It feels like the never-ending season for the Vancouver Canucks.
The team has played 12 games in 23 nights since returning from their COVID-19 outbreak in mid-April, and still have seven games remaining on their schedule, including back-to-back contests against the Winnipeg Jets, starting on Monday night.
The Canucks have played seven games against their Manitoba opponents so far, with Winnipeg coming away with wins in five of those contests to lock down the season-series. However, the two teams haven’t played each other since the end of the March, and, as we all know, a lot has changed since then.
Despite punching their postseason tickets earlier this week, the Jets have been on a downward spiral as of late. The team has lost eight of their past nine contests dating back to April 17th, including their most recent 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. The Jets are currently holding onto the third spot in the Scotia North Division, but that could easily change after this two-game mini-series against Vancouver.
The Canucks, on the other hand, have essentially kissed their playoff dreams goodbye. Despite securing more wins than the Jets since returning to play in mid-April, the team currently sits dead-last in their division, 14 points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.
And with their 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, the Canucks also fell to 29th in the league standings, only above Anaheim and Buffalo, and should realistically start setting their sights beyond their remaining games, and towards the draft lottery instead.
Let’s take a look at three factors for the Canucks leading up to their final two regular season games against the Jets:
How will Jonah Gadjovich play in his NHL debut?
There has been a lot of excitement about Jonah Gadjovich this past week.
The former 2017 second-round pick was recalled from the Utica Comets on May 1st, and immediately flew to Winnipeg to complete his mandatory seven-day quarantine, expecting to suit up at some point during this two-game series.
And it looks like all signs are pointing towards that happening.
Gadjovich was seen at the morning skate on Monday, wearing #41 and skating alongside his new teammates for the first time since training camp back in January.
Wearing #41, Jonah Gadjovich joins morning skate in Winnipeg. pic.twitter.com/xASDntJ5XH
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) May 10, 2021
In typical fashion, Green hasn’t announced if Gadjovich will be playing on Monday night, or if he’ll make him wait another 24 hours.
Regardless of when he’ll makes his NHL debut, there’s a lot to look forward to with Gadjovich.
The 22-year-old winger has had a breakout season in Utica, registering 15 goals and three assists in 19 games played, good for just under a point-per-game pace. What’s even more impressive is that 11 of those tallies came at even strength, something that this current Canucks’ team, their third and fourth lines in particular, is considerably lacking.
Although we probably won’t see Gadjovich slot into one of the top two lines, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he makes an immediate impact on the bottom six forward group. Gadjovich brings size, grittiness and a solid net-front presence, and could even provide a much-needed spark for the team’s second powerplay unit.
He won’t be the fastest skater on the ice, nor will he rack up a ton of points on a nightly basis, but Gadjovich knows that’s not his role to fill.
He still has to take big steps in his development, but many Canucks’ fans are hoping that these remaining regular season games will be a chance to see the team’s next up-and-coming, middle-of-the-pack power forward.