On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli was joined by OilersNation’s Baggedmilk (BM) and later RinkWide’s Jeff Paterson (JPat) to discuss whether the Vancouver Canucks should retaliate against Tanner Jeannot following his headshot on Brock Boeser. The hit sidelined Boeser for seven games and earned Jeannot a three-game suspension.

BM didn’t mince words about the importance of standing up for a star player like Boeser:

“If the Canucks feel like it’s necessary, then go do it,” he said. “Brock Boeser is one of their best players, he’s a sniper, a fantastic goal-scorer, and having him knocked out of the lineup from a hit like that — you can’t let it go. I’m thinking of a guy like Vinnie Desharnais… That’s your job as a third-pairing defender, go out and handle some business. I’m guessing Vinnie will be the first to step up. What will be more interesting will be if Tanner Jeannot wants to engage in that, if he feels he owes the Canucks that scrap. If I’m the Canucks, I’m all for it — I hate when our skill players get pushed around. You gotta defend those guys and own your section of the ice.”

JPat weighed in on the potential response from the Canucks, framing it as both a cultural and strategic opportunity:

“It’s a chance to set the tone on the homestand,” he said. “The story with Jeannot is definitely a sub-plot in all this. Looking at the makeup of the Canucks lineup, who are your candidates — does it fall on Vinnie Desharnais? I asked him after they came off that road trip in California about it, and he said, ‘we play them again,’ so we’ll see where his memory is. I don’t want to go full old-school, but if there isn’t any sort of response from the Vancouver Canucks, what kind of message does that send not only to the Kings but to the rest of the NHL?”

JPat also highlighted the potential for a galvanizing moment:

“They’re looking for some sort of galvanizing moment, something to rally around. Could that be it? Ultimately, they’ve got to win hockey games. Whether they fight or not is secondary. I am curious to see, though — Brock Boeser has been a long-serving, popular, productive member of the Canucks, and Jeannot got thrown out immediately, so there wasn’t really an opportunity. I feel like those guys owe it to their teammates… Will somebody step up and defend the honour of Brock Boeser? We’ll find out tonight I suppose.”

Quads added another layer, suggesting that retribution could help maintain order in the game:

“I’m of the opinion you either do that or you go beat the crap out of the team in terms of physicality and dominating them on the scoreboard. I don’t think the Canucks are going to do that tonight, so you have to even the score a bit. If you don’t, you often see guys start to get stupid on both sides, taking stupid runs at players you don’t want to see in the game. Let a willing combatant in Desharnais go at another in Jeannot, and it’s settled.”

You can watch the full segment below.