At age 32, Jay Beagle sets high conditioning bar for Canucks
WHISTLER — He whipped through the neutral zone untouched during a high-paced Saturday scrimmage.
He circled the net as if he had the puck on a string and a nobody could lay a stick or body on him. He then set up a scoring chance and nearly scored on another fast foray.
He was not Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat or even Nikolay Goldobin.
He was Jay Beagle. Yes, Jay Beagle.
The 32-year-old grinder has become a centre of attention through two days of the Vancouver Canucks’ training camp. Signed to an eye-popping four-year $12 million US free-agent deal on July 1 to bring faceoff efficiency and a penalty-kill presence, the Stanley Cup champion has found the Fountain of Youth.
Beagle breezed through a bag skate Friday that brought new teammates to their knees and even had Troy Stecher throwing up. And the 6-3, 215-pound Beagle wasn’t supposed to be the first guy you noticed Saturday.
“He looked good and is probably faster than I thought he was going to be,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “He’s a good player and you’re looking for that from guys who have a combination of everything.
“He does a lot of things that don’t show up on the scoresheet.”
Beagle has won championships in the ECHL, AHL and NHL, and six seasons with the Washington Capitals proved he can carve out a niche.
Most importantly, Beagle has adapted to avoid a conditioning drop-off that affects many of his 30-plus NHL peers.
“Over the last three or four years, I’ve completely revamped my training,” said the Calgary native. “More conditioning, more speed work and less heavy lifting and less bulking up. You still work on strength, but in a different aspect. If you don’t adapt, you get slow-footed.”
This wasn’t supposed to be the crux of the Beagle debate. It was supposed to be the four-year commitment and taking a roster spot away from Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Gaudette. It was about paying beyond market value for what could be a fourth-liner.
Well, somebody either did their homework or Beagle had everyone baffled.
He dipped to just 22 points (7-15) last season, but had a strong playoff presence with 60.1 per cent faceoff efficiency and timely offensive contributions. Beagle set up two goals in the pivotal 3-1 triumph in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
In the 3-2 Game 2 triumph, he was out in the last two minutes to help preserve the win. He also assumed a bigger role when Nicklas Backstrom was injured and finished with eight points (2-6) in 23 playoff games.
“The coaching staff had a lot of trust in me and played me in big moments and I thrive on that,” added Beagle. “When you have that role, you’re not secondguessing yourself and it sets you up for success.
“I played some of my best hockey last year and sometimes the numbers don’t show that.”
If Beagle can equal his 2016-17 output of 30 points (13-17), it will justify management’s long-standing interest in Beagle because they were the first team to reach out to the centre in free agency.
The belief was Beagle would take pressure off Brandon Sutter in defensive-zone faceoffs, aid an ailing 21st-ranked penalty kill and help establish a culture of expectation in the room.
Still, the Canucks’ 26th-ranked offence could have been bolstered by free-agent centres Riley Nash and Derek Ryan, who had 15-goal seasons with Boston and Carolina, respectively. Nash chose a more competitive environment in Columbus and his three-year, $8.25-million deal would have been palatable here.
Ryan left money on the table to join former Hurricanes coach Bill Peters in Calgary. His three-year, $9.75-million deal would have also worked here, but the Canucks opted for Beagle. His defensive awareness and stronger physical presence would help protect the kids and allow their offensive games to grow.
“That interest piqued my interest,” said the undrafted Beagle, who had never gone through the free-agency process. “You want to go where you’re wanted and I felt the fit was right.
It gave Beagle the hammer to push for four years. And for a guy who turns 33 on Oct. 16, that’s quite a commitment.