Toughening up for all-Canadian division
With MLB-style series of games likely, expect rivalries to heat to a fever pitch
When the puck finally drops on a compacted NHL season, testosterone levels in an all-Canadian division are going to rise. How high?
A proposed 56-game slate means the Vancouver Canucks will face six national rivals at least nine times each and the competitive sparks will fly. Add an extra meeting with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers to meet the schedule total and it could be like pouring gasoline on a fire.
“When you play a team two or three times in a row, it's going to be like a mini-playoff series with a lot of good players on a lot of good teams and a chance to be real intense,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Sunday. “Travis (coach Green) and I have had these conversations.
“It's going to be about playing to win and you've got to be smart. We have a good power play, if there's going to be a lot of nonsense going on. When you have individual battles and personalities get involved, it has that potential. From the fans' point, it's going to be fun to watch.” But when?
In an exhaustive exercise to host Major League Baseball-style series, the Canucks also will travel to virus hot spots amid a surging second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The enthusiasm of a targeted Jan. 3 opening for training camp and a Jan. 13 season commencement could be tempered by what plays out this week with COVID-19 and how the NHL executive committee and NHL Players' Association adjusts accordingly.
However, if there's a January green light, team toughness will be vital to combat the prospect of intimidation leading to injury.
In today's game, the designated fighter has been replaced by the designated irritant. It's that guy who targets the other team's top players — like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes — and attempts to take away their resolve to play through the hounding and harassment.
Among noted agitators are Matthew Tkachuk in Calgary, Zack Kassian in Edmonton, Wayne Simmonds in Toronto and, of course, Antoine Roussel in Vancouver.
“Travis talks to the players about a group mental toughness where we stick up for each other,” Benning added. “I'm confident that our guys are mentally tough and strong and we have players who play the way we want to play — strong on pucks and getting to the net — and we feel good about our group.
“We still have a lot of experienced players and younger guys to integrate and they're going to show up and compete. They proved that in the (Edmonton) bubble experience and I was extremely proud of how hard they worked on a gameto-game basis and how they competed. We have players who know what it takes to be competitive and successful.”
Still, you know there will be some nonsense.
That's where rosters expected to expand from 23 to 26 and adding a four-member AHL taxi squad will work to the Canucks' advantage. It means there's room for depth wingers like Zack MacEwen, who fought five times last season, and for restricted free agent Justin Bailey, who's expected to soon reach terms on a contract extension.
“Bailey is part of our group,” Benning said. “He played (two) games for us last year, is a big guy and can skate like the wind and we're going to need him here at some point.”
What the Canucks don't have to worry about is how Pettersson and Hughes will handle the extra attention.
In their first post-season adventure last summer, they not only posted 18 points (7-11) and 16 points (2-14) respectfully, they responded to the gabbing, grabbing and jabbing by playing better.
In the second-round series opener against Las Vegas, Hughes had a rough outing. He was constantly contained in his own zone and nullified at the opposition blue-line. The Golden Knights pressured him at the point, took away passing and shooting options and he had no shots. To his credit, he sucked it up and gathered his game. Pettersson was the same way. Last season, he was just as willing to deliver a check after absorbing one. He became master of the reverse hit in board battles to complement a heightened compete level. And he was also adept at anticipating hits by jumping at the last second to absorb the energy, rather than being plastered to the boards.
In Game 2 against the Golden Knights, Pettersson was at his playmaking, fast-breaking and quick-release best during a 5-2 victory. He had a goal and two assists, was foiled on one breakaway, hit the crossbar on another dash, froze goalie Robin Lehner with a forehand deke and finished with six shot attempts.
I'm confident that our guys are mentally tough and strong and we have players who play the way we want to play.
OVERTIME
Canuck players from the U.S. and Europe are expected to return to Vancouver this week to adhere to the mandatory 14-day quarantine period in advance of a projected Jan. 3 camp at Rogers Arena. The club had hoped to conduct a group cohort quarantine during their 10day camp, but that concept was a non-starter with provincial health officials.