Big AHL numbers don’t add up to NHL job
Now 26, winger Boucher remains positive despite his struggles to earn a spot with the Canucks
Nobody wants to be “that guy.” You know, the player an NHL franchise lavishes with praise for professionalism, productivity and patience. The player who posts monster numbers in the AHL that don’t translate to tenure in The Show because a lack of explosive speed can overshadow a rocket release. That guy is Reid Boucher. The Utica Comets winger is once again at a career crossroads as a restricted free agent. Despite finishing second in AHL scoring this season with 67 points (34-33) in 53 games — he missed 10 games to injury and would have closed a three-point gap to take the title — he might not fit into contract equations and roster ramifications for the Vancouver Canucks.
“When we traded for him (2017) and gave him an opportunity here, I don’t think he was prepared — to be quite honest,” general manager Jim Benning said Wednesday. “He learned how to put in the work and has become a good pro. He has been a leader and became a culture carrier for what we think is important.
“He has drilled it into our young players and even our veterans. And he can challenge players down there (Utica) on one-way contracts because he backs it up with his day-to-day habits and the way he competes.”
That’s the good Boucher news. The bad news is reality and turning 27 in September.
Off-season acquisitions of wingers J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland, and a contract resolution for Brock Boeser, gave Boucher an early training-camp ticket to the AHL. But the most telling transaction came in February. Justin Bailey was recalled instead of Boucher and played sparingly against Chicago and Nashville.
“He has never complained, even when we sent him down at the start of this year,” Benning said. “There were points when we thought about bringing him up and either the fit wasn’t quite right or we were looking for more size and speed in Bailey.”
Run this by Boucher and you get the right response.
“I just try to put my head down and focus and guys earned call-ups, too,” Boucher said Wednesday from Lansing, Mich. “It wasn’t like I was the only guy playing well in Utica. They deserved a chance to play in the NHL and got it.
“It’s a matter of putting in the work and focus on the task in front of me. As far as the younger guys go, you just try to make them feel comfortable and bring out their best games and attributes so they can have a successful career. You try to set an example.”
However, with contract hurdles and prospects pushing for NHL jobs, it’s uncertain whether Boucher will be retained. There hasn’t been NHL trade interest, only offers from other AHL clubs. So, why part with a player with intangibles and the right attitude and get little in return? Still, it would be easy to get down.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of staying positive, it’s controlling what I can control,” said Boucher, who added a penalty-killing role to his repertoire this season. “I can’t control being called up or sent down, but I can control how hard I work.”
There are a dozen RFAs in the organization and prospect signing priorities in Bailey and Francis Perron and defencemen Jalen Chatfield and Guillaume Brisebois. Add nine unrestricted free agents and balancing salary cap restraints of a ceiling remaining flat at US$81.5 million to that.
And even though wingers Sven Baertschi and Nikolay Goldobin have their own agendas — Baertschi seeking a trade and Goldobin bound for the KHL — there are improving prospects at wing in Kole Lind and Lukas Jasek on the NHL horizon.
Boucher isn’t a money drag because his expiring contract carried a $750,000 cap hit and paid $450,000 in the AHL. But he does have arbitration rights. And even though he didn’t appear in an NHL game this season and just one in 2018-19, his AHL numbers
might carry some contract clout.
With the AHL cancelling the remainder of its season on Monday, expect Boucher to be among the recalls when the Canucks expand their playoff roster — if the paused season is completed.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman continues to count on preparation and opportunity as cornerstones to eventually salvage a season ravaged by the pandemic.
Should a solution arise to allow frequent and reliable COVID-19 player testing, and safe and suitable hub cities for an expected 24-team tournament in empty arenas, Boucher’s season may not end.
“When I get there, I’m going to treat it like a training camp and make the team,” he said. “I’m an NHL player and I think 100 per cent that I am. Why else would I be trying to get there if I don’t think that I am?”
Maybe Comets coach Trent Cull put it best about the driven Boucher.
“He drove the bus,” said the bench boss.
I can’t control being called up or sent down, but I can control how hard I work.”
Reid Boucher