Canucks: A healthy Micheal Ferland could boost team production

A concussion has stopped Micheal Ferland from being the player the Vancouver Canucks signed him to be, but he can be a solid bottom six contributor if healthy.

Micheal Ferland‘s concussion history has been well documented over his time with the Vancouver Canucks. Just one month into the first year of his four-year deal and Ferland was sidelined with a concussion after getting into a fight with Kyle Clifford of the L.A. Kings. Since then, it’s been an ongoing problem that has become quite concerning from an outsider’s perspective.

He made multiple attempts at returning over the course of the 2019-20 season, feeling confident each time, but when the game got going he never lasted long enough to show the Canucks what he can really do. Unfortunately, his concussion symptoms returned each time he looked like he was about to really get going again.

The last time he made a return, things looked promising, to say the least, but again, things didn’t end on a positive note. He was throwing his weight around inside the Edmonton bubble when he earned a roster spot ahead of their qualifying round versus the Minnesota Wild. Game 1, full force ahead, he dropped the gloves early in the contest and went on to finish the game. By the midway mark of the team’s second game, his concussion symptoms had returned again and he was sent back into concussion protocol and then back home.

The question of hanging up the skates is obviously on the minds of many after everything Ferland has been through, but that doesn’t yet seem to be the case for the 28-year-old Manitoba native. Weighing his options could be something he’s still doing, but as of right now, he’s back on skates and putting them to good use back home.

Now, I genuinely believe that Ferland needs to think long and hard about what to do next, but in a world where he decides to return at full health, he could turn out to be really beneficial to a Canucks roster that just lost a serious amount of talent this offseason. A healthy Ferland could be exactly what this team needs to stay afloat in the 2021 Playoffs race.

Even though his time in the bubble was short, people saw what he brought to the team. His presence was noticed, and he brought with him a physicality that’s been missing from the team’s bottom-six. If he can find his way back to the NHL as an enforcer with an offensive edge, he would give the Canucks a much more well-rounded looking group of forwards.

It wasn’t so long ago that Ferland was looking at being the guy on the first line next to Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. That could be an intriguing trio for the Canucks that would allow Travis Green to spread out the offence a little more effectively. Even a rough and tough Ferland inside the bottom six could be the productive spark plug this team needs.

So many question marks still remain when it comes to Ferland’s status, but when he’s healthy he’s a player you want in your lineup. Time remains between now and the start of the 2021 season. Hopefully, Ferland can get back on track and push himself past this terrible roadblock.

The team could really use him. What do you think, Canucks Nation?