JASON BOTCHFORD: Sedins need Hansen’s speed more than ever
If Canucks intend keep revolving around the twins, winger must be part of their orbit
Jannik Hansen is everything that’s right about the Canucks and wrong. He’s fast, enough that when he’s out of the lineup, Vancouver’s lack of speed is palpable and inoperable.
He’s good, enough that he has led the entire organization in evenstrength goal-scoring rate for the past four years.
He’s needed because if there are better fits with the 36-year-old version of the Sedin twins in this world, there aren’t many of them.
But Hansen is also 30 years old, remains one of the Canucks’ most marketable commodities and on a team that should be looking three years down the line, not three months, he should be traded.
Good luck trying to convince the Canucks of that one.
Nearing the Christmas break, the Canucks find themselves locked in an odd organizational limbo. Deep down, the front office likely understands this isn’t a playoff team, at least not one that could get in unless this really is a bizarre down year in the Western Conference.
But Vancouver has positioned itself as neither buyer nor seller, apparently unwilling to make moves to add to a playoff push, while also remaining loath to do typical rebuilding things, like shipping veterans out for draft picks and prospects.
What the Canucks are pitching in the near future is more of the status quo, which would mean the team will go as far as the Sedins can carry them. That’s not a new plan in Vancouver, but it is probably an ill-advised one heading into 2017 because the Sedins aren’t what they used to be. And they understand this. Part of it is age, of course. But another misunderstood part of this is the team built around the Sedins, a point Henrik eloquently drove home after Tuesday’s game when he was asked to compare playing with Hansen this year with other notable linemates of years past.
“It was so different back then,” Henrik said. “We had the puck a lot more. If you look at the team setup, we were deeper. Our Ds were a lot more experienced than the guys we have now — who are battling so hard.
“So we had more puck. We were able to get more chances off the rush because we had it. Now it’s more of a chess game and the other team maybe has more puck possession than we have most of time. It’s a different game. “Way different.” In some ways, this should reframe any discussion about the Sedins, who, as Henrik gently, kindly laid out, are incredibly limited by a collective blue-line that lacks both experience and offensive instincts.
Other than Chris Tanev, is there anyone who can execute consistent, effective breakout passes? Not really, no.
This is not to suggest age isn’t a contributing factor, but that sure looks like a lot less of an issue when the Sedins are playing with Hansen. They just may need Hansen right now more than they’ve ever needed any other winger.
Following a two-goal game by Hansen, a game in which the Sedins flashed greatness again, Henrik gave his best explanation yet as to why Hansen is so important to the Sedins at this stage of their careers.
“He brings a lot of speed,” the captain said. “For us, we want to play the right way (and by that he means they don’t want to cheat).
“We’re two players where a lot of our game is on instinct.
“We try to read where the D is going with the puck and we try to stay a step ahead.
“Sometimes, when you’re on your heels a little bit too much (he means pinned in your own zone), it’s tough to get those reads and to be in the right spot to use (those instincts) to our advantage.
“With his speed, he can open up a lot of room for us. We can put a puck in his area and he can get on it, giving us time to get to our spots. “I think that’s the main thing.” It looked great against Winnipeg on Tuesday.
The Sedins and Hansen are going to need a lot more nights like that, however, to make the current Canucks plan look like a good one.