How might Jake Virtanen fit on the Canucks’ top line?
Jake Virtanen might play on the Vancouver Canucks’ top line if the team decides to spread out its scoring, but will he be a good fit there?
The Vancouver Canucks relied heavily on the Lotto Line to generate offence last year, and I believe that the coaching staff would like to keep that trio intact this season as well.
Unfortunately, the team’s forward group drops off heavily after that top line, with Bo Horvat being the only other high-end scoring option Vancouver has up front.
If the Canucks are struggling to create offence throughout the rest of its lineup, Travis Green might elect to slide Brock Boeser down to the second line to play alongside Horvat and promote Jake Virtanen on to the top unit instead.
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If this happens at some point, how will Virtanen fit alongside Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller?
According to Natural Stat Trick, that trio dominated last year, which might not be a surprise given the elite play-driving abilities of Pettersson and Miller. In over 123 minutes of five on five time together, they controlled shots 58.94% of the time while owning an expected goals rate of 58.70%.
To put that into context, the Lotto Line controlled shot attempts 58.38% of the time and had an expected goals rate of 58.40%.
Looking at those numbers, it’s surprising that Virtanen was able to help the top line post even better possession stats than Boeser did. Of course, there are many other factors involved, such as the level of competition that each respective trio faced.
It’s easy to assume that Virtanen’s group was matched up against easier opponents due to his defensive shortcomings, while the Lotto Line shared the ice with stiffer competition since Boeser is a much more reliable two-way player.
If the two trios played against the same level of players, Boeser’s line would likely produce far better numbers than Virtanen’s.
Even so, it’s reassuring to see the Canucks retain their offensive dominance even after replacing Boeser with Virtanen on the top line. This allows the team to pair Boeser with Horvat on the second unit, which gives the captain a more potent weapon to work with while maintaining the ability to play matchup minutes.
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Simply put, Vancouver might be able to give the second line an offensive boost while still be able to use it as a shutdown unit if Boeser finds a permanent home there. In the meantime, the top line can still score at a similarly high rate, which would give the team’s top six more firepower and balance. After years of waiting, could 2020-21 finally be the season that Jake Virtanen solidifies a top of the lineup role with the Canucks? Let me know in the comments below!