Eriksson has his work cut out
Coach looks beyond underwhelming stats of Canucks winger
When looking at Loui Eriksson’s numbers, it’s difficult to see past the ones on his contract.
For US$6 million, Eriksson has generated just 11 goals and 22 points in 54 games this season for the Vancouver Canucks, which makes his offence among the most costly in the National Hockey League.
Anytime a team signs a 31-yearold unrestricted free agent to a six-year, $36 million contract, there is a chance that deal will grow heavy and encumbering in time.
But nobody figured that time would be Eriksson’s first season with the Canucks after general manager Jim Benning was mostly cheered for signing the winger last summer.
Today’s matinee against the Bruins, with whom Eriksson played the last three seasons and nearly re-signed, is hardly a triumphant homecoming for the quiet Swede.
He’ll have a couple of friends at the TD Garden for the game, but his family isn’t here.
Eriksson, at least, feels good about himself after scoring in the Canucks’ 3-0 win Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio, and the arena here is familiar to him. So are the circumstances.
The last time Eriksson struggled this much to score was his first season in Boston, in 2013-14, after the Bruins surrendered Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars to acquire the two-way forward.
Eriksson managed just 10 goals and 37 points in 61 games, his season undermined by a pair of concussions. The next season, Eriksson rebounded to 22 goals and 47 points, then posted 30 goals and 63 points last year — which makes you a $36 million free agent these days.
So there is a good chance that next season for Eriksson will be better than this one.
He is on pace to finish with 35 points for the Canucks, which would be his fewest pointsper-game since he was an NHL rookie 10 years ago.
“Of course this season hasn’t been the best for me, but I’m still happy we’re pretty close to the playoffs,” Eriksson said after the Canucks practised Friday at the Garden. “It was the same thing when I came to Boston. Getting to learn new things and new teammates and settled into the city, as well, it takes some time.
“When you’ve put up a lot of points in the past, you always want to do the same thing. But when things aren’t going your way, all you can do is work hard and try to get that feeling that you know you can do it. Of course you get frustrated some games, but I’m getting a lot of chances. It comes back to staying positive and working hard and trying to get better.”
Eriksson’s power-play tap-in against Columbus was his first goal in nine games and first point in eight. It came two nights after his team-high six shots against the Nashville Predators included a last-minute, point-blank chance that would have sent the game to overtime and earned the Canucks at least one point. Eriksson was robbed by Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.
He has been a victim of goalie crime a few times this season, as shown by a shooting percentage that is a full four points below his career success rate of 13.6 per cent.
But Eriksson’s season isn’t only about bad luck or good goaltending. At times, his shooting has looked weak, like when he drilled Rinne in the crest on Tuesday when Eriksson had plenty of time and space in the low slot to pick a corner.
Eriksson has not been a natural fit with Swedish national-team linemates Daniel and Henrik Sedin, mainly because his passfirst style is too much like the Canucks’ twins.
Eriksson is not as dynamic as we’d hoped, but an average skater who does some little things well. But as a six-million-dollar man, Eriksson needs to do some big things, too. Even he knows this.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure,” he said of his contract. “And as a player, you want to do everything you can to score goals and help the team. It definitely has been a tough season so far that way. But it’s a good thing we’re still close to the playoffs and have a chance to make it.
“We’re playing a team game and all that matters, in the end, is winning games. You can’t think about the past. You have to move forward.”
We see his salary and 11 goals. Canuck coach Willie Desjardins sees much more.
“I see a real solid player,” Desjardins said. “I see a good teammate. I see a guy that takes care of himself off the ice and he does the things we want from a Vancouver Canuck. He comes to the rink and is prepared to play every day.
"He plays through injuries and doesn’t complain, doesn’t take himself out. He’s ready to battle. I see a guy that’s good offensively and defensively. He’s a complete player. When I look at Loui, I see lots of good things.”
Desjardins is playing Eriksson 18:55 per game, behind only Hank Sedin (19:16) and Brandon Sutter (19:11) up front. And Eriksson’s 50.76 Corsi-for percentage makes him one of only two Canuck regulars — Markus Granlund is the other — who has been on the ice for more shots attempts for his team than against it.
“He’s no different than any other guy,” Danny Sedin said of the pressure Eriksson feels. “If you’re playing for a new team or, for me, it’s been a long time (on the Canucks), you want to be there for your teammates.
"He’s had a good attitude. I think that’s why he’s going to have success because he doesn’t get down on himself, he just keeps working hard and plays the right way. He helps our team win even when he doesn’t score.”
Still, the Canucks would win more if he did score.