Vancouver Canucks: Gaunce goes, Boucher returns and the power play
The Vancouver Canucks did a little shuffling in their lineup, sending down Brendan Gaunce and calling up Reid Boucher.
Sorry for the late the news update. I know I tend to criticize Jim Benning and the Vancouver Canucks for being behind the curve, but to compare what he is doing to a $730 million sports franchise with what I do is an interesting false equivalency. Nice mental gymnastics, though. Regardless, we should have had this up yesterday and I’m sorry about that.
As you likely already know, the Canucks announced that Brendan Gaunce is back to Utica and Reid Boucher got the call up he deserved. Based on merit alone, did Gaunce deserve to be reassigned compared to say, Tim Schaller, Tyler Motte or Darren Archibald? No. But, Gaunce was the only one who could be reassigned without waivers and the time limit on his recall was coming up.
So, does this mean that Boucher is here to sit in the pressbox? I hope not. Travis Green hasn’t been fond of Boucher based on how he has deployed him, but I hope the coach considers putting him in the lineup. The Canucks are trying to be a speed team off the rush and that is where Boucher may lag behind.
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However, let’s look at the lineup for a second. What if we put Jake Virtanen with Bo Horvat and Sam Gagner. At least we wouldn’t have to put a fourth line player on the future captain’s line. Gagner can play both wings or Green could try Virtanen on his off wing.
I think either scenario is better than what is currently in place. Boucher can fill in for Jake’s spot on the third line if Green wishes. Selfishly, I would like to see him tried with Elias Pettersson‘s line at even strength, but that’s a little greedy at this point.
Lastly, let’s talk about the power play. Boucher is Utica’s best goal scorer, and one of their strongest forces with the man advantage. I may sound crazy here, but put Boucher on the first unit. Sometimes he plays in Pettersson’s spot in Utica, but he can do well in the high slot position of their 1-3-1. This way, I figure Pettersson has more options outside of having to do all the work himself. I would be excited to see that, especially since the power play has struggled.
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He isn’t the fastest guy out there, but he can find ways to produce if you give him enough opportunity. That means no benchings or scratches after every little mistake. The team has lost seven in a row. Shortening your bench won’t break the streak. So, if Travis Green can somehow see this, give him a chance. It took him a while to give Goldy a chance and he hasn’t disappointed. Seriously, what do they have to lose?