The 2018-19 season is done now, and the Vancouver Canucks are going golfing for another summer. Tyler Motte cannot be counted out for a return in 2019-20.
When the Vancouver Canucks traded Thomas Vanek to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 20178 NHL trade deadline, fans were quite rightly unhappy with the apparently meager return general manager Jim Benning secured.
While veteran forward Jussi Jokinen briefly shone with 10 points in 14 games in what was to be the final stretch of his NHL career, the real return was then-22 year-old forward Tyler Motte.
In another case of Canucks fans’ expectations setting an unfair bar for a player to reach, Tyler Motte was almost immediately panned by sections of the Canucks fanbase, and local media. Yet, in the 89 games he has played for the Vancouver Canucks since he arrived to muted interest, Motte has carved out a nice little role in the team’s bottom six against the odds.
As a 2013 fourth round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, Motte managed to find his way on to the Blackhawks’ roster and play 33 games in 2016-17. He then moved to Columbus as part of the package that sent Artemi Panarin to The Arch City, and saw a further 31 games with the Blue Jackets before being sent to Vancouver.
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He is a player who has had success at every level he’s played, but has never quite taken that big step forward.
In finishing the 2017-18 season with a measly two goals in 15 games, and no assists, there were very few Vancouver Canucks fans hoping to see Tyler Motte on the team’s opening day roster this season.
Fast forward to the end of the season, and most Canucks fans would agree that Motte had some really great moments this year, and thoroughly deserved his fourth line role.
Career highs of nine goals, seven assists and 16 points are a solid and entirely fair return from a fourth line center playing just 12:46 per game.
He took just five minor penalties all season – which takes some doing — and laid down exactly 200 hits in his 74 games. Add on 34 takeaways against 15 giveaways, and there can be no realistic complaints about the St Clair, Michigan native.
When looking at the Canucks’ forward depth for next season, there are some guaranteed candidates to return. Adam Gaudette and Jay Beagle will surely both resume bottom six roles, accompanied by Brandon Sutter and Loui Eriksson. Motte represents much better value for the Canucks than either of the latter two players, and his energy and determination will be highly sought-after if the Canucks allow him to depart this summer.
Of the many issues we Canucks fans can find in this team, Tyler Motte and his performances are not one of them. He should be brought back for the 2019-20 season and given the opportunity to play for a long-term bottom six role with the team.
There looks to be a summer of great change in the air, as General Manager Jim Benning looks to complete the team’s rebuild and gather a supporting cast around his young core of star players. There may be more experienced bottom six forwards out there in free agency this summer, but Tyler Motte has done everything the Vancouver Canucks could ask from him — do not count him out of a roster spot for 2019-20.