The Canucks are still early in the season, but the lineup puzzle is already taking shape in Vancouver. A few games in, head coach Manny Malhotra is still sorting through which players fit, which combinations work, and which pieces need a longer look. Right now, Aatu Räty and Victor Mancini are right in the middle of that shuffle.
Räty’s situation has become the quieter but more intriguing one. The 23-year-old was a healthy scratch for Vancouver’s first two games, and when he has played, he has averaged 9:43 of ice time. He was also working as the extra forward at practice, which is not exactly a reassuring sign for a player trying to carve out a steady NHL role.
There are reasons the Canucks would want to keep him around. He won 60.5 percent of his faceoffs last season and is at 61.5 percent so far this year. That kind of work in the circle matters, especially when a team needs a key defensive-zone draw or a dependable option late in a tight game.
Still, the rest of the picture is harder to ignore. Räty has 12 goals and 27 points in 104 NHL games, and while that isn’t a deal-breaker for a young fourth-line centre, it does leave him with something to prove offensively. The new coaching staff also wants speed through the middle, and that’s not the part of his game that jumps off the page.
The roster math makes things trickier. Vancouver can’t simply send him to the American Hockey League without putting him on waivers, and another club would probably take a look.
Shifting him to the wing is another possibility, but Räty has not really played there. So the Canucks are left with a player they may not want to lose, but haven’t yet found the right fit for.
Jake DeBrusk’s return could make that decision even more immediate. DeBrusk is ready to come back after missing two games with illness, and if he returns as expected, Räty is the likely player to come out. That’s where the numbers game points, and it puts Räty’s place in the lineup under the microscope.
Mancini, meanwhile, seems to be moving toward his first opportunity of the season. He skated with Elias Pettersson on the third defensive pairing at practice, just as he did Tuesday, and that lines him up for a possible return after sitting as a healthy scratch through the first four games. His camp was uneven, and his exhibition work didn’t help his case, but the door is now open.
Luke Schenn appears to be the likely odd man out. He has brought plenty of physicality early, with nine hits and a fight, but he may sit for the first time on Thursday. Carolina is not a particularly physical team outside of Nic Deslauriers, but it is faster and more skilled, and that could make Mancini’s mobility a better fit on the back end.
That’s the part of these early-season decisions that matters most: it’s not always a clean judgment on one player versus another. Sometimes the opponent shapes the call. For Mancini, this is a chance to put training camp behind him, move the puck, use his feet and show Malhotra he can help.
Räty’s case feels like the one to watch most closely. He has been here before, in and out of the lineup, getting limited minutes and then another shot. At some point, Vancouver has to decide what it thinks he can be.
Mancini’s path is simpler. He has been waiting, and now his chance looks close. Early in the season, Malhotra is still sorting through his group, and that uncertainty is part of what makes these games worth following.
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