Vancouver Canucks: 5 Second Half Predictions: “Revival”
By David Joun
4. Emerson Etem will Bump a Veteran
The Canucks acquired Emerson Etem from the New York Rangers to continue boost the team’s next wave of core players. That means that the old core will have to go.
The Canucks carry 16 forwards including injured Sutter and Jannik Hansen. There are no waiver exempt players, according to hockeyscap.com, on the Canucks line-up, save “the Kids” — McCann, Virtanen, Hutton, Horvat, and Andrey Pedan. In other words, unless Virtanen is sent to the Juniors, the Canucks will have 25 skaters when all four injured players return, 16 forwards and nine defencemen.
That will be in a handful of weeks from now, before the Trade Deadline which is February 29th. So do the Canucks expose Vey to waivers? Send Virtanen down to the Juniors?
Or does Vancouver trade an expendable veteran?
Related: Big Decisions to Make with Etem in the Mix
With Etem in the mix, multiple wingers suddenly became expendable. Etem is a scorer, a physical ‘tank’, and a defensively-depended player from his time in New York where he started 68.8 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone. That makes scorer Radim Vrbata expendable, alongside defensive and physical veterans in Chris Higgins and Brandon Prust, even Alex Burrows.
Prediction: At least one of Vrbata, Prust, Higgins, or Burrows gets traded by February 29th
All of them are potential trade baits, if you ask me. There are no-trade clauses in effect of course, but the Canucks will have to move someone to make roster space. Cap space is also an issue. With with Sutter on the Long-Term IR, the Canucks are just $107k under the salary cap, par general fanager. Etem’s acquisition should give the rest of the team some more urgency for their ice times.
Next: #5 The Sedins will Not Stop