CENTRE OF DEFENCE
Sutter will play key role for Canucks
Want to get a rise out of Travis Green? Ask the coach about his pre-season line combinations.
Want to get a feel for what’s really going on in the room? Ask Brandon Sutter.
The veteran Canucks centre has better perspective than most on what’s at play on and off the ice with the NHL club. He understands the Jay Beagle free agent signing. He understands the methodical youth movement and knows he’ll be deployed in various roles this season.
Sutter is far removed from that “foundational player” label affixed by general manager Jim Benning when the centre was acquired three years ago. Those power play minutes are also ancient history.
However, he’ll be asked to match up against the other team’s top line, take defensive zone faceoffs and improve the team’s 21st-ranked penalty kill unit.
As much as Sutter could talk about his role in all this, he’s more buoyed by the collective and how Beagle can blend in.
Sutter strained his pelvis last November after absorbing a crunching hit from John Moore in New Jersey. He was sidelined for 21 games, and the roster loss was magnified when Bo Horvat suffering an ankle fracture in early December and missed 18 games.
The Canucks lost their mojo in the faceoff circle, in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill.
If they stay healthy, the Canucks can now trot out Beagle (58.5 per cent efficiency), Sutter (51.7) and Horvat (53.8) to take defensive zone draws, while also adding Beagle and Tim Schaller to the penalty kill mix.
That’s a marked improvement and it won’t tax any one player, especially Horvat, who must drive the first-line attack in his quest to better his total of 22 goals in just 64 games last season.
“Having another experienced guy down the middle like Beagle ... you realize pretty quick how important the position can be when guys get hurt,” the 29-year-old Sutter said Wednesday before facing the split-squad Calgary Flames.
“The team obviously addressed that with Beagle. He’s very experienced and a solid two-way player, and that’s the kind of guy you want when things go wrong or sideways. Playing against him and seeing him in training camp, I know he’ll be a perfect fit for us.
“We’ve got young players coming in, but they ’re all offensive players. We’ve added guys who can battle in their own end, and you need that so the young guys can push the pace offensively.”
Sutter might get more offensive looks this season if Swedish rookie Elias Pettersson struggles with faceoffs.
“I might give him options to play more of an offensive role and I might not,” Green said of Sutter.
“He likes his role. He likes taking faceoffs and the responsibility and that’s not going to change.
“There might be times when I throw both him and Beagle out there. It’s a good problem to have — two centres who can play solid at both ends of the rink.”
Limited to 11 goals by injury last season, Sutter still had a team-best plus-8 ranking.
However, the days of being a right-shot option on the first power play are long gone for Sutter.
“I’m comfortable in any situation and if it changes, I’ll fill in wherever they need me,” said Sutter.