Granlund’s breakout season cut short
SURGERY: Wrist injury sidelines ‘character’ Canucks forward, who became regular among club’s top six
Markus Granlund had 10 shot attempts Saturday. This Friday, he’ll have wrist surgery.
Brandon Sutter had four shot attempts Saturday and despite just three assists in his last 18 NHL games, he’ll continue to play through a heavily bandaged right wrist and won’t need surgery.
That’s something in a season of too many nothings, but Granlund has been something else.
The Vancouver Canucks right winger has been troubled by a wonky wrist for the majority of this trying season, but the try in Granlund has been one of the few goodnews stories.
Granlund registered a careerhigh 19 goals and 13 assists in 69 games. And in methodically moving up the lineup with a heightened compete level and underrated ability to release a quick wrist shot and get to the net, the 23-year-old Finn has become one of the poster boys for perseverance because he could have been shut down earlier.
The Canucks flirted with a fivepoint, post-season position deficit following a 2-1-0 California road swing to start the meaningfulgames-in-March mantra, but that quickly evaporated and making sure Granlund was right for next season became a priority.
“Granlund plays hard,” said Canucks coach Willie Desjardins. “He’s a real character player and comes every night with compete. And that’s what I like about him the most.”
Reid Boucher will replace Granlund on a line with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi when the Canucks open a four-game road trip Tuesday in Chicago. Michael Chaput will skate with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, but replacing Granlund’s skill, will and versatility won’t be easy.
“Losing a guy like him is going to be tough for us,” said Horvat. “He was a huge part of our team and had a pretty impressive year. It just shows his character. It (Granlund’s wrist) has pretty much been bugging him all year — and even for the last couple of years — and for him to play through that is impressive.
“I talked to him after the (Edmonton) game and said, ‘At least you went down swinging.’ He had all those shot attempts trying to get his 20th goal and you can’t ask for anything more than that.
“He’s a professional. His play speaks for itself and his improvement this year has been second to none and it’s been awesome to see.”
Granlund was a curiosity when acquired Feb. 22, 2016, in a swap for Hunter Shinkaruk. He had but two goals in 16 games to finish out last season and because he never scored more than eight goals for the Calgary Flames, there was head scratching and some navel gazing about his acquisition.
Shinkaruk had 21 goals in 45 American Hockey League games with the Utica Comets at the time of the trade, but has played just seven games with the Flames this season.
What the Canucks saw in Granlund was magnified in a 2-1 win at Anaheim on March 5. He was double-shifted when Loui Eriksson was lost to a first-period knee injury and calmly snapped the game-winner between the pads of Ducks goalie Jonathan Bernier in the second period.
“It’s a key when coaches are trusting you,” Granlund said at the time. “You start to feel better about yourself.”
For Boucher, this is a crucial trip to gain trust. The restricted free agent has an enviable shot release — he hit the post from the slot Saturday — but playing more than the 10:44 of ice time against the Oilers will be as much about responsibility than that release.
“We need a guy who’s good defensively there as well,” stressed Desjardins. “If I’m going to match that lineup and get top minutes, you need to play against big guys and you need to play offensively and defensively.”
The knock of opportunity won’t get any louder and it’s up to Boucher how long it lasts because he was quickly demoted to the fourth line Saturday. But as an RFA with arbitration rights — he has accumulated four years of professional experience — he’s also a low-risk extension consideration with little leverage.
“It’s a big week for me,” said Boucher, who had combined earlier with Horvat and Baertschi for three goals in four games. “I just have to follow their lead. They’re great players and compete hard and I have to play the same way and prove I can be a top-nine forward in this league.”
Meanwhile, Sutter’s wrist has everybody wondering about his playing status. He hurt it falling awkwardly Feb. 12 in Buffalo and has somehow maintained a presence in the faceoff circle, even though his battle level has been hampered.
“Everybody is playing through something and you’ve got to do what you can to make yourself feel comfortable out there,” said Sutter. “I haven’t had a year in my career where I’ve felt 100 per cent in March. But it (his wrist) will heal up over the summer and there’s no plan (for surgery).”
The Canucks are hobbling into this trip with six straight losses. Only Carolina and Colorado have fewer road wins (nine) than the Canucks (10). They never gained traction and didn’t win a game away from Rogers Arena until their seventh attempt on Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
What can they hope for on this sojourn?
“Every game you want to win, but our effort has to be there,” said Horvat. “It’s one thing to lose, it’s another thing to lose when you play well and I thought we did in Edmonton (2-0).
“If we bring that effort every night, we should be happy with ourselves no matter the outcome.”
OF NOTE — Jacob Markstrom has food poisoning, so Richard Bachman will be the backup Tuesday for goaltender Ryan Miller. Nikolay Goldobin skated Monday and has put on a couple of pounds since losing 15 to the flu. He’s travelling, but not expected to play until later in the trip. Brendan Gaunce (hand) and Eriksson (knee) are not travelling. Jack Skille (groin) was skating with Sutter and Jayson Megna, while Alex Biega was taking fourth-line rushes at wing.