Canucks: Taking a look at potential defence pairings in 2021
The Vancouver Canucks blueline will make some changes for next season, but the options as to who the new faces will be still depends on training camp.
It’s clear that the Vancouver Canucks ran into salary cap problems when the coronavirus pandemic altered the financial course of the National Hockey League. Because of that, Vancouver has lost a few key defenders and has decided instead, that it’s time to let their prospects decide who will be filling those holes on the blueline.
One of the big moves made by the Canucks in free agency this year actually came from a trade to acquire a capable top 2-3 defenceman in Nate Schmidt from the Vegas Golden Knights. When it became obvious that Vegas needed to relieve a large amount of cap space, Jim Benning swooped in on the opportunity and landed the Canucks an upgrade on the back end for a future third-round pick. Such a player can usually cost a heck of a lot more than that.
So when you look at the Canucks options on defence, the top-four look like it comes down to deciding how Green will want to pair the team’s best four defenders (Quinn Hughes, Schmidt, Alex Edler, Tyler Myers), but options for the third-pairing are a bit endless right now.
Taking a look at the Canucks top-four
The acquisition of Schmidt has given the Canucks another defender (not named Hughes) that plays with speed and can deliver a great transition game. The question for Vancouver is, does Green pair those two players together to maximize their potential as a unit, or does he split them up to make sure the team has at least one capable two-way defender on the ice for 45 minutes a night?
Looking at the pairings from last season, and outside of Chris Tanev, Hughes played a lot of time with Myers. When playing on the same line, Myers and Hughes were actually an entertaining duo in the offensive end.
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The question for them being a reliable pairing lies in Myers and his ability to play big minutes on a nightly basis. If he can pitch in offensively and clean up a little bit in his own zone, this pairing could be a good choice.
Edler and Schmidt together sounds like something that could really work. Edler has earned a lot of respect with his career in Vancouver to this point and Schmidt has proven over the last few seasons that he can match up defensively against the better lines in the NHL while also bringing an offensive edge. This pairing wouldn’t be as defensive as Tanev and Edler were together in the past, but Schmidt and Edler are two reliable two-way defenders.
Taking a look at the bottom pairing
Jordie Benn will be in Vancouver to play out the final season of his two-year contract, but the answer as to who will pair with him when the puck drops in 2021 remains a question mark.
As of right now, the Canucks have options in a few of their prospects. Olli Juolevi, Brogan Rafferty, Jack Rathbone and Jalen Chatfield have all been names whispered this offseason as potential candidates.
Personally, if there was a certain player leading the pack, I’d have to put my money on the Finnish defenceman that went fifth overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Juolevi looks to finally be healthy and after his good impression inside the Edmonton bubble, Benning seems adamant about giving him a full-fledged opportunity.
When talking about the team next season on Sportsnet 650, Vancouver’s GM said that Juolevi looks ready to be an NHL defender. He made his much-anticipated NHL debut inside the bubble in an elimination game versus the Minnesota Wild. He played just over six minutes, made zero mistakes, and helped the Canucks advance to the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In my mind, Rafferty makes the most sense as to who would be next in line behind Juolevi. He had an incredible year in the AHL offensively, he’s older (25) and more mature, and more importantly, he’s right-handed. The acquisition of Schmidt got the Canucks a top-four guy, but it didn’t replace the right-side shot of Tanev or Troy Stecher. Behind Myers, Rafferty is one of the only other right-handed options. The biggest question about his transition to the NHL would be his ability to play responsible defence. If he can do that in training camp, he’s the frontrunner.
Rathbone is probably the most underrated option, but he’s certainly an intriguing one. Coming out of Harvard University, Rathbone put up 31 points (seven goals, 24 assists) in 28 games and feels very confident in his abilities to make the jump next season and land an NHL roster spot as a 21-year-old. He spoke with CanucksArmy and had this to say:
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone goes into a training camp not wanting to make the team. I think that’s definitely a goal of mine; to play in the NHL this year. Honestly, I just want to learn as much as possible with this being my first year pro.”
Rathbone was signed to a three-year entry-level contract in July and there are people out there in the hockey world that believe this kid can make the jump next season. He’ll have to prove himself completely in order to pass other guys in the pecking order, but there is a chance that he could surprise at camp and be one of the more versatile options on defence.
As for Jalen Chatfield, he’s a defender who got called up a couple of times last season but rather than suit up and play, he got paid NHL money to sit in the press box as a safety precaution. His debut is yet to come, but it appears that he’s moulding his game in the shape and playing style of the departed Tanev.
Predicting the pairings for the start of 2021
It’s tough to say at this point what the Canucks defence pairings will look like, but I have a pretty good idea of the top-four. Rather than pairing Hughes with Schmidt, I predict that Green decides to split them up in order to have a responsible puck-moving defender on the ice more often.
Although I like the idea of putting Edler and Hughes together, I don’t see it happening. Rather, I think Green will go with Hughes and Myers in pairing number one, and Edler with Schmidt to round out the top-four.
Green knows what he has in Hughes and Myers together, and Schmidt is comfortable enough on the right side to polish the top-four and give Edler another reliable partner who can help drive play out of the defensive end.
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As for the bottom pairing, I think Benn makes the roster out of a respect for veterans as well as Green’s inability to trust two rookies together. If nothing goes horribly wrong, I believe Juolevi will make the opening night roster as his partner, but I do think that it’s entirely possible for either one of Rafferty or Rathbone to steal Benn’s roster spot at some point.