It’s soul-searching time
Canucks have to decide if current players are ever going to compete for a Cup
DALLAS, Tex. — In another conference and a country away, Mike Babcock was ruminating on rebuilds.
He said something which strikes through the heart of everything currently going on with the Vancouver Canucks.
“People don’t understand,” Babcock said to Toronto media.
“If you’re going to put your name on the silver thing, you need a real group of players.”
It’s the type of thought which should echo for days in the Canucks’ organization, leading to two questions that are important and haunting. How many players do the Ca nu ck shave who can makeup a “real group?”
How many of these current players can help the Canucks put their names on the silver thing?
It sure hasn’t looked like many on this road trip, a point the discouraged Jacob Markstrom apparently hasn’t missed.
In many ways, Markstrom has become the voice of a part of the organization which usually the quietest. Like few others, he’s able to verbalize the frustration of the team in simple and emotional terms.
He did just that after team’s fourth straight loss, a game in which the Canucks played so poorly they made the Carolina Hurricanes look like Mad Max rampaging over Fury Road.
“I’m not good enough,” Markstrom said. “And we have a lot of guys on our team who aren’t playing good enough, either, to be in this league. “It’s embarrassing.”
Markstrom will clarify soon if he meant that as harshly as it reads. I’m guessing he did not.
If you go up and down the Canucks lineup, however, many of the players seem to be in positions where they’re miscast, either in roles they’re not quite ready for, or in spots where too much is asked.
For example, Bo Horvat is probably not ready to be a first-line centre. Michael Del Zotto is probably not a regular top-four defenceman, and you could say the same for Erik Gudbranson.
A team depending on Brandon Sutter to consistently be its shutdown centre could be in trouble.
The Sedins and Thomas Vanek can’t carry a team offensively at this stage of their careers. Jake Virtanen is still figuring out what he is, and Markstrom may not be a No. 1 goalie who, to borrow a Travis Green buzzphrase, you “win with.”
This is not entirely unexpected. It’s a common situation for losing teams which are rebuilding.
The pain is real.
If it all seems harsh, it’s because the situation is harsh. The Canucks have won just seven of their past 27 games. There are 27 games left. How many do you think they can win? It’s not just the players where there seems to be confusion.
Vancouver GM Jim Benning still doesn’t know if he’s coming back next season. That can’t help him or what needs to happen next.
The trade deadline is in two weeks, and when asked about it, Benning said: “The deadline, we’ll see where we’re at. If teams call us on our players, we’ll listen to what they have to offer.”
Truthfully, it’s doubtful much at all is going to change in the next two weeks. Waiting may just be putting off the inevitable.
Some would like the Canucks to be more proactive, because there are serious questions about this squad. Ben Hutton is 24 and can’t stay in the lineup. Is he part of Vancouver’s future?
Is Markus Granlund? Sven Baertschi? Derrick Pouliot? Virtanen?
Can they be impactful players when the tide finally turns?
If the answer internally is yes, then by all means stay the course.
But if the answer is no to any of them, shouldn’t the Canucks be looking to move them for players or draft picks who will become those you can depend on when the organization has its “real group?”
Because in the end, all that matters is the silver thing.
The good news is the Canucks have a nice group of prospects coming. The bad news is, not all of them will pan out as well you hope.
The focus of the team needs to be trying to find building blocks to create the type of team Babcock was talking about.
Hopefully, things will look different soon. Hopefully, Adam Gaudette will show well when the Canucks sign him and put him into the lineup.
Hopefully Thatcher Demko will shine if given a chance for the Canucks down the stretch.
Hopefully, Elias Pettersson arrives soon and lives up to the hype.
Until then, there’s going to be more pain. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt if the Canucks did some self-reflection of their and were as honest with themselves and their team as Markstrom was Friday night.