Road trip could lead to deadline deals
Burrows hopes Canucks can draw inspiration from Super Bowl as daunting task awaits
Alex Burrows was dissecting the Super Bowl with the precision of a veteran analyst Monday.
The self-proclaimed sports junkie rightfully questioned that fateful Atlanta Falcons’ late-game drive — going away from the run to take themselves out of field-goal range to clinch the NFL title — but he also marvelled at the resolve of the New England Patriots.
And with the Vancouver Canucks looking for a rallying point for a daunting six-game road trip that opens Tuesday in Nashville, the Patriots’ plan and second-half execution to erase a 25-point deficit Sunday and then claim a 34-28 overtime victory should resonate with the NHL club.
The Patriots’ credo of do your job, play hard and be unselfish is exactly what the Canucks must adhere to if they expect to excel despite the league’s worst road record at 6-15-3.
“They (the Patriots) just found a way again and kept battling,” said Burrows. “They never quit and that’s one thing we’d like to do as a team — have a never-quit attitude and always believe it (a victory) is possible and play until the end.
“And I really believe if we play the way we can and limit scoring chances, we’ll have a chance and can have a good road trip if we give it our best.”
Even Willie Desjardins got caught up in the stunning Patriots victory because it’s the perfect reference point for what the Canucks coach is trying to drive home with odds stacked against his club. The Canucks have opened the scoring just nine times in 24 road games.
“The thing you like is that New England didn’t take itself out of it and stayed around long enough to find a way to win and we talked about that,” said Desjardins. “That’s a little how we play. We can’t panic or worry about the situation.”
That’s commendable because this not just another trip.
The Canucks face two of the league’s top four teams in Columbus and Pittsburgh and must face the reality that if this critical test of mettle goes off the rails, management must take a harder look at its trade-deadline strategy.
Showing loyalty and not asking marketable veterans like Burrows and Jannik Hansen to waive their no-trade clauses are admirable qualities, but it would be a strange strategy if the Canucks return from this trip eight to 10 points shy of the final wild-card spot with three or four teams to leapfrog.
“We’re going to see where we’re at,” said Canucks general manager Jim Benning, who’s on a European scouting trip. “I’ll have individual conversations with those players and their agents, but we’re hoping we can stay in the (playoff ) fight. But it’s a tough trip.”
Burrows and Hansen would command serious trade-deadline attention from Stanley Cup contenders. Burrows has a flair for the dramatic with 19 career playoff goals in 70 games. Hansen can play a variety of roles and both wingers are well-schooled defensively, which is crucial for post-season effectiveness.
The Canucks will also conduct their pro-scouting meetings next week in Pittsburgh and asset management should be the focus.
If the New Jersey Devils got a 2017 fourth-round pick Saturday for shipping 36-year-old one-goal grinder Vern Fiddler to the Predators, what could the Canucks get for the 35-year-old Burrows? A second-rounder? A third-rounder?
The Montreal Canadiens are leading the Atlantic Division and want to add a centre and bottom-six help. They had a scout at Rogers Arena Saturday and if the bottom falls out on this trip, the prospect of roster change becomes more of a possibility.
“I haven’t thought about that at all — I’m more thinking that we’re going to have a successful trip and be right in the playoff mix until the end,” said Burrows. “That’s all I can control.”
When Benning took a stance and said he wouldn’t approach players to waive their no-trade clause, it was the ultimate show of faith and protection. But if the club is serious about adding picks and getting younger — and not losing the unrestricted Burrows for nothing — then there could be an ideological shift.
“I haven’t heard anything,” added Burrows. “I want to make the playoffs with this team, but things can change really quickly in this business. I’ve learned that. I think with the Canadian media, it (no-waive NTCs) was just to take you guys off his (Benning’s) back a bit to calm the storm down instead of being asked about it every day or every week.”
As for Hansen, he has strongly stated a preference to stay put with a year remaining on his contract amid the possibly he could be exposed in the expansion draft. Hansen has a modified no-trade clause and submits an eight-team list of preferred destinations if it ever came to that.
OF NOTE: Ben Hutton, who has missed 11 games with a hairline finger fracture after blocking a shot Jan. 6 against Calgary, was paired with Nikita Tryamkin at practice Monday and was also on the point with Alex Edler on the second power-play unit. He’ll play Tuesday. Brendan Gaunce, who has five assists in 47 games, has been sent to the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets to log more minutes and find his offensive game.