Canucks: How do these forwards compare to the 2010-11 team?
It’s been nine years since the Vancouver Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. How does this forward group compare to that historic 2010-11 squad?
With the 2019-20 NHL season on pause, Sportsnet has been replaying several Vancouver Canucks classics, including some contests from their magical 2011 playoff run.
That’s why you were seeing several references to Kevin Bieksa’s iconic “stanchion goal” that sent Vancouver to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final on Twitter over the weekend. Alexandre Burrows’ name was popping up on Twitter frequently two weeks ago, because much of Canuck nation was tuning in to watch his “dragon slayer” goal on Sportsnet.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been nine years since that unforgettable run that captured the hearts and minds of Vancouverites. Just think about how much has changed since that brutal Game 7 defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins.
Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev (who only suited up for five postseason games that year) are the only Canucks remaining from that 2010-11 team. Burrows, Bieksa, the Sedin twins, Sami Salo and Roberto Luongo are long retired.
Here we are nine years later, and the Canucks have built up one of the most promising and dominant young cores in the NHL: Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes will now play the roles of the Sedins, Burrows, Bieksa, Salo and Ryan Kesler.
But how does this forward stack up against the greatest squad in franchise history?
There’s obviously no repeating the twin magic left behind by Daniel and Henrik. But Pettersson has displayed the potential to be a point-per-game player and Hart Trophy candidate. So the Canucks do have their bonafide franchise superstar centre in place, just like the 2010-11 squad (Henrik, in this case).
Boeser and Miller may not be as dominant as Daniel was during his prime years, but they’re certainly top line-caliber players. These two, along with Pettersson, form quite the trio that isn’t far off from reaching the same level of production as the Sedins-Burrows line.
In his prime, Kesler was one of the game’s elite defensive forwards, winning the Selke Trophy in 2010-11. Though Horvat hasn’t reached Selke level yet, he’s at least the dependable two-way centre and stud that head coach Travis Green can depend on.
A reliable and true No. 2 centre that can match up against the opposition’s top line while producing much-needed secondary offence? Check, just like the 2010-11 team.
Now, I’d argue that the current Vancouver group has a better top-six than the 2010-11 team. Only three players from that year had 20-plus goals (Henrik had 19 but also 94 points). Before the season suspension, these Canucks had four 20-goal players, but both Jake Virtanen (18 goals) and Boeser (16) goals were poised to make it six.
There’s also Tyler Toffoli, a 2014 Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings. So you can make that seven 20-goal and capable top-six forwards. It’d be a nice bonus if Vancouver had Josh Leivo for the postseason, too.
And if you ask me, Adam Gaudette is a future 20-goal scorer. So there are eight capable forwards that can come through in crunch time. Strictly speaking on offence, I like this top-six more than the 2010-11 team. But scoring isn’t all that matters.
That brings us to the bottom-six groups.
There’s little doubting, however, that the 2010-11 Canucks had a far more productive bottom-six group. These players were instrumental in helping Vancouver allow the fewest goals during the regular season (185).
2010 free agent signing Manny Malhotra had a remarkable 61.7 faceoff percentage, and he recorded 40 takeaways against just 18 giveaways. Malhotra also chipped in with 11 goals and 30 points, which was more than enough from a third-line center.
Gaudette, without a doubt, has a long way to go to match Malhotra’s strong two-way game and work in the faceoff dot (40.8 for his career). But the former at least brings more offensive upside than Malhotra.
Raffi Torres, who was also signed during the 2010 offseason, provided Vancouver some much-needed grit and muscle. His physicality was on display during the 2011 postseason, and he chipped in with some timely offence when needed (see his Game 1 winner against the Bruins).
Trade deadline pickup Chris Higgins also added the timely scoring when Vancouver needed it, with three game winners in the 2011 postseason. Maxim Lapierre solidified the bottom six with his hard work ethic and grit. He won 51 percent of his playoffs in the postseason, and he scored the memorable lone goal and winner in Game 5 against Boston.
Torres had 14 goals and 28 points for Vancouver despite averaging just 12:29 time on ice per game. Again, he was giving the Canucks some pivotal offence in the bottom-six that the 2019-20 group just doesn’t have.
The current Canucks just don’t get enough strong two-way play from their bottom-six forwards. The likes of Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle, who are both prone to injury, haven’t been able to hit the score sheet consistently; they’ve combined for 10 goals and 25 points in 99 games this season.
Loui Eriksson‘s experience would probably come in handy during the postseason, but I don’t even know if he would be a regular skater in the postseason. And again, he wouldn’t bring much to the table from a scoring standpoint. Antoine Roussel brings strong leadership and a bit of offence, but I wouldn’t say he’s as impactful as Malhotra or Torres from 2010-11.
That said, players of Roussel’s caliber tend to display their games more in the postseason, so maybe the Canucks have a secret weapon here.
Conclusion
When you compare the two forward groups side by side, it’s all about preference. Do you want the 2019-20 group that has more offensive depth, speed and skill in the top-six? Or do you want the 2010-11 team that’s more responsible defensively, with more intensity and physicality that you need in the postseason, with less offensive production?
You can’t really go wrong. The only thing that matters now is if Green’s group can do what the 2010-11 group fell short of: Winning the Stanley Cup.
Next. Canucks free agent targets: Mikael Granlund. dark
Up next, we’ll compare the 2019-20 Canuck blueliners to the 2010-11 group, and after that, we’ll see how Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demko stack up against the duo of Cory Schneider and Luongo.