The Vancouver Canucks are officially on summer break.
After cleaning out their lockers on Sunday morning, a handful of team members took the time to address the media about the ups and downs of this year’s regular season, starting with Alex Chiasson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat.
The first question went to Horvat, who was asked about the nature of his current injury.
Horvat, who missed the final seven games of the season after blocking a shot during Vancouver’s 5-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes on March 14th, explained that he was dealing with a broken tibia. Fortunately for the organization, it sounds like the captain does not need to undergo surgery for the damage.
The recovery procedure is also great for Horvat himself, who announced that his wife, Holly, gave birth to their daughter, Tulsa, late last week.
Congratulations to the Horvat family on welcoming daughter, Tulsa.
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) May 2, 2022
Gunnar looks like he’ll be a great big brother! pic.twitter.com/R7O65aNnQu
The media then turned their attention to Chiasson.
Chiasson, whose current one-year deal expires this offseason, was asked about his late-season offensive production, and how well he gelled in the top-six forward group with players such as Miller and Conor Garland.
Chiasson finished the year with 13 goals and nine assists in 67 games played, with 11 of those points taking place in the final 12 games of the season. Although there hasn’t been any discussion about an extension for the 31-year-old forward, he did note that it “would be an honour to come back next year”.
Chiasson has signed three separate professional tryouts in his career.
There were also a few questions for Ekman-Larsson, specifically on his relationship with defensive partner Tyler Myers.
In the past, both blueliners were often relied on to produce offence while also logging heavy minutes, but Ekman-Larsson spoke to the fact that this wasn’t necessarily the case here in Vancouver because of Quinn Hughes.
"“He’s such a good skater and moves the puck and can log heavy minutes in the o-zone.”"
For the most part, Ekman-Larsson and Myers were defensively sound and responsible against other teams’ top players, proving that they, indeed, were able to “do whatever we can to bring something to the table”.
Ekman-Larsson finished the season with five goals and 24 assists in 79 games.