The Canuck Way
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Vancouver Canucks: Offseason additions haven’t paid off

By Alex Hoegler

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 12: Antoine Roussel #26 of the Vancouver Canucks skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2018 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 2-1. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 12: Antoine Roussel #26 of the Vancouver Canucks skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2018 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 2-1. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Once again, Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning was unable to avoid the temptation of free agency. He left Canada Day with three new free agent signings, and none of them have paid dividends so far.

With the Sedin twins retired, the Vancouver Canucks were widely expected to avoid free agency and simply let their young players take up most of the roster spots as they transitioned towards a youth movement.

Nope.

General manager Jim Benning decided toughness was necessary in his lineup, so Antoine Roussel (four years, $12 million), Jay Beagle (four years, $12 million), and Tim Schaller (two years, $3.8 million), were signed to multi-year deals.

Mr. Benning has an excellent track record when it comes to drafting, but his free agent signings have disappointed over and over again. Loui Eriksson (six years, $36 million), and Michael Del Zotto (two years, $6 million), can relate.

Well, Benning’s three free agent signings in 2018 have all failed to reach expectations so far. But because Elias Pettersson is enjoying quite the rookie season, many appear to be overlooking all of this.

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The numbers back it up. Vancouver’s offseasion additions simply haven’t performed enough. The numbers, in this case, tell the whole story.

Beagle has been limited to five games because of a fractured forearm, and he hasn’t played in over a month. Prior to going on the IR, he had one assist, a downright terrible 38.5 Corsi For percentage.

The $12 million deal for Beagle was way too much to begin with — given that he’s 33 years of age and hasn’t scored more than 28 points in a season. The Canucks have to hope he’ll start earning that lucrative money when Beagle returns.

Roussel has three goals and five assists through his first 20 games, but the advanced stats aren’t fun. At five-one-five, the Canucks are controlling just 49.57 percent of the shots with Roussel on ice, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

His career shooting percentage is 11.8, but Roussel’s is 17.6 percent on the season. That means that his decent offensive contributions are bound to go away soon. This is a man whose career high in goals is 14. That was five years ago now.

As for Schaller, the main positive is the Canucks only gave him a cheap, short-term deal. Schaller only has three assists in 20 games, and a mere 19 shots on goal. When Schaller’s on the ice (five-on-five), Vancouver is controlling just 42.25 percent of the shots.

Next. Top prospects of week 11: Woo, Hughes, Lockwood. dark

The Canucks simply haven’t been getting enough scoring, defensive play or all-around production from any of their three offseason pickups. If that doesn’t change soon, perhaps the front office will learn its lesson: Stop spending in free agency and just the young players to lead this team into the next stage.

*Stats courtesy of Hockey Reference unless otherwise noted*

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