To begin, let's acknowledge that the Canucks ended their 9 game losing streak with a well earned 5-3 win against the Rangers. Markstrom made some difficult stops, Burrows stepped up, and an all around good effort. Congrats to Loui Eriksson for notching his first as a Canuck. I hope for him to net 20 this season.
Afterwards, not much to say about the rest of the week. So let's take a look at how to improve the Canucks Defence.
The Canucks have empathized this many times: We need better defence. But just how can we get better defence?
Here are my thoughts on how it should go.
The first pairing should be Alex Edler and Chris Tanev. An odd pairing, but hear it out. They've been heart & soul Canucks since day 1. Their entire careers thus far have been with the Canucks. It seems to me that these 2 have a chance. They are more seasoned out then the rest of the squad. They also play an all-around game, focusing on both sides of the play.
The second pairing should be Ben Hutton and Erik Gudbranson. Hutton is young, but has already become a fan favorite for his charismatic off-ice antics and Gudbranson is someone we need to succeed, giving up a second round pick that was extremely early, as well as former first round pick Jared McCann, to acquire him. I like Gudbranson's defensive skill, and Hutton is an all-around player as well, so we can see Gudbranson take checks against the puck carrier while Hutton does the same but would take the point shot.
The third pairing is an experimental idea. I have Troy Stecher with Nikita Tryamkin. Why? Because of this. Stecher is all-around, but he may be the most offensive based off the group. Tryamkin is the first or second all-d based, behind Gudbranson maybe. I can see Tryamkin hitting the puck carrier, laying him out cleanly, then passing the puck to Stecher who will start the offensive rush.
The 7th D-Man is Philip Larsen. I don't see him starting because Tryamkin is more hard hitting, and we have many all around players. I believe that Larsen could take over later on perhaps.
You may have noticed I left Sbisa out. That is because that under these conditions, I see Sbisa as our option for the expansion draft. I don't see a buyout happening for sure, but it may happen if Vegas doesn't draft him. Trade negotiations don't hurt either. If these cases don't help, sbisa may be a frequent starter next season, but won't be resigned. He'd be 28 and wouldn't have accomplished anything significant in the League.
I can see Larsen perhaps improving his game in Utica's top pairing for the season, while Stecher and Tryamkin rotate time with Sbisa and the bench.
But why this? Mainly because at this rate, Sbisa isn't a fan favorite.
Edler and Tanev are heart & soul players of the Canucks.
Hutton is the basic fan favorite out of the rookies.
Gudbranson we sacrificed too much for and he has skill.
Stecher because of how he stood out during pre-season.
And Tryamkin because of his ridiculous size and he is the odd favorite.
I don't see anyone wear Sbisa jerseys at Canucks games. I've never seen anyone wear a Sbisa jersey.
And it's also clearing cap space. Sbisa is making 3.6 Million, and I'm sure he'll want 4 Million when he signs next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment