Sluggish Raymond relegated
Winger dropped to fourth line as coach juggles lines to fi nd off ence
There are still 16 games remaining in the regular season, but Alain Vigneault is already beginning to put the pieces of his playoff puzzle together.
And the Vancouver Canucks coach, like many of the team’s fans, is wondering exactly where winger Mason Raymond fits.
Right now, Raymond is one of those pieces that doesn’t seem to fit very well anywhere, which explains why he figures to start tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars on Vancouver’s fourth line.
Raymond’s offensive struggles, combined with the intriguing play of newcomer Zack Kassian, have cost him his spot on the Canucks’ second line.
No one is saying it is permanent — and let’s face it, with a chronic line- juggler like Vigneault, nothing is — but Kassian is going to get a good look at filling Raymond’s spot alongside Ryan Kesler and David Booth.
“This is done on game- togame basis,” Vigneault said after Monday’s practice. “We are finding out what Zack can bring to the table, we’re finding out what Marc- Andre [ Gragnani] can bring to the table.
“In Mason’s case, our whole coaching staff understands a couple of months ago he was barely walking. He comes back from a serious injury, doesn’t have training camp, it’s a real challenge for a player to find his rhythm, find his game and right now obviously Mason is being challenged that way.”
Vigneault has given Raymond, who suffered a serious back injury in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, the benefit of the doubt. He has continued to give him plenty of ice time, mainly alongside Kesler, and he gets regular second- unit power- play duty. But with just eight goals and 16 points in 41 games, Raymond hasn’t done enough to stay in the top six.
“I am trying to do what is best for the team and, at the same time, I am also looking at his challenges,” Vigneault said of Raymond. “I know we are going to need him down the road. We are going to need that 25- goal scorer, but at the same time I have to look at the big picture right now.
“For now, obviously I am looking at some other people in that second- line spot and we’ll see how that goes and how it affects our team down the road.”
Raymond, who figures to start tonight’s game alongside Manny Malhotra and Maxim Lapierre, said Monday he’s happy to play “wherever I can fit in.
“We change lines here all the time and last game we were in a hole 3- 0 right away so he decided to change it up,” Raymond said.
“Again, that is not for me to decide. We are a good team and so wherever I can fit in I am happy to do so.”
Although they remain ranked as one of the NHL’S top offensive teams, goals have been more difficult to come by for the Canucks of late and they could certainly use a bigger contribution from Raymond, who two seasons ago scored 25 goals and had 53 points. Last season, Raymond missed 12 games with an injury and his production dropped to 15 goals and 39 points.
Raymond suffered a vertebrae compression fracture when he was driven backward into the end boards by Boston Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk. Raymond had to wear a corset to stabilize his back and was immobile for two months. He returned to play his first game this season on Dec. 4.
“Having an injury like I had isn’t an easy thing to go through and come back from,” he said. “Nor is that an excuse for maybe what has happened, but that is part of hockey.
“I have learned so much this year going through what I have had to with injuries and the [ trade] deadline and such. I just continue to work through them and hopefully see light at the end of the tunnel.”
He said he doesn’t feel the need to remake his game to better fit on the fourth line.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I am who I am, I’m not going to go out and totally revamp my game. ... I have to do what I do and when I am doing that I think I am successful and can help my teammates around me.”
Vigneault, meanwhile, acknowledged Monday that he will be using the final 16 regularseason games to try to sort out his playoff lineup.
It seems it’s mainly the second and fourth lines that are in flux.
He indicated Monday he likes the look of his third line of Sammy Pahlsson between Jannik Hansen and Chris Higgins and it seems unlikely he will mess with the top line of the Sedin twins and Alex Burrows.
“Our team has a short focus in the sense we are focusing on [ tonight’s] game and how we are going to get two points from that game, how we are going to beat one of the best teams in the NHL in the last while,” Vigneault said.
“That being said, I am also trying to keep a big- picture approach and how certain pieces we have on our team will best help us as we move forward here to get into the playoffs, to get the division, get the conference, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
“So I am trying to sort that out. I have an idea of what I think it might look like, but I don’t know.
“The players are going to decide that for me with how they play.”