With four straight wins, the Vancouver Canucks have crawled their way out of a difficult 2-5 start to the season and currently find themselves sitting in third place in Scotiabank’s seven-team all-Canadian North division.
Jake Virtanen — a player many thought would rise to the occasion this year — unfortunately, hasn’t been a part of the Canucks recent success. The 24-year-old local kid, who scored a career-high 18 goals last season, only has one goal to show for himself in 2021. Struggling to produce anything offensively, he’s been pointless in his last five appearances, and as a result, he’s been a healthy scratch the last two games.
It’s no secret that Virtanen has battled ups and downs in Vancouver and that he’s had his fair share of problems with Canucks’ coach Travis Green. It’s been a long six years for the former sixth-overall draft pick no doubt, but there comes a point where you start to wonder when enough is enough.
It seems to be an ongoing cycle as this is nothing new in Vancouver, we’ve all seen it. Somehow, Virtanen falls out of favour before finding his way back into the lineup somehow, either through injury or because of a needed shakeup. When he draws back in he does just enough to secure a spot, and then he coasts again until history repeats itself. This time though, the clock may finally be running out for Shotgun Jake. Here are a few reasons why.
Move over Tuna, Big Mac is here
One big reason Virtanen is being held out of the lineup is because Zack MacEwen is doing all the right things in his place. Yes, looking at his stats he too may have just one lone goal, but in eight games MacEwen has proven that he isn’t afraid to get physical.
A pretty solid tilt between Brady Tkachuk and Zack MacEwen. 🥊#NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/QcQyu1A9Z3
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 29, 2021
‘Big Mac’ has laid the body on multiple occasions and continues to show that he can drop the gloves in defence of any teammate. That’s something that’s slowly being forgotten in today’s game and the Canucks can use some of that old-school bite that he brings to the table. The rough side of his game is what’s he’s best at, and if he keeps delivering the hits then the goals will come as a bonus eventually.
MacEwen knows that as a middle-six right-winger playing on a team whose star players aren’t exactly physically dominant, it’s vital for the Canucks to have someone in that spot that can step up and deal with any threats towards players like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. And if Virtanen isn’t willing to be that guy, MacEwen is ready to continue filling the role. Potentially for good.