MUDDLE IN THE MIDDLE
DRAWING ON AMBITION
Elias Pettersson says his ambition in Vancouver is to eventually play centre. Why not give it a shot now?
Consider the possibility there’s a parallel universe where, after travelling through a portal, you could see the Vancouver Canucks’ free agency strategy flipped upside down.
And instead of targeting bottom-of-the-roster support players, in this alternate reality, the Canucks approached July 1 like they were bellying up to a craps table with a backpack full of casino chips to burn through.
Gone would be the fouryear deals for Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel, and in their place the Canucks would have outbid the world for bigmoney free agents like, say, James Neal and Paul Statsny.
What would the reaction havebeenhere?
Hint. It wouldn’t have been placid and calm.
It would have been viewed as another quick-fix attempt by a management team that’s been caught looking for shortcuts in the past. The Canucks also would have been accused of creating road blocks for their best young offensive prospects.
Now, to be honest, the reality isn’t that much prettier. The Canucks signed Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel to four-year deals and it isn’t exactly setting the world on fire, because this is one of the lowest scoring teams in hockey — and that was with the Sedin twins.
But the Canucks can still turn the perception of their off-season around with a couple of moves. The first would be signing Quinn Hughes and then give him every chance to make the team. If he’s not ready, the top prospect could start his development in the AHL. Everybody wins.
Even the possibility that the Canucks defence could add someone like Hughes this season is mouth-watering for many fans. He’s already the best all-around skater among defencemen in the organization. And he may be the best power play quarterback, too, even if he lacks the booming shot.
The other possibility revolves around Eilas Pettersson. If the Canucks were to give Pettersson every chance to line up at centre to start the season, it would again change the conversation.
The potential of Pettersson in between offensive minded wingers like, say, Sven Baertschi, is so much sexier than most of the mock lineups making the rounds that have him slotted to play with Brandon Sutter.
Now, playing with Sutter may happen, but the Canucks and their head coach Travis Green are well aware it’s not ideal for a player many hope will be a super rookie.
Pettersson played just seven games at centre last year, but that’s where he wants to be. The Canucks want him at centre. So why wait?
If there are going to be growing pains as Pettersson adjusts to the position in the NHL, the earlier he can get through them, the better. Why put it off?
The Canucks are much more eager to get him playing centre than people seem to think and their free agent moves support that. They didn’t acquire anyone who could even compete with Pettersson for the hole created by Henrik Sedin’s retirement.
The Sedins were deployed as an offensive line and would play anywhere from 10 minutes a game to 17 or 18 if they were highly effective.
Henrik averaged just 12:38 in even strength ice time over the course of last season. That would seem like an ideal pocket for Pettersson to fit into.
Give Pettersson similar minutes in between two wingers who have scoring potential and let him roam the Canucks’ first power play unit.
Who wouldn’t want to see that?