One step forward, one step back. Welcome to the world of the Vancouver Canucks these days. After a win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the Canucks faltered in the follow-up and failed to deliver against the Nashville Predators on Sunday. Speaking of failing to deliver, a labour dispute is stopping the actual mail from moving in this country. But nothing would stop the Monday mailbag here at CanucksArmy. You have questions, and we have answers. So, let’s jump right in. This week, we will turn exclusively to Bluesky for our questions.
I like where Erik Brännström is slotted and what he’s brought to the third pair on the Canucks. I’m not sold on the idea of him being used in any sort of shutdown capacity. Nor do I think this coaching staff that loves its giants on defence would be into a pair of undersized puck movers holding down the top two left-side slots on the depth chart. Let’s be honest: Brännström’s goal and the open-ice hit against Chicago were terrific. And so was his ability to get his shot through traffic on the Aatu Räty goal against Nashville. However, his defending against Nick Foligno in open ice on the Hawks’ lone goal left something to be desired. So I’m in no rush to anoint him a top-four defender on this team just yet. Clearly, the second pairing has struggled mightily. But I don’t know that Brännström is the answer. Maybe it’s worth a shot given the dire circumstances above him on the depth chart. But I don’t think it’s the long-term answer. As for the second question, let’s not put the cart before the horse and worry about hypothetical partners in an elevated role at this stage.
Well, first things first, he needs to wait. Just like Kevin Lankinen, players signed to one-year contracts are not eligible to sign new deals until January 1st. So Brännström needs to continue to play well, and then he has to sit tight for 44 days – although I don’t expect him to wake up on New Year’s Day to find a contract offer waiting for him. That process will take some time. But it allows Brännström not to worry about something he can’t control right now. Just go out and keep playing the way he has, and things will take care of themselves. Certainly, his performance to this point warrants strong consideration for an extension. I know many fans haven’t been enamoured with Vincent Desharnais so far, but the Brännström-Desharnais pairing has carried a 66.7% expected goals for percentage (xGF%), and the Canucks have outscored opponents 6-1 with those two on the ice at evens. Much of that is due to the puck-moving capabilities of the smooth Swede, who’s angling for a considerable raise on the $900K he’s earning this season.
So many moving parts to this one. Let’s all hope Brock Boeser gets back soon, but it sounds like it’s been a slow recovery so far from the brutal headshot by Tanner Jeannot 10 days ago. So that likely means an extended run for Jonathan Lekkerimäki to play in Boeser’s spot at evens and on the power play. It’s clear Lekkerimäki needs to play in the top six. So when Boeser returns, it presents options for Rick Tocchet and the coaching staff. Maybe Lekkerimäki gets a look with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. As for roster ramifications, Höglander is not going to Abbotsford. He’d need to be placed on waivers, so that’s not happening. Räty can be sent to the minors and likely would. Of course, Lekkerimäki can also be returned to the farm. My gut feeling is Lekkerimäki hasn’t seen the last of the American Hockey League just yet. He’s looked good in his first week in the NHL, although he didn’t manage a shot on goal Sunday in his first taste of back-to-back action at the NHL level. Look, it’s a numbers game and unless the 20-year-old absolutely crushes it while Boeser is out, he will likely find his way back to the Fraser Valley for a little more seasoning. And that’s not a bad thing.
With Boeser out, Pius Suter needed elsewhere in the line-up for the time being, it seems like Räty will remain a regular in the Canucks line-up almost by default. But he can’t take his spot for granted. His performance this season has been spotty. He was the star of training camp and the preseason and earned his roster spot. However, through 11 games, he has just one goal and a lone assist. So there isn’t much of a bottom line, although it was encouraging to see him fight through traffic to get his stick on the puck to tie Sunday’s game 1-1. Where Räty excels is in the face-off circle, where he has dominated, winning 64.9% of his draws. That’s no easy feat in the NHL. His possession numbers are solid, but the team has been outscored 5-3 with Räty on the ice. As a fourth-line centre who isn’t bringing much offence, he needs to ensure that he’s winning his limited minutes and that his line isn’t getting scored on. There have been glimpses of the player Räty could be for the Canucks in the years ahead, but there are areas of his game he needs to shore up if he’s going to be an NHL regular.
Well, they should probably break them up. They could certainly limit their minutes. They could make them run around the outside of Rogers Arena in full equipment and with skateguards on. Or they can keep working with the veteran blueliners to hopefully tidy up their game. Carson Soucy was about as low-maintenance as they came last season. No one really talked about him because no one needed to talk about him. He showed up, played hard and got the job done. This year has been a serious struggle individually and in tandem with Myers. The Canucks second-most used duo has been outscored 11-4 in nearly 200 minutes at 5-on-5, the club has controlled just 38.5% of all shot attempts and the actual shots in those minutes are 92-54 for opponents. So yeah, it’s been ugly. I think Soucy is a better player than he has shown so far this season. But I am starting to question that a little the longer the struggles go. And simply saying he’s a better player isn’t enough. He has to dig in and figure things out. The questions about the second pairing aren’t going away any time soon, and the noise around that duo seems to be growing by the game. Soucy carried a team-worst 29.03% CF last night against one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league.
From the ‘words I never imagined I would utter’ department: Danila Klimovich. Like many, I figured he was an afterthought whose professional career may have been derailed before it began with injuries and indifference. But to his credit, he’s stuck with it. And while a number of forwards have shuttled between Abbotsford and Vancouver, Klimovich has taken advantage of the opportunity. He has a share of the AHL Canucks scoring lead with eight points and is second on the team in goals with four. Three of them have come on the power play, so there is still some work to be done at 5-on-5. But he can shoot the puck and is doing it a bunch, leading Abbotsford with 44 shots on goal. Who knows where things go from here, but quietly, the emergence of Danila Klimovich as a scoring leader on the farm has been a good news story for him and the hockey club. And he’s still just 21 for a few more months.
I will admit I do chart the success of former Canucks closely. Sometimes, I think I should really just let them go. But it’s easy to look at Boston and get the 2-for-1 update deal with Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. While Lindholm is third on the Bruins in scoring, that’s not saying much. Someone named Cole Koepke is fourth. Lindholm has two goals and seven assists in 19 games, averaging 18:14 of ice time. He was terrific for the Canucks in the playoffs. Let’s all remember that. But Lindholm signed a seven-year contract in Boston in the summer worth $7.75M per season. That’s a lot of money and a lot of term for a guy that turns 30 in two weeks. His offence has been in decline for a few seasons now. He can still be a valuable contributor on face-offs and on the penalty kill. But the Lindholm contract seemed like an overpayment the minute it was signed, and now on pace for 10 goals and 38 points as the Bruins near the 20-game mark, it’s probably best that the Canucks did not lock themselves into that deal.
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