The Canucks have spent the offseason reshaping the forward group, but the changes have created a very specific problem: who is going to kill penalties?
That issue isn’t urgent yet, with Vancouver not scheduled to play until early October. But the roster as it stands doesn’t offer many obvious answers for a job the Canucks badly need to solve after finishing 32nd in the NHL and killing only 71.5% of their shorthanded situations last season.
The departures matter here. Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, Teddy Blueger and David Kämpf were the four busiest penalty-killing forwards on last year’s team, in that order, and none of them are back. Among the returning forwards, at least for now, Drew O’Connor, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk ranked next in shorthanded ice time.
Pettersson and O’Connor look like the safest bets to handle the load again. Boeser and DeBrusk could be asked to do it as well.
But the newcomers don’t exactly arrive with PK résumés. Brendan Gallagher didn’t kill penalties for his club last season, and neither did Paul Cotter, though Cotter could still be worked into the mix.
Gallagher, at this point in his career, does not look like a likely option.
Marco Rossi and Filip Chytil also didn’t handle that duty for the Canucks last season. Rossi, as a centre, may have to add it to his game whether he wants to or not.
Chytil’s case is different; he logged exactly 20 seconds while shorthanded last season, which doesn’t suggest a role waiting to be expanded. Jonathan Lekkerimäki doesn’t appear to fit as a penalty killer either, so if he’s in the lineup, that probably isn’t the lane for him.
That leaves a group of younger players who may have a real opening in front of them: Aatu Räty, Liam Öhgren, Linus Karlsson and Max Sasson.
Räty stands out immediately because of his faceoff ability. That alone makes him a natural candidate for penalty-killing work, though he’ll need to show he can do more than just win the draw. If the puck doesn’t come cleanly his way, he has to be ready to stay engaged and defend.
Öhgren already showed enough to suggest he can handle a regular shorthanded role. He picked up more responsibility late last season and should be aiming to build on the 32:13 of shorthanded ice time he got under Adam Foote.
Karlsson and Sasson barely touched the PK at all last season, but both have traits that could translate. Karlsson’s length and board-battle ability make him look like a player who could survive and maybe thrive in that role at the NHL level.
Sasson brings speed, energy and quick processing, all of which can help when the puck is going the other way. His faceoff work has been a problem in the NHL, though, so he may need a natural centre beside him if he’s used there.
With Manny Malhotra now running the bench, the Canucks are starting from scratch. The new head coach will have his own ideas about who can handle the penalty kill, and if Vancouver wants at least three forward pairs doing that work, he’ll need to bring in some fresh faces. If the team wants four pairs, the group gets stretched even thinner.
For now, though, this is the right time to try things out. The Canucks are rebuilding parts of the roster, and that means they can afford to test players in these jobs and live with the mistakes that come with it.
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Calgary Flames Fans Just Took A Brutal Hit To Daily Coverage
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The move also puts the team in a tough spot on the broadcast side, since the Flames will need to sort out alternative radio plans moving forward. For a fan base used to hearing familiar voices break down signings, trades and draft picks, the loss is more than just a station change, it strips away a significant part of the teams everyday coverage. [Read more 🡒]