After 14 games, the Vancouver Canucks find themselves with a perfectly even .500 record with seven wins and seven losses. It’s been difficult to judge who the “real” Canucks are. Their underlying numbers suggest that they should be a lot worse than they are and that eventually, regression will be coming.

However, they’ve also managed to achieve results despite facing numerous adversities early in the season, and that certainly counts for something. The Canucks have faced a plethora of injuries in the early going. Obviously, Filip Chytil is a significant one, as the Canucks’ already fragile centre depth got worse just six games into the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just Chytil. Nils Höglander went down in the preseason and is still expected to be out for at least another month after undergoing surgery.

The list doesn’t stop there either. Captain Quinn Hughes recently missed four games with a groin injury. The Canucks’ leading scorer and hands-down their best forward this season, Conor Garland, has missed the last three games. Jonathan Lekkerimäki has missed ten games and counting. Teddy Blueger has played in just two games this season, further depleting an already weak centre core. On the blue line, Victor Mancini and Derek Forbort remain out with injuries. Through all of that, the Canucks have managed to keep their heads above water with a .500 record through 14 games.

As we wrote yesterday, the Canucks’ November schedule is far from a walk in the park. The good news is that the Canucks are expected to get some bodies back soon. Speaking to reporters ahead of the Canucks’ game in Nashville on Monday, head coach Adam Foote said that Conor Garland is “close” to returning, and that Teddy Blueger shouldn’t be too far behind him in returning to the Canucks’ lineup.

With the Canucks’ next game coming at home on Wednesday, it begs the question on this sunny November afternoon: Where will Garland and Blueger go in the Canucks’ lineup when they return, and what might the trickle-down effect be?

First, we start with the easy one. Conor Garland has been the Canucks’ most consistent forward this season, and it was no coincidence that the best version of Elias Pettersson we’ve seen in some time arrived almost the very second Garland was put on his wing. While Pettersson has been fine in Garland’s absence — he picked up a pair of assists Monday night, including on Brock Boeser’s overtime winner — the chemistry we saw between Pettersson and Garland was undeniable.

When Garland is ready to return, he should go right back to Pettersson’s wing, with Evander Kane (or maybe Kiefer Sherwood on his off-wing?) playing on the other side of that line. That allows Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser to skate on the second line with Lukas Reichel. That trio has held their own so far, and shouldn’t be broken up quite yet.

This would likely leave Sherwood moving down to the third line in the spot currently held by Mackenzie MacEachern, who will likely either be sent down to the AHL or moved to the press box upon Garland’s return. Which leads us to Teddy Blueger.

For Blueger, a look at the Canucks’ current centre depth — and their penalty killing as of late — makes it clear: he will be welcomed with open arms back into the lineup. But who comes out? Waiver-exempt Max Sasson hasn’t done much to suggest he belongs in Abbotsford, and Aatu Räty is this team’s best faceoff guy by a significant margin. Could the Canucks look to move Lukas Reichel to the wing? That might be the best option, and could even allow Reichel to do more good things offensively.

Could Reichel bring even more speed and skill to the Abby line if he slots in for Arshdeep Bains or Linus Karlsson? He doesn’t necessarily have to be a winger on that line, either, if the Canucks are truly committing to turning him into a centre. Max Sasson has been a winger for most of his NHL career, and could easily move to the right wing while Karlsson or Bains goes to the press box, making way for Reichel to centre the Canucks’ fourth line.

When both players return, this author would set the lines as follows:

Kane-Pettersson-Garland
DeBrusk-Blueger-Boeser
O’Connor-Räty-Sherwood
Reichel/Bains-Sasson-Karlsson

Agree, disagree? Let us know in the comments section below!