Luke Schenn’s return to Vancouver looks a lot different this time around, and that’s exactly the point
Three NHL seasons have passed since Luke Schenn last wore a Canucks sweater, and the game has changed around him. So has his role.
Back when he was in Vancouver in 2021-22 and 2022-23, he carried an $850,000 cap hit and delivered huge value, even lining up on the top pair with Quinn Hughes at times. Now he’s back on a one-year deal worth $2.25 million, and the Canucks are clearly not expecting the same nightly workload.
That’s not a knock on Schenn. It’s a reflection of where he is in his career.
He’s 36 now, and the evidence from the last couple of seasons says he may no longer be a true every-night NHL defender. But Vancouver is fine with that, because the team doesn’t need him to be one.
Schenn has, for the most part, been a regular until recently. After the Canucks dealt him to Toronto in 2022-23, he finished that regular season with the Maple Leafs and played all 11 of their playoff games.
He then signed a three-year deal with Nashville and stayed in the lineup through most of 2023-24, aside from a lower-body injury in October of 2023. He even appeared in five of six playoff games against Vancouver.
His path got bumpier after that. Schenn remained in Nashville’s regular rotation until a deadline trade sent him first to Pittsburgh and then, a day later, to Winnipeg before he ever played for the Penguins. He finished the regular season with the Jets and dressed in 11 of their 13 playoff games over two rounds.
Last season was different. Winnipeg began scratching him more often, especially in November and December, as the team leaned on Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Neal Pionk, Logan Stanley, and Dylan Samberg ahead of him. Schenn split time with younger defenders such as Haydn Fleury and Elias Salomansson, but the bigger issue was simple: he was showing his age more often, and the Jets weren’t getting enough from their blueline overall.
That’s why Buffalo viewed him more as a secondary piece when it acquired Schenn and Stanley at the deadline. He appeared in just four regular-season games for the Sabres, then got into two playoff games against the Montreal Canadiens. By that point, he was sitting around seventh or eighth on the depth chart.
So yes, it may look odd at first glance that Vancouver handed him $2.25 million and a full NMC after he’d already slipped out of a couple of lineups. But the Canucks aren’t building around Schenn’s ice time. They’re building around what he can still provide when he does play - and maybe even when he doesn’t.
Filip Hronek remains locked into the top right-side job and should still be logging more than 22 minutes a night. The club wants Tom Willander to keep growing into a top-four role behind him, and Schenn doesn’t really stand in the way of that. If Schenn’s minutes are kept in check, there should still be about 20 minutes a night available for Willander.
Behind Schenn, Victor Mancini is next in line on the right side. The 24-year-old has only two full pro seasons behind him, so he’s not in a make-or-break spot yet, but NHL reps matter at this stage. A shared bottom-pairing role with Schenn would be a useful setup for him, and probably the most likely one.
Kirill Kudryavtsev is also part of the picture. The 22-year-old has two pro seasons under his belt and may be a little further along in his development than Mancini.
The Canucks would like to get him NHL minutes too, but that’s harder on his natural left side with Zeev Buium, Elias Pettersson, and Jamie Oleksiak already there. Kudryavtsev has played plenty on the right, though, which gives Vancouver another option whenever Schenn gets a night off.
That flexibility is where Schenn’s value really starts to show. He’s bought into the rebuild and the mentorship role the organization has in mind for him.
Healthy scratches probably aren’t his favorite thing, but he sounds like a player who will accept them without making noise. The teaching part doesn’t stop when he’s out of the lineup.
In some ways, that may be where he matters most.
The Canucks can use him in practice, in games, and from the press box. Mancini and Kudryavtsev can rotate in.
Lessons can be reinforced over and over. That kind of arrangement seems tailor-made for Schenn at this stage, which is likely why Vancouver targeted him when free agency opened.
His on-ice impact won’t match what he gave the Canucks the last time he was here, and he probably won’t play nearly as much. But that doesn’t mean his presence won’t matter. In fact, even the nights he spends out of the lineup can still serve the rebuild.
For Vancouver, that’s the real shift. It feels like there’s a plan now.
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