Vancouver Canucks: Brandon Sutter belongs in 2018-19
Though he gets a lot of unwarranted criticism, Vancouver Canucks centre Brandon Sutter is actually an integral part of this roster. Here’s why the Canucks have to depend on him next season.
Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning has received plenty of heat for acquiring Brandon Sutter and a third-round pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins three years ago — sending Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening and a second-round pick the other way.
Now, Bonino was an integral piece of the Penguins two Stanley Cup championships, but he was not going to single-handedly change the Canucks fortunes. Clendening hasn’t reached his potential as a top-four blueliner.
Benning then rewarded Sutter with a five-year extension worth $21.875 million, per CapFriendly.com. Now, Sutter certainly hasn’t played like he’s worth $4.375 million a season, but he’s definitely been unfairly criticized and is actually a key part of this roster heading into next season.
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Sutter’s first season with Vancouver was a write-off, as a sports hernia injury and broken jaw limited him to 20 games.
Nonetheless, he scored five goals and nine points, meaning he could have easily been a 20-goal man that year.
Despite poor puck possession numbers in 2016-17, Sutter tallied 17 goals and 34 points, and he was easily the team’s best defensive forward. But again, his big contract gave Sutter a bad name. Not his fault the front office was too generous.
2017-18 was another down season for Sutter, who had 11 goals and 26 points in 61 games. But again, he was a workhorse who had 55 hits, 32 blocked shots and 29 takeaways.
With the Sedin twins retired, he’s one of the few veteran forwards who can mentor the young guys and show them how the defensive aspect of the game is done.
Take all of this into account, and it’s why the Canucks didn’t leave him exposed in the Vegas expansion draft last year. It’s why Benning (from what we know), hasn’t tried to swap Sutter for a comparable contract.
Vancouver has plenty of salary cap space with the Sedins retiring, so Sutter’s contract isn’t doing this team any damage. Imagine if his salary was sliced in half, then many Sutter critics would probably be thinking of him as an underrated player.
The Canucks are now Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser’s team. Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlen are other young forwards who could be on the team next season.
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That leaves Sutter as the veteran leader for the young kids, and he’ll take care of the penalty killing and defensive work so the others can score. And that is why Sutter belongs on the Canucks next season.