Vancouver Canucks: The future is friendly for Sven Baertschi

General manager Jim Benning’s first big trade was swapping a second-round pick for Sven Baertschi. You wonder if Baertschi is worth a Kole Lind or Jonah Gadjovich, so we look at where he fits in with the team moving forward.

Sven Baertschi was drafted 13th-overall by the Calgary Flames in 2011, and the expectation was for him to become a top-six forward in the NHL. Baertschi had some great stats in the Western Hockey League as a teenager but struggled when making the jump to the pro game.

In his draft year, Baertschi scored 34 goals and added 51 assists for a total of 85 points in 66 games for the Portland Winterhawks. He followed that starting the 2011-2012 season with the Flames and in five games he scored three goals. The Flames decided to send him back to junior and Baertschi ended up with another great WHL season, totalling 33 goals and 94 points in only 47 games.

All signs pointed to Baertschi being ready to take the next step and become a top six forward in the National Hockey League.

The Flame Went Out

From the beginning of the 2012 season Baertschi struggled to find his spot with the Flames. He was starting to look like a draft bust. Only scoring five goals in 61 games leading up to the trade that brought him over to Vancouver.

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That’s when things started to turn around for the young Swiss winger. He finished off the 2014-2015 season between the Utica Comets and Canucks.

Scoring came a lot easier for Baertschi after the trade. He found success not only the AHL, but also scored two goals in three games with the Canucks.

The Flames picked Swedish defenceman Rasmus Andersson with the pick they received in the trade. Andersson looks to be a promising prospect and could start with the Flames as soon as next season.

Where do the Canucks stand with Sven?

For now, Sven Baertschi is arguably a top-six forward in the Canucks organization, he shows great chemistry with Bo Horvat and I still believe they should re-assemble “The B-53s” line.

Baertschi averaged less than a half a point a game over the prior two seasons but has seen a spike in points this season. The offensive emergence of Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat have helped him achieve 11 goals and 22 points in 39 games thus far.

He will be a restricted free agent after this season and a big question is how much money Baertschi will be looking for from the Canucks. He signed a two-year bridge deal in June of 2016 at $1.85 million a year.

It seems that something fair would be $3-4 million over three to four years. (My Twitter poll agrees) Baertschi should produce somewhere between 15 and 25 goals a season over those years. If Benning can snag Baertschi for around $3 million a season, that would be a steal of a deal. Baertschi has really found a home in Vancouver and has came into his own as an everyday NHL player.

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It would not surprise me to see Baertschi take a bit of a home town discount, he has proven himself on his last contract and has a place in the Canucks future.

This is a big opportunity for Jim Benning to finally make good on a contract extension. And with the haunting rumours of Gudbranson being extended in Vancouver, Benning may need to rethink where the Canucks spend their money. I’d love to see number 47 stay with the Canucks organization, but who knows? Benning is a wild cannon at this point in his own contract.