The Canucks need to start Holtby for the majority of the remaining season

Six weeks ago, Vancouver Canucks fans were lamenting the signing of Braden Holtby, who struggled mightily for most of this season.

Now? Holtby gives the team the best chance to win games, but that’s isn’t why Vancouver should lean on him for the remainder of this year, as the team’s playoff hopes are all but dead and buried by now.

Rather, Vancouver should make Holtby their temporary starter because he could become a more attractive player for the Seattle Kraken to choose in the upcoming expansion draft, assuming he keeps up his current level of play.

As it currently stands, the Canucks shouldn’t be losing any sleep over who they’ll lose to Seattle this summer since the club’s core players will either be protected or exempt from the selection process. On the contrary, there are actually scenarios in which the team could benefit from the draft, one of which would be if Holtby is selected by the Kraken.

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In that hypothetical, Vancouver will then be able to open up $4.3 million in cap space, which is an astronomical amount for a team that has arguably been the league’s worst at managing their payroll. That amount of room will go a long way in helping the Canucks fill in some gaping holes on the roster; the blueline is in a particularly dire situation for next year, as Tyler Myers and Nate Schmidt are the only two proven NHL players on the back end who are signed past this season.

Moreover, the team likely won’t make the playoffs next year given their lack of cap flexibility following the behemoth second contracts for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, but an additional $4.3 million could make the postseason a conversation if Vancouver’s able to allocate that money efficiently to fill out their team.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Holtby will be selected by the Kraken no matter how well he performs, but there are other benefits to having him play additional games too, such as helping him regain some of his confidence heading into next year. Moreover, it could give Thatcher Demko some rest too, who has an injury history and is probably still feeling the effects of COVID-19.

But what do you think, Canucks fans? Should Holtby get the majority of starts for the rest of the season? Let us know in the comments below!