Linden sees rays of sunshine amid Canucks’ midseason fog
Development of team’s young players, new up-tempo system seen as positives
Trevor Linden saw streams of sunshine amid the morning fog Wednesday.
The Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations held court as the NHL club approaches the midway point of a challenging season.
And amid the clouds of concern over the lack of consistent goaltending, even-strength scoring, defensive awareness and a rash of injuries, Linden cited areas of improvement in the ongoing development of young players and commitment to playing an uptempo and entertaining system deployed by first-year NHL head coach Travis Green.
Still, the Canucks have but two wins (2-9-1) in their last dozen games and at the 40-game mark, they were nine points shy of the final Western Conference wild-card playoff spot and had six teams to pass.
The mantra of playing meaningful games in March has turned into meaningful games in January. That said, it’s not all bad. “Overall, I’m encouraged,” said Linden. “I look at the positives. Travis came in and established a system that’s conducive to our group and the way our team plays is fun to watch and the results were relatively good.
“There have been challenges, but if we can get healthy, we can get back to where we were.”
Before injuries to Brandon Sutter, Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, the Canucks won four of five road games on an October trip, they twice topped the Stanley Cupchampion Pittsburgh Penguins and squeaked out a tough test in Los Angeles. With the troika sidelined, they’ve surrendered five or more goals on six occasions.
“The results the last month have been frustrating, but there are positives and we just have to stick to it,” added Linden. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had the depth of prospects.”
Here are highlights of the Q&A exchange:
Q: How do you view the goaltending the last month? A:
Losing drivers of offence — especially down the middle — has impacted our zone play. Our defence has struggled and our goaltenders have not been as good as they were. Both are capable of being better. We feel comfortable they can get back to where they need to be.
Q: Does the downturn change the NHL timeline for Thatcher Demko? A:
Absolutely not. Thatcher has taken a huge step this year (2.41 goals-against average, .924 save percentage) from being the secondary guy and running with it and being good every night on a team with a boatload of injuries. That’s where he should be. He’s on track, but not for here.
Q: Has the wild-card reality changed the timeline for moving assets? A:
A lot can happen between now and then (trade deadline) and we understand that we have to be focused on the future. If there’s an opportunity to make this team better, we’re going to do it.
Q: Does that change with a productive UFA like Thomas Vanek? A:
Part of the mandate for Travis was to make the group better and develop young players, but at this point it doesn’t serve a purpose to talk about individual players.
Q: Can you let UFAs (Vanek, Erik Gudbranson) leave for nothing? A:
As we march through the next seven or eight weeks, we’ve got good future pieces and we’re going to keep our eye on that.
Ben Hutton has sat three of five games. Do you need to move a D-man? A:
We finally got healthy and it’s created a logjam. Those are good problems to have. We’re not in a rush to do anything, but if something comes our way, we’ll look at it. We’re not looking to move anyone out, but that could change on this road trip.
Q: Have there been any talks about re-signing Gudbranson? A:
We haven’t really had any discussions. We’ve been in contact with his agent all year and we’re just going see how the next six or eight weeks unfold (before the trade deadline).
Q: How do you evaluate Loui Eriksson, who hasn’t scored in 14 games? A:
He had a good November (10 points in 10 games) and December has been challenging and our group has gone in the same direction. We struggle to score and he has been a part of that. His overall game benefits our group, but we need (offensive) contributions from people like that.
Q: Where are talks at in resigning GM Jim Benning ? A:
We’re focused on having a good second half and Jim is focused on it. He came into a challenging situation and we’re trending in the right direction. I like the job Jim has done.
Q: How does no extension work with Benning making future moves? A:
Jim has always had a teambuilding mindset and he’s going to continue to have his eye on the future and it will be no different as we head to the deadline.
Q: Brock Boeser has a year left on his entry-level contract. What about extension? A:
Brock has had a positive 40 games and it’s going to get tougher — he’s going to be a marked man. But he’s such a smart player, fun to watch and is pretty special. As far as contractually, we’ll look at it and the end of the year and see what our options are. It (cap) is something to think about, but we’re in good shape.
OVERTIME: Baertschi returned to practice Wednesday after missing 10 games with a jaw fracture that didn’t require surgery.
He hopes to play Saturday in Toronto or Sunday in Montreal. Sutter is expected to join the team on its road trip.
He has missed 17 games with a lower-body injury that became a more complex issue in the groin and hip areas.
Horvat had a scan Wednesday to determine a timeline on his return from a foot fracture. The centre has missed a dozen games and a positive scan would put him back around the all-star break (Jan. 26).