MERELY A BONE BRUISE PENSION REFORM RIOTS
Canucks relieved after Boeser CT scan A police officer helps a protester during a general strike against a pension reform measure outside Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Monday. Union leaders complain the bill would cut pension and retirement paym
“It’s a relief.”
In three words, Jim Benning echoed the emotions of not only the Vancouver Canucks, but the entire provincial hockey populace Monday. When a computerized tomography (CT) scan earlier in the day revealed Calder Trophy front-runner Brock Boeser suffered a bone bruise — and not a feared foot fracture after blocking a Mark Giordano shot Sunday — it turned angst into anticipation.
Knowing the hotshot rookie will soon resume his remarkable NHL season is a boost to the goal-starved club, a fan base that has been entertained, engaged and enamoured with the humble winger, and the general manager.
“He felt better when he got up this morning and it (the injury) is more day to day than week to week for his return,” added Benning. “We can’t afford to lose a player like that.”
There’s no immediate timeline for Boeser’s return, but he could be ready for the first post-Christmas test here Dec. 28 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Before Boeser received the encouraging diagnosis, his NHL peers were reaching out. Brendan Gallagher was feeling for Boeser because he has felt significant shot-blocking pain.
The Montreal Canadiens winger dropped in front of a Johnny Boychuk slapper in 2015, fracturing two fingers on his left hand. He was sidelined for 29 games.
So it’s not surprising the former Vancouver Giants standout admires Boeser. The rookie’s willingness to sacrifice his body for the greater good has resonated throughout the league because it’s about more than the points. It’s about winning.
The Canucks hotshot is the club’s leading scorer with 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) in 32 games and has grown his defensive game. The Giordano wrist shot struck the winger at the top of his left skate and he crawled to the bench in excruciating pain. He was spotted post-game on crutches and wearing a walking boot and everybody feared the worst and admired the shotblocking bravado.
“An unbelievable player and that (shot blocking) will go a long way with his teammates,” said Gallagher, who leads the Canadiens with 13 goals and is on pace for a career-high 32. “I never really measure my success by goals, assists and points, there’s a lot that goes into it. You want to be accountable to your teammates and all the little things that help you win.”
From his perch, Benning couldn’t believe what he was seeing Sunday when Boeser struggled to get off the ice.
“That was tough,” he recalled. “He has been playing so well for us. When it happened, I thought: ‘This can’t be happening.’”
Boeser is leading several offensive rookie categories and his 14 power-play points rejuvenated a sour special team when he was promoted to the first unit Nov. 14 in Los Angeles. The club was operating at 14.1 per cent efficiency and is now fifth at 21.8 per cent.
In Boeser’s absence, the Canucks have recalled winger Reid Boucher from the Utica Comets. The 24-year-old is leading the American Hockey League affiliate with 25 points, is playing the on power play and penalty kill and has taken just three minor penalties.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that a guy who managed five goals in 27 games with the Canucks last season — and showed off one of the better releases on the club — should simply slot in to replace Boeser, whose quick, heavy and accurate wrister has been compared to Mike Bossy and Brett Hull.
“When we met with him at the exit meeting, we challenged him to put the work in and he came in fit,” Benning said of Boucher, who’s on an expiring one-year, one-way US$687,500 deal. “It has translated. He’s getting in on the forecheck and he has been physical.
“He always had the skill and could score. But his overall game has improved and we’ll see where he’s at.”
Where the Canucks are at is a different story.
Their entire emerging first line is still sidelined — Sven Baertschi ( jaw), Bo Horvat (foot) and Boeser — and when you add Chris Tanev (groin), Brandon Sutter and Erik Gudbranson (upper body), the inability to win faceoffs, be better on the penalty kill and score at even strength is magnified.
And that’s without getting into spotty goaltending or being without Boeser for a while.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us and we can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” added Benning.
“We’re going to have to figure out a way. We want to be competitive until we start getting some players back. But I’m not trading any of our young players or giving away draft picks because that’s the future of the organization.”
Benning had recently been looking to add a versatile topnine forward to help bridge the gap until Horvat and Baertschi returned from injury.
“I was talking to teams, but there wasn’t anything imminent,” said Benning.
“We win in Nashville, we beat Toronto and Carolina and as a group I thought we were getting that confidence and swagger to compete hard every night.”