The Canuck Way
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Vancouver Canucks: 5 Players who Need to Step Up

By David Joun

Feb 4, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Linden Vey (7) celebrates his goal against Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (not pictured) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Linden Vey (7) celebrates his goal against Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (not pictured) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Problem No. 4: Jake Virtanen

Jan 23, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Vancouver Canucks right wing Jake Virtanen (18) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Vancouver Canucks right wing Jake Virtanen (18) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Problem No. 4: Jake Virtanen

Jake Virtanen is not really a big problem. He finds himself fourth on this list because he could step up and make a ton of difference on the Canucks’ roster.

Virtanen’s post-All Stars season started out rough. He was slotted to play to Sutter’s right until he was bumped last minute by fellow rookie Jared McCann. The speculation is that his conditioning went down the drain over the All-Star break. Okay. That is a problem. All athletes have to be in shape.

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But what Virtanen now knows is that he will now play on a scoring line with Sutter as his centreman. After showing signs of a strong comeback from the disappointing World Juniors, this is his opportunity start scoring again. He has not scored a single point in the past four weeks after scoring a rare goal on January 11th against the Florida Panthers.

The second thing on Virtanen’s mind should be the hitting game. He knows that he can hit at the NHL level. With Brandon Prust gone and with no physical presence on the Canucks’ first two forward lines, Virtanen, like Burrows, has to play the sandpaper role.

If he starts scoring, that makes Jim Benning’s life that much easier.

Should the rookie right winger start scoring, there is nothing stopping him from being bumped to the second line with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. Radim Vrbata becomes expendable and Trader Jim can flip the pending UFA for a second-round pick. Virtanen gets more minutes, a fourth-line wing slot becomes available for an AHL call-up like Alex Grenier or Ronalds Kenins.

That sounds too good to be true. But the key is this, that Virtanen starts scoring, and scoring soon. He has just 10 games to work with before the trade deadline.

Next: Problem No. 5: Alex Biega

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