Nikolay Goldobin is having the best year of his career points-wise. But following a demotion to the fourth line followed by a healthy scratch, one has to wonder what the future holds for Goldobin in Vancouver.
Nikolay Goldobin earned a spot on the Vancouver Canucks roster at the start of this year. He worked hard, and looked solid coming out of the gate. GM Jim Benning even said that Goldobin outplayed Sam Gagner for a spot on the team.
Recently, however, Goldobin has once again found himself receiving the tough love experience from Travis Green that players such as Ben Hutton, Brock Boeser, and Jake Virtanen know of all too well.
Goldobin found himself riding shotgun to Jay Beagle‘s line on Monday, and found himself watching from the press box on Wednesday as the Canucks defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime.
What does this benching mean for Goldobin? Is it just another case of tough love from Travis Green, or does it mean more? A couple tweets from Rick Dhaliwal caught my eye early Wednesday morning.
Hirschy on Goldy : They have to make a roster move pretty quick here with Sutter coming back. I don't see Goldobin in the plans moving forward, he just is not learning and getting it. This has been months of trying to teach him to play a 200 foot game and it has not happened.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) January 2, 2019
Hirschy on Goldy part 2 : Travis has tried so many things with Goldy. Don't let the assists fool you, he is just not getting it. But, they can't put him on waivers because he will get picked up right away so a trade could happen. He is a great kid and it's unfortunate.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) January 2, 2019
Very interesting, very interesting indeed. As someone who has really liked Goldobin and tried to advocate for him being in the lineup on Elias Pettersson‘s wing, this hurts to see; but it is something I understand may need to be done.
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Goldobin has not improved much on his defensive game, and I can understand why Green and some Canucks fans are losing patience with him.
Some fans have also pointed out that the only reason Goldobin has played well up to this point is riding the coat tails of Elias Pettersson.
To that I say, what’s the harm? Pettersson makes everyone around him better, so while we wait for our next star-studded winger to complete the dangerous line starring Boeser and Pettersson, why not let Goldobin play alongside the two?
Early Wednesday morning, the Canucks traded Anders Nilsson and Darren Archibald for Tom Pyatt, Ryan McKenna, and a sixth round pick in this year’s draft from the Ottawa Senators.
As stated in the Dhaliwal tweets, you can only wonder if the Canucks will be looking to trade Goldobin, there will surely be plenty of suitors. He still has plenty of offensive upside, which is why I think the Canucks should try their best to keep him.
I would like to see the Canucks sit Goldobin for a few games rather than trade him and cut ties with the young Russian for good. While this is what I would like to see happen, I understand that a trade is very possible when this whole situation is said and done.
Here’s hoping that a few games from the press box do for Goldobin what it did for players like Hutton, help him to be better and work harder.
What do you think Canucks fans? Should the Canucks attempt to trade Goldobin or hope that he improves with time?