The Canucks don’t have a simple fix on the back end right now. They’ve already given up 65 goals this season, which works out to a brutal 4.6 goals against per game, and the penalty kill has been a big part of the problem. Vancouver has stopped only 63 per cent of opposing power plays, a rate that leaves little room for survival even with a power play that sits a respectable 14th in the league.
That’s the backdrop for the team’s search for workable defensive pairs, and the options are thin. One pairing that has at least flashed real promise is Willander and Elias Pettersson, the defenceman. They’ve logged just about 32 minutes together at five-on-five, but in that stretch the Canucks have controlled two-thirds of the shot attempts.
Willander’s skating and puck handling have taken a step forward this season, and Pettersson has been one of the few Canucks blue-liners who has stood out as a strong two-way presence.
There aren’t many other combinations that have produced positive results. In fact, only three other pairings have been above 50 per cent in shot-attempt share, and Pettersson is part of two of them - one with Luke Schenn over nearly 48 minutes at five-on-five, and another with Zeev Buium in just over 10 minutes together.
That’s where the problem deepens. If Buium isn’t going to be lined up with Willander, the list of useful partners starts to dry up fast.
Buium opened the season beside Filip Hronek, but that duo was overwhelmed, spending two-thirds of their ice time in their own end. They’ve been on the ice together for more than 91 minutes at five-on-five, but the Canucks have since started trying different looks.
Through 14 games, Buium has logged at least 10 total minutes with every Vancouver defenceman except Guillaume Brisebois and Victor Mancini, who have been the extra blueliners most nights.
Outside of his minutes with Willander and Pettersson, there just hasn’t been another pairing that has really worked. That leaves the Canucks staring at a bigger long-term question: whether they eventually need to find a young right-shot defenceman who fits better with Buium, who has had a mostly rough start to the season.
In Other News...
Former Canuck Carson Soucy's Sudden Slide Says Plenty
Carson Soucys stint in Columbus has hit an early snag. After leaving Vancouver for a one-year, one-way deal with the Blue Jackets, the former Canucks defenseman got into seven games before Columbus made the decision to place him on NHL waivers, a jarring turn for a player who arrived there with a clean chance to carve out a role on the blue line.
What happens next will tell the rest of the story for Soucy and the Blue Jackets. If he goes unclaimed, hell be sent to Cleveland, a reminder of how quickly a veteran defenseman can slide from projected NHL contributor to a player trying to reestablish himself in the AHL. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Tulsky Just Clarified Carolinas Nikita Nikishin Contract Leverage
The latest wrinkle in the Nikita Nikishin discussion is less about Carolina specifically and more about how the NHLs 10.2(c) category works for young players who have not yet reached normal restricted free agency. In that setup, a player like Nikishin has no real marketplace to test, which leaves the club with all the leverage and makes the contract path look very different from what fans are used to seeing in other leagues.
For Vancouver, the comparison lands close to home because the way the Canucks handled Zeev Buium has been cited as a clean example of treating a 10.2(c) player like an extension of the entry-level system. It is the kind of cap and contract nuance that can shape negotiations for years, and it also shows why these cases matter beyond the immediate signing, especially when a team is trying to balance future flexibility with a players long-term value. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Skid Is Putting Several Veterans In Serious Trade Danger
The losing streak has pushed Vancouver into a difficult spot, and it is starting to sound like the front office is prepared to treat the slump as more than a temporary rut. Reports around the league have suggested the Canucks are willing to look at meaningful changes, with the emphasis on getting younger while still adding NHL-proven pieces that can help stabilize the roster.
Ryan Johnson is the one driving that evaluation, and the list of veterans now in the conversation gives a sense of how wide-ranging the thinking could become. Jake DeBrusk, Drew OConnor, Filip Chytil and Luke Schenn have all come up as possible trade material, and even Elias Pettersson has been mentioned in the broader discussion, which is enough to tell you this is not just about tweaking the edges of the lineup. [Read more 🡒]