Canucks week ahead: road trip test against the best on the barrel

Article content

Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford has said all along that he focused on a road trip to Florida as a key point in his assessment of the true nature of his new team.

Article content

That road trip is almost upon it.

Of course, when he made that comment in early December, Rutherford wasn’t expecting his team to have to postpone six games before going on a trip, taking away part of his evaluation window and also throwing the club out of balance.

A week ago we wondered in this space how delays would affect Rutherford’s thinking. He told Postmedia over the weekend that he’s not in a rush, but that he’s getting a better idea of ​​what his team needs and doesn’t need, even with the game hiatus.

In other words, you are almost ready to make a few moves.

Here’s a look at next week:

The history

The Canucks have lost just once since head coach Bruce Boudreau was hired on Dec. 5. The team skyrocketed in the first six games under their new bench chief.

Article content

Then COVID-19 re-entered the Canucks’ lives and they had to postpone five games. (A sixth, scheduled for Wednesday this week, was also postponed due to capacity restrictions.)

They have scored points in all nine games with Boudreau as bench chief, their only loss coming in a Dec. 30 shootout against host Los Angeles Kings.

The Canucks have played very well in almost every game and they have also deserved to win almost every game, although there have been some glitches and some luck in the mix.

They have had shooting victories over Winnipeg and Boston, and both games were close contests that could have gone backwards on a rebound. They also stole a victory from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Much of this is due to the outstanding play of goalkeeper Thatcher Demko. So impressive was his performance that the NHL named him third star of the month for December.

Article content

And the Kings should have strangled them last Thursday, but Demko’s substitute Jaroslav Halák turned on his head to steal a point from his team.

The special teams have also been outstanding.

The streak has been a lot of fun. How long will it last?

Opponents

On Saturday the Canucks will host the Ottawa Senators , which has already had 11 games postponed this season due to COVID-19. (Only one game has been rescheduled so far.)

If you’re wondering why this game is happening, even at 50 percent capacity at Rogers Arena, that’s basically why. The NHL does not want to extend the season beyond what is already on the books, so they will have to participate in a lot of games for the Senators, and not just during the Olympic recess that had been included in the schedule.

Article content

The Sens are likely to be completely healthy on Saturday, and the Canucks could very well have almost everyone healthy as well, after their little outbreak of COVID-19.

NEXT GAME

Saturday

Ottawa Senators vs. Vancouver Canucks

7 pm, Rogers Arena. TV: CBC, Sportsnet Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650.

And then things get serious. The Canucks will hit the road for Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, with a game against the Panthers Tuesday, in a state that simply doesn’t care about the pandemic. The Cats are among the best teams in the league and are mostly COVID-free again after an outbreak last week.

Two days later, and technically more than a week from now, the Canucks will face the Tampa Bay Lightning . The Canucks haven’t had much success in the Sunshine State lately, and their last visit in 2020 was especially bad.

Article content

Increase in stocks

Brad Hunt : The Maple Ridge veteran is as optimistic as he sounds. It has taken him a long way.

And now he has a coach who has known him before and seems to be a fan of what he can bring as a deep defender. He has had power play time and Bruce Boudreau, who also coached him in Minnesota, has been happy with Hunt’s play.

Stocks falling

Alex Chiasson : The big winger has played eight games at Boudreau and it doesn’t make sense. He hasn’t been a factor in uniform strength all season, but he did good things in the power game early on. Now the power play is humming and he’s not taking that into account, so at this point what’s the point?

Question of the week

“Who do you think should be more concerned about being sent to Rutherford’s inevitable first trade?” – Chris J., Lima, Peru

Article content

Rutherford has made his priorities clear: he wants his team to be younger. You already know the difficult situation you are in within the salary cap and you will have to be aggressive in finding ways to overcome it. The easiest place to look is ahead, where the high-end options are plentiful.

JT Miller will never get more value than now. He’s in the top 10 in the league in scoring. He’s likely to be a challenging player to re-sign in the long run and if the focus is on young players, does it make sense to keep a guy like Miller, who turns 29 in mid-March? That is the wrong age address.

In similar terms, what about Captain Bo Horvat? He’s two years younger than Miller and doesn’t have the offensive power that Miller has, but surely a team would love to add him too.

Article content

What about Brock Boeser, who could get a great qualifying offer this summer? He was on a losing streak, but had a hot streak before contracting COVID-19 last week. Assuming he returns to the lineup, another scoring round would bring him to a 30-goal rate. That is nothing to sniff out.

[email protected]

twitter.com/risingaction

The Canucks Report, powered by Province Sports, is essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. Sign up here .