Where does Teddy Blueger fit in Canucks lineup when healthy?
The Vancouver Canucks are sorely missing some depth scoring notwithstanding their strong start, and part of the reason for that is the absence of former Vegas Golden Knights forward and Stanley Cup champion Teddy Blueger. Blueger signed a one-year, $1.9 million deal on July 1, but hasn’t made his Canucks debut yet as he’s been dealing with an injury for the last two weeks.
Blueger joined the Golden Knights from the Pittsburgh Penguins as a trade deadline acquisition, and he scored two goals and six points in 18 regular season games while adding a goal and an assist in six playoff appearances. Two seasons ago, the Latvian scored a career-high 28 points (9-19-28) in his last full season in Pittsburgh.
Casey DeSmith, WOW. Teddy Blueger, WOW. #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/PlH0dJpprN
— NHL (@NHL) January 20, 2021
The Canucks’ bottom-six forward group is crying out for some help right now; Anthony Beauvillier and Pius Suter are still without their first points of the season, whilst Dakota Joshua has managed only one goal of his own to this point.
Suter, Conor Garland, Nils Hoglander, and Sam Lafferty have all seemingly nailed down their places in the lineup, leaving a spot for Blueger at the expense of either Beauvillier or Joshua. Intuition would say to get Beauvillier into a more offensive role that suits his skillset, which would allow Blueger to replace Joshua and slot in nicely alongside Lafferty on Hoglander on that impressive fourth unit.
Beauvillier, Blueger, and Joshua will all be unrestricted free agents this summer, so head coach Rick Tocchet and co. will go with who they feel gives them the best chance to win hockey games and not who they’re most attached to. Beauvillier’s $4.15 million cap hit will make him difficult to trade, and his ice-cold start only compounds that. Unless Vancouver definitely plans to keep him, they should focus on rehabbing his trade value early.
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More than likely, Blueger will assume his usual NHL role on the Canucks in what should be a lateral move – meaning he will replace someone in that same role. In this regard, all signs would point to Joshua making way for the 29-year-old.