The Vancouver Canucks made a lot of noise in the free agent market on July 1, signing defenders Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais, and forwards Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood, and Danton Heinen. Then, after almost two months of inactivity, they dipped into the pool again and signed Daniel Sprong. Finally, during training camp and the preseason, they signed Kevin Lankinen and acquired Erik Brannstrom from the Colorado Avalanche.
The Canucks have gotten mixed results from their new faces so far, with some providing a lot of value and others still trying to find their footing. Let’s dive into how they have been doing ten games into their tenure in Vancouver.
Jake DeBrusk
Coming over from the Boston Bruins where he played his entire career, DeBrusk has gotten off to a slow start in Canucks colours. He finally scored his first goal in an NHL jersey other than the spoked B on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, and he only has five points in his first 10 games. He has shown flashes of breaking out, so maybe this first goal is a sign of things to come for the 28-year-old.
DeBrusk was signed to be Elias Pettersson’s partner in crime, but he has only seen 38:46 of five-on-five ice time with him so far. He was aligned with him in training camp, the preseason, and the first few games, but has recently been stapled to J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser on the top line, and has now seen more time (59:52) with them than Pettersson. He has also been replaced on the top power-play unit with Conor Garland. All in all, while he got a promotion to the top line, he has been underwhelming to start the season.
Kiefer Sherwood
Kiefer Sherwood has been a revelation since signing with the Canucks in the offseason. He was a hard-hitting pest in Music City, and he has brought that same identity to Vancouver. He currently leads the NHL in hits with 69 – 11 more than his former teammate Jeremy Lauzon – and has formed a great partnership with Heinen and Teddy Blueger on the third line. He also has two goals and five points, proving that he isn’t just a pest, but someone that can bring the offence as well.
For the low price of $1.5 million, Sherwood has been everything that general manager (GM) Patrik Allvin was hoping for when he signed him in July. With his underrated offensive skill, intense forechecking, and willingness to throw the body, he has become an early fan favourite, making him one of the biggest additions Allvin has made to the roster so far this season.
Danton Heinen
Similar to DeBrusk, Heinen had the same linemates throughout training camp, the preseason, and the first few games, but now sees himself as part of another trio. It’s been for the best, though, as he didn’t seem to fit very well with Miller and Boeser from the get-go. He is now playing exclusively with Sherwood and Blueger and has looked more like the forward who became a versatile Swiss Army knife and a fan favourite in Boston. He has also been a valuable part of the Canucks’ improved penalty kill, seeing the fourth-most ice time shorthanded behind Sherwood, Blueger, and Pius Suter.
Daniel Sprong
Sprong has already been in head coach Rick Tocchet’s doghouse this season and has seen the pressbox three times as a healthy scratch. His lack of defensive awareness was seen as a potential issue when he signed with the Canucks, and it reared its ugly head early on. He won a spot on Pettersson’s wing to start the season and scored a power play goal in his first game, but after glaring mistakes defensively in that game and against the Flyers on Oct. 11, he got the boot in favour of Arshdeep Bains against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 15.
Sprong has since returned to the lineup, but he’s been shuttled back down to his familiar spot in the bottom-six. He’s basically been the same player that has bounced around the NHL with the Penguins, Seattle Kraken, and Detroit Red Wings, someone who can add offence in the lower part of the roster but is suspect defensively. He has played well with Suter and Bains/Nils Hoglander on the fourth line recently, using his speed and offensive skill to gain the zone and set up chances. He was instrumental in Bains’ first NHL goal when he drove past Erik Karlsson at the blue line and cut to the net to create the rebound that Bains ultimately put home. I guess we have to learn to take the good with the bad with Sprong – similar to Andrei Kuzmenko, just not at a $5.5 million cap hit.
Derek Forbort
We only have a small sample size for Derek Forbort as he’s only played four games so far this season. He returned to the lineup on Saturday against the Sharks after some time away to deal with the passing of his father. He has been okay in his brief time in a Canucks uniform, mostly playing on the third pairing with Vincent Desharnais. He has also been an early favourite on the penalty kill for Tocchet and his coaching staff, seeing the most average ice time shorthanded at 3:07 per game.
Vincent Desharnais
Desharnais has also seen the pressbox treatment from Tocchet as he’s been sat as a healthy scratch for four of the 10 games so far. He struggled with Forbort as his partner to start the season, as the pairing had a dreadful 31.58 Corsi for percentage (CF%) at five-on-five and allowed two goals. Once he was paired with Brannstrom, though, he had a good five-game stretch where he looked comfortable before getting healthy scratched again after the Canucks’ 4-3 overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. When he gets back into the lineup, he should be aligned with Brannstrom as the pair had an impressive 56.82 CF% at five-on-five and the Canucks didn’t allow a goal with them on the ice, outscoring their opponents 3-0 and out-chancing them 21-13 (9-1 high-danger).
Erik Brannstrom
Speaking of Brannstrom, he has been a pleasant surprise since being acquired from the Avalanche for Tucker Poolman’s contract and a fourth-round pick. His mobility, puck movement, and solid first pass are something the Canucks need on their blue line, and he has brought that and more since his call-up from the Abbotsford Canucks. They will have a huge decision to make soon, though, as he will be eligible for waivers again once he plays his 10th game. He has played seven so far and has looked good in every one of them, so I think it’s safe to say that Allvin will make a move involving another player to keep him on the roster. They won’t risk putting him on waivers again, considering this time, I think he will be claimed.
Kevin Lankinen
Last, but certainly not least, is current defacto starter Kevin Lankinen. He has been beyond amazing since his first start on Oct. 11 and is a huge reason why the Canucks sit with five wins and 13 points. Twelve of the 13 points belong to Lankinen as he holds a record of 5-0-2 and has yet to lose a game in regulation with his new team. His numbers are Vezina Trophy-like, too, with a 2.25 goals-against average (GAA), .919 save percentage (SV%) and one shutout. Basically, he has done his best Thatcher Demko impression as the latter recovers from the knee injury that has kept him out since Game 1 against Lankinen’s former team, the Predators.
Related: Meet the New Canucks: Kevin Lankinen
I shudder to think what the Canucks’ record would look like right now without Lankinen, as rookie Arturs Silovs has struggled out of the gate with an ugly 5.00 GAA and .797 SV% in three starts. I don’t think anyone would argue with me if I called him the Canucks’ MVP at this point. He’s been that good.
Former Predators Stand Out; Brannstrom Has Usurped Forbort & Desharnais
The biggest standouts amongst the newbies are Lankinen and Sherwood, who have impressed right from their first appearance in the blue and green. Lankinen I don’t think has had a bad game yet, and Sherwood has come as advertised with his propensity for throwing the body and getting under the skin of the opposition. Erik Brannstrom has been the biggest surprise on the blue line, adding a significant amount of mobility and puck movement to complement the already elite presence of Quinn Hughes. He has likely solidified a spot on the roster with his performance over the last seven games and has made it tough for Tocchet to take him out of the lineup.
As for the other additions, Heinen has looked good since joining Sherwood and Blueger, while DeBrusk is hopefully on the up and up after scoring his first against the Sharks. Forbort and Desharnais don’t have a big sample size to draw from, but in the games they have played, it’s been a mixed bag of good and bad performances. Desharnais and Forbort have looked the best with Brannstrom by their side, so we might see a revolving door on that pairing with Desharnais or Forbort becoming the seventh defenceman rather than playing regularly as the bottom pairing as we saw before he was acquired.
All in all, the first 10 games have been interesting to watch, and despite the struggles of the incumbents and mixed performances from the newbies, the Canucks have almost the same amount of points that they had last season on Nov. 4. They have two fewer wins, but only two fewer points, sitting at 13 rather than 15. They haven’t played their best game yet, which means the best is yet to come. For Canucks Nation’s sake, hopefully sooner, rather than later.
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