Vancouver Canucks: Brendan Gaunce deserves a call up

Brendan Gaunce is one of the best players on the Utica Comets right now. Given the injuries and current cast in the Vancouver Canucks bottom six, it’s time for Gaunce to get a spot in the lineup.

While the Vancouver Canucks are recovering and resting from a brutal early season schedule, they have watched a few things happen. Their star player Elias Pettersson will be out of the lineup for at least another week. Judging from that game in Toronto, the longer Pettersson is out, the farther this team will spiral downward.

Teams with games in hand are catching up, albeit at a slow pace. Offence is drying up and the team seems more defensively porous than ever. That’s how the Canucks tend to go. It’s a roller coaster ride and even with the light schedule, we will see how the team holds up without their best player.

However, what I am proposing is not a solution for the offence. In fact, it may be just a move to stem the bleeding on defence. Let’s start with who shouldn’t be in the Canucks lineup. Tim Schaller and Markus Granlund have no business being here. The year when Granlund almost scored 20 goals was nothing more than force feeding him top minutes on the power play and ice time with the Sedins.

Speaking of goals, with six on the season, Granlund has one goal in his last 19 games. He has two in his last 24. There’s a reason why fans want the first unit power play to get the full two minutes. Sam Gagner, who has played seven games with the canucks this year and has the same number of power play goals as Granlund. And Gagner’s goal happened more recently.

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He is not very good defensively and for the love of all that is good, never (and I mean ever) play him at centre again. Granlund is the worst centre on the team and I don’t think it’s close. On top of that, he is one of the two worst penalty killers on the team (Schaller being the other). The Canucks penalty kill sunk to a horrific low when those two were used with regularity. Funny how the PK perked up once they were not deployed anymore.

Schaller is just plain awful. He fooled everyone and it really shows how a rock solid system can prop up a mediocre player. Schaller still hasn’t scored a goal this season. Before the new year, he was sitting in the press box for eight consecutive games. He was already on his way out of the lineup.

The Canucks control a far more shots and score significantly more goals when Schaller is on the bench. You are not getting value at $1.9 million and I would be willing to bet he could clear waivers without a problem. And even if he didn’t, that’s one wasted contract off the books. Win-win.

Considering how bad either player is, this should have opened the door to calling up Brendan Gaunce long ago. Because the Canucks squandered his first call up, Gaunce will need waivers to be sent back shortly after the call up. And to that I say, so what? If he is a better option than Granlund or Schaller (from a defensive utility standpoint, he is), then there should be no fear in recalling him.

Gaunce has 21 points in 24 games for the Comets, being one of the most consistent and relied upon forwards on the roster. He has the advantage of playing down the middle. I know he doesn’t have the speed, but if Josh Leivo can get ample opportunity when healthy, I think his skating shouldn’t be held against him. It’s at a level that is more than suitable for the NHL level.

Gaunce can kill penalties if the need arises and can succeed as a defensive checking forward if given the chance. You can’t tell me that someone like Schaller is honestly a better option. You are either mistaken, or trying to defend a UFA signing with the usual brand of intellectual dishonesty. Granlund may provide more on offence, but to be honest, he could probably clear waivers with that contract (it won’t be completely buried in the minors).

It’s a small change, but think about it this way. Gaunce was an inherited prospect that has worked hard enough to earn a regular NHL opportunity. Think about the message that it sends to the other prospects, especially the ones struggling right now. It gives them hope that they might have a chance too.

Players like Granlund and Schaller are easy to replace and it seems like the biggest reason people cling to Granlund is it would acknowledge that one of Jim Benning’s biggest “wins” ended up being a nothing move. What’s not a nothing move is seeing if the Canucks have bargain defensive option who can set an example for future prospects going forward.