Canucks News: Exceeding Expectations, Chaput Deserves Roster Spot
The Vancouver Canucks are playing somewhat successful hockey, exceeding most expectations. Plus, Michael Chaput might actually be deserving of his roster spot.
The road to the playoffs is still a long one for the Vancouver Canucks. But, as long as they are staying in contention, they are exceeding the expectations most experts and analysts had going into the season.
While winning hockey games is fun, it can also hurt in the long term. Not necessarily if the playoffs are reached, but rather if the Canucks fall just short, ending up with no playoff spot and a mid-to-late first-round draft pick.
One person who probably isn’t worrying about the team’s finish is Michael Chaput. For now, it’s all about being on the team — and he is succeeding in that area.
Exceeding Expectations
Andrew Berkshire (Sportsnet) — How are the Vancouver Canucks exceeding expectations?
"The Vancouver Canucks were a near-consensus pick for one of the worst teams in the league coming into the 2016-17 season and while they haven’t performed at lottery team levels, their 47.52 per cent score-and-venue-adjusted Corsi ranks seventh-last in the league, and their 47.53 per cent even strength goals for percentage ranks 12th-last.Considering the expectations for the team, even after adding Loui Eriksson in the summer, that’s actually not too bad. Topping off the surprising first 47 games for Vancouver is the fact they’re just one point out of a wild card spot. It’s likely that the Los Angeles Kings will pass them with the games they have in hand, but even still, this is fairly unexpected for the Canucks."
Remember how the Canucks had a great start into the 2015-16 season? And how they were still somewhat in the playoff hunt when the trade deadline rolled around? Honestly, it’s the same thing happening again.
Sure, the Canucks are exceeding expectations in a way. Going into the year, we expected them to be at the bottom of the standings and — right now — they are not. At the beginning of 2015-16, we were hoping for a playoff spot and the Canucks failed rather miserably.
So, if we are talking about expectations, sure, the Canucks are exceeding them. But at the end of the day, 2016-17 is no better than 2015-16.
There is, of course, a chance that Vancouver finishes higher in the standings than last year. But, there is an equally great chance of them finishing outside of the playoffs. Worst-case scenario: finishing just outside, resulting in a 15th-overall pick.
Michael Chaput Succeeding in His Role
Jeff Paterson (Vancouver Sun) — No lip service here; Chaput deserves his NHL spot
"Michael Chaput knows the drill well. In early November, he got summoned from AHL Utica to join the Vancouver Canucks. In an instant, he grabbed a few belongings, caught a quick flight to New York City and made his Canucks debut at Barclays Center against the Islanders.He left behind a life in Utica and, with all due respect to the Comets and the fine folks of upstate New York, Chaput couldn’t be happier with the way things have worked out."
I was personally very happy about the signings of Michael Chaput and Jayson Megna as depth players. They had both done fairly well in previous NHL stints and had the potential to be NHL regulars. I just didn’t expect either one to be used as a first-line player.
More from The Canuck Way
- Which team won the Bo Horvat trade?
- What to expect from newcomers Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty
- Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
- Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
- 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg
Again, this is about expectations. Megna is seen as a disappointment mostly because of his usage. In a bottom-six role without power-play time, he’s totally fine. The same goes for Chaput.
There is one quote from Jeff Paterson’s article that I liked a lot: “We’re obviously not going to play as many minutes as the other guys, so when we’re out there we can’t afford to give the other team chances. That’s our main focus.”
That is exactly what both Megna and Chaput should be in Vancouver for. Make sure the opposition gets few scoring chances. Any offensive production is an extra.
For Megna and Chaput, being in Vancouver as opposed to Utica is the No. 1 goal. They will do anything to stay up there and work as hard as they can to succeed. They don’t need to be in first-line roles to do that.
So, let’s hope things stay the way they are right now, with Megna and Chaput in the roles they deserve and are happy with.