On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal sat down with Seattle Kraken and Prime Monday Night Hockey play-by-play announcer John Forslund. Forslund provided his seasoned insight on the Vancouver Canucks ahead of their matchup against the St. Louis Blues, discussing everything from the playoff race to the excellence of Quinn Hughes, trade rumours, and why the Canucks are struggling this season.
Forslund opened by commenting on the stakes of the evening’s game as both the Canucks and the Blues remain in the playoff hunt. Entering the matchup, the Canucks hold 52 points — two ahead of the Blues, with two games in hand — and sit three points back from the Calgary Flames for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
“When you look at the importance of the game for both teams, the state of the union for the Canucks, the Blues with a coaching change and where they’re at — you have two desperate teams. I hope it’s a lively Monday night, and Vancouver comes out looking to start the road trip on time,” Forslund said. “The Blues are also after it. They were very disappointed with their first period on Saturday night here against Dallas, so they’ll be charged up at home.”
The stakes are high for both sides, making tonight’s game a critical step in their respective playoff pursuits.
The discussion quickly shifted to Quinn Hughes, as Forslund lauded the young Canucks captain’s exceptional season and leadership.
“Everybody should be in awe of this player,” he said, “Who will go down as one of the greats to play the game. Hopefully, it’s injury-free, he has a long career, and maybe one day he touches a Stanley Cup because he’ll deserve it.”
Forslund emphasized Hughes’s importance to the team, stating, “This is with all due respect to the two big guys in Edmonton, but for the Canucks, Quinn Hughes makes them run; it all starts with him. He accepted the captaincy at a young age, which is intriguing because he seems like an unassuming young guy who leads by example. But there’s more competitive fire there than he lets on — we see it on the ice. He defends way above his size by possessing the puck and backing everybody off,” he said. “This is a tremendous hockey player, and from my standpoint, I love watching him play and calling games with him in them because when he has the puck, anything can happen.”
Forslund also weighed in on the swirling trade rumours surrounding key players like Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
“Jim [Rutherford] has the experience, but with that comes a great deal of patience. He has the ability to block out the outside noise and the courage of his convictions,” Forslund noted. He also praised Canucks GM Patrik Allvin, saying, “Jim and Patrik obviously work very well together. It seems they have the same type of personality where they’re not going to panic.”
Forslund emphasized that Rutherford will likely avoid any rushed decisions, as “addition by subtraction isn’t the best thing to do here.” He added, “You don’t just take a player like Pettersson off the roster and go on like nothing has changed. Jim’s trying to make a really good deal. I don’t know when it happens, but I know the situation is off the charts right now with everybody talking about it.”
Finally, Forslund addressed some of the systemic issues impacting the Canucks this season, primarily their lack of depth. “The roster is too limited in terms of depth,” he explained.
“When you go down their lines and get into the bottom six, if you look around at other rosters and teams that are real and elite right now, the bottom half of the forward group supports everything because, at some point, they’re going to be asked to score, and certainly in the playoffs. You hope your good players will come through, and usually, they will, but it doesn’t always happen.
“Rick [Tocchet] knows what he’s doing — he’s got a great track record. Most coaches will tell you great offensive plays come from defensive hockey first. There’s a lot going on right now. I’m not going to say it’s unworkable, but as an outsider, it might be, when you look at the Canucks and the environment they have. This thing is hanging over them. At some point, they’re going to reach a breaking point. They’re happy to be away from home right now, and tonight’s game will show a lot about where they go this week. When you’re a handful of points from the playoffs in the West, it’s about what you do this week.”
You can watch the full segment below:
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