The Canucks dropped a bombshell this afternoon, announcing that Trevor Linden is stepping down as President of Hockey Operations.

In the meantime, Jim Benning will report directly to ownership while the team pursues new options for the vacant President’s position. While public opinion is much more divided on Linden the executive than it was on Linden the player, the organization will have big shoes to fill. Who would you like to see as the new President of Hockey Ops?

Last week I asked: Where do you put Petersson in the lineup? What linemates would you like to see him with?

I say put him on the wing, maybe even the left side with Boeser and Horvat to start off – I think he played on the right in Sweden. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to move him to centre, Henrik Zetterberg played the wing for years in the NHL before moving to centre and he turned out alright. I think it’s best to get a scorer scoring and confident before throwing in the extra defensive responsibilities, especially considering that he didn’t even play much centre in the SHL.

I’m leaning just giving him a shot at centre, though I have a lot of time for the camp that says let him get acclimatized to the NHL first before giving him that responsibility (though defensive responsibility is usually F1, 2, 3 nowadays instead of LW, C, RW.) As for linemates, I’m pushing a Goldobin-Horvat-Boeser L1 so I was thinking perhaps a Baertschi-Pettersson-Eriksson line (depending on how Eriksson is after another year of aging.) Decent two-way insulation and decent scorers, I think that could be a passable 3A/3B line since Green rides his Sutter line like a 2nd line anyway.

also anyone putting pettersson with sutter and/or beagle is a cop

I can actually see a second line of Sutter centering Eriksson and Petterson working well. With Beagle now taking shutdown responsibilities, this line could get more opportunities in the Ozone. Sutter wins possesion in the FO circle, EP and Eriksson should each be possession monsters, and Eriksson can go re-find his groove in front of the net picking up the crumbs from the table left from EP. This will insulate EP with good top 6 time with responsible and competent veterans without all the added pressure of centering a line. There is a reason they put him on wing in the SHL. Baby steps. First get him in the NHL, used to playing top six and scoring goals, and we can experiment with center ice further down the road.

I just can’t see Pettersson playing with Sutter. Sutter is pure north-south and Pettersson is a dynamic player, I can’t see that working. I would start him in the bottom 6 where there is less pressure and lower QoC. I’d pair him with Leipsic and Granlund. Granlund and Leipsic have skill to keep up with Pettersson while adding two-way play (Granlund) and hustle (Leipsic).

Either way, set him up for success. Play to his strengths and let his play tell you where he should play. We need him to be successful. My guess is this means centre in Utica or wing in NHL until he’s got a good sense of the league. JB seems to have his heart set on NHL start, so start as a winger paired with both a defensibly responsible and creative player. Yes, even Sutter and Baertchi might even work provided he and Baertchi can create chemistry.

At this point it seems best to put Pettersson in a position to succeed in the same ways as he has in the SHL and Allvenskan and also the world championships; on the wing with a seasoned two-way vet and a decent triggerman. In lots of ways I think that might be Horvat and Baertschi or Boeser. I know that’s a big ask to put him on the first line but I have a hard time imagining a different better center for him. Sutter is too much of a straight-line player and shooter and I think Beagle would be a disaster. I wouldn’t play Pettersson at center for at least 2-3 years. Horvat in my view has improved his ability to distribute the puck and having at least one more cerebral player on the wing (Baerschi, Eriksson, Boeser) would be very good. I am hoping that Goldobin makes the team as he’s the only other really creative passer but I think having a trigger man makes sense. Granlund would be the other option if you wanted to put together a sheltered fourth scoring line (with Leipsic?). I would not put him with Sutter or Beagle and I wouldn’t play Pettersson at c.

I would give Pettersson’s Henrik’s minutes from last year. He would get 12 minutes a game at even strength at centre with two skilled players like Goldobin and Eriksson. Eriksson has the defensive game to assist Pettersson and hopefully it would get Eriksson going. Goldobin has the skills and shot to compliment Pettersson. They would get favorable zone starts and easier match-ups with the limited 5 on 5 minutes.

Pettersson would also get Henrik’s spot on the first PP unit on the right side of the umbrella opposite Brock. His passing and shot would be great on the PP and the extra minutes would increase his playing time and let him put up some points to help his confidence.

Start Petterson on wing. There a plenty of good reasons to do this and I don’t think the argument is even close

1. Petterson is taking a big step up in competition. Wing is less responsibility
2. Petterson Played wing last year and it was a huge success
3. He is playing under a new coach/system
4. He is transitioning to a NHL rink size
5. Plenty of centers on the roster already

I have no problem with Petterson switching to center during the season once he has some success or confidence on the wing. Keep challenging him and giving him a chance to succeed, but there is no shortage of centers and no reason to rush him in to that role

I thought Gagner was a total lemon last year but actually looked effective playing with the Sedins late in the season. He also did well in a sheltered role in Columbus. I actually think I would try Gagner at C with Petterson in a sheltered role. The other winger could be Goldobin or Leipsic. You could even try Grandlund at C and put Gagner on the wing. Impossible to determine the best fit without assessing how the other lines are working but that would be my thought process. I think Players like Petterson, Gagner, and Goldobin are players that could really benefit from being sheltered and paired with other skilled line mates. If Petterson is having anywhere near the success Brock had, start moving him up the lineup and challenging him, you could even move him in to the middle. I just don’t see the reason to start him at center though

Beagle can shoulder some of Sutters load in D zone starts and shut down assignments giving the Horvat and Petterson lines much more favorable deployment.