Sautner, Pedan, whoever, give them all a couple games and see if anybody surprises like Kenins did last year.

Grainne Downey

The Canucks are going to call Jordan Subban up and he’s going to be better than PK, as PK predicted, and he will be so fun that no one will notice that the Canucks have 4 functioning defencemen.

Petbugs

Matthew Henderson

Hamhuis is going to leave a big dent in the Canucks back-end, regardless of how poorly he’s played this season. In the event the Canucks don’t end up claiming a stud defenceman on waivers (Waivers!) the Canucks will have to rely on one of three options
  1. Benning super child Matt Bartkowski, who at times this year has been as disappointing as Geraldo Rivera’s Discovery of Al Capone’s Vaults. He’s been given the benefit of the doubt a lot this year, and I think he’ll get it again. He’s helped in the transition game, maybe he can fill the gap.
  2. Ben Hutton, new kid on the block. He’ll be hangin’ tough trying to slot in to the top 4 role that Hamhuis currently holds, but he’s shown in flashes so far especially early on that he could be a solid defenceman for the franchise. We’ll be following, step by step.
  3. Livin La Vida Luca Sbisa, who actually hasn’t looked that bad this year, but that’s also in comparison to 2014-15 Luca Sbisa, do I need to remind you about that? I’d say this is the most likely of options. Willie and co. love themselves some Sbisa, even when they shouldn’t but he could factor in nicely to that role for the time being. Hey Vancouver, get ready for…
Edler/Tanev
Sbisa/Bartkowski
Hutton/Weber
Biega!
*Frantically checks waiver wire*

Ryan Biech

Losing Hamhuis for an extended period of time is going to be a huge loss.  The Canucks defence was already a mess after Edler and Tanev, but losing Hammer means that the second pairing is now being led by a bunch of players who are better suited for third pairing duty.
As much as I like Hutton, he just isn’t ready to do the heavy lifting. Weber can’t get into lineup with Biega in the NHL. Although Bartkowski has helped the Canucks transition game  immensely but asking him to be your number three defenceman is a recipe for disaster.  I won’t dump on Sbisa, but we all know what to expect.
Help us Ryan Miller, you’re our only hope.

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