In this edition of the Vancouver Canucks News & Rumors, teams are calling the organization with interest in Andrei Kuzmenko. Also, the Canucks are out on Ethan Bear. Additionally, Elias Pettersson put together a three-point performance.
Teams Calling on Kuzmenko
On Saturday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported teams are calling the Canucks on Kuzmenko. Rick Dhaliwal added the organization is monitoring the situation and would like to see the forward get back on track. Friedman also said the Canucks are one of the teams in the NHL that could pull the trigger if something comes around.
He has four goals and 11 points in 25 games this season and has averaged less than 15 minutes of ice time in the last four games. President of hockey operations, Jim Rutherford, commented on the situation.
“I’m concerned only to the point that now he’s feeling the pressure,” Rutherford said. “And when you feel the pressure and you start pushing, squeezing the stick harder and passing when you should be shooting and vice versa, you get a little bit concerned.
“I believe in the staff we have and they will continue to work with him. He’s a good player. He is a capable player. Is he a guy that’s going to score 40 goals again? Maybe not. But certainly, the way he plays, you should be able to project him at 25.”
He added the Canucks will keep an open mind and don’t want to lock themselves into one answer, but the team will have to continue to try to help him. Head coach Rick Tocchet said the forward needs to work on his forecheck first before earning more playing time following the club’s 6-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Canucks Out On Bear & New RHD Targets
Friedman also reported the Washington Capitals are now the front runners for defenceman Bear. Although the Canucks were the front runners for some time, other teams have stepped up, and the organization can no longer afford to sign him. As a result, they are out on Bear.
Related: 3 Defensive Trade Targets for the Canucks Not Named Ethan Bear
Dhaliwal said Bear is expected to get term on his next deal. He is expected to receive $1.5 million pro-rated and will sign for two years for over $2 million a year. He added the Canucks are still interested in Chris Tanev, as well as former Canuck and current Carolina Hurricanes blueliner Jalen Chatfield. They also have Carson Soucy returning, and with the addition of Nikita Zadarov, he’ll likely play on the right side.
Pettersson’s Three Point Performance
In the Canucks 4-3 win over the Hurricanes, Pettersson scored a goal and posted three points. The forward struggled to produce for some time but has bounced back in the past few games. Over the past four games, he has two goals and seven points.
Part of his success is likely the change on his line with Sam Lafferty joining Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev. After assisting on both of his winger’s goals, Pettersson scored the game-winning goal to make it 4-3 in the third period.
“I just tried to create space for myself and did a wraparound; I’m glad it went in,” Pettersson said. “For me, getting more shots off or getting more — I don’t know if dangerous is the right word — getting more chances, I’ve scored two of them so I’d like to keep going.”
The top line as a whole is producing for the Canucks, as the trio has seven goals and 16 points over the past four games. Lafferty has three of those goals, and Tocchet has praised him for his play as well (from ‘Canucks: Why Sam Lafferty has been able to punch his top-six ticket,’ The Province, Dec. 10, 2023).
“Sometimes, you put a guy like Lafferty up in a role like that to see if he can stay consistent.” he said. “It’s hard to do all the time. You can get in that role and become fancy. I did that as a player on a top line and had to remind myself that that’s not my job. Lafferty is old enough (28) to know he’s got to do those things nine times out of 10.
“He’s making my job very difficult. He’ll be there (top six) on Tuesday night because if he continues to do that stuff, how do you take him off that line? He adds a lot of speed and helps Petey and Mikheyev has had his best couple of games in a month. That line is finding its legs.”
Tocchet Praises Third Line
Another line that received praise from the head coach is the club’s third line. The line is centered by Teddy Blueger, who plays alongside Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland.
“That line’s been good,” Tocchet said. “The last 10 games, very rarely they’re in our end. When I do game review, very rarely do I have those guys on making mistakes in our end.”
The line generates multiple scoring chances a game and seems to draw a penalty in almost every game. However, the line hasn’t finished on their scoring chances often, which doesn’t worry Garland.
“I think we’ve had success for a while, it’s just sometimes when you get points people think you’re playing better,” Garland said. “But we just try to generate offence, o-zone shifts. We start a lot in the d-zone and finish a lot in the o-zone which is a sign we’re playing the right way.”
According to MoneyPuck, they have an expected goal for percentage of 60.7% but have only produced two goals. Despite the line being unable to score often, they’re rarely trapped in their own zone, which is a massive positive. The line is doing the right things, and the goals should be on their way as long as they keep up the offensive zone pressure.
