Today in things that won’t happen but that we have to talk about, the rumours that the Canucks are interested in acquiring Evander Kane.
According to Bob McKenzie on TSN’s Insider Training, the Canucks inquired into Kane during the off-season and have circled back, interested once again. McKenzie clarified further on an appearance on TSN 1050 that it would take more than Luca Sbisa and suggested that Ben Hutton would be a likely candidate to get moved.
I broke down the pros and cons of acquiring Kane during the summer, and the situation remains largely the same: there has been no indication that the Sabres even want to trade Kane, his off-ice issues make acquiring him a PR nightmare, and the cost of acquiring him will also be a PR nightmare. Particularly if it costs the Canucks Ben Hutton, one of the most likeable players on the team and a 23-year-old who is already a capable, top-four defenceman.
Last season, Hutton was found money, a prospect who showed up to camp with minimal expectations and massively exceeded them. He was exciting to watch, showed a ton of potential, and finished the season with 25 points in 75 games.
This season, some of the warts are showing. He has just two points, is tied for the worst goal differential on the team at minus-9, and has yet to show much of that dynamism that marked his game last year or even in the pre-season this year.
You have to wonder about the impact of playing with Erik Gudbranson, who has been derided by advanced statistic aficionados. It was hoped that pairing him with a puck-mover like Hutton would be beneficial for both of them, but it may have been too much to ask for a sophomore defenceman to cover up for Gudbranson’s deficiencies.
Yes, it’s a problem that a defenceman with a $3.5 million contract who is due for a raise as a pending RFA has problems significant enough that they need to be covered up. That’s not the issue at hand.
The truth is, Hutton’s underlying numbers have been pretty good this season, even with Gudbranson. Among Canucks defenceman, he’s second behind wunderkind Troy Stecher in corsi%, with the Canucks taking 51.09% of the shot attempts with Hutton on the ice.
In addition, Hutton is fourth on the Canucks in shots on goal with 31. Honestly, he’s playing fine and the Canucks need him.
Look, it’s simple: the Canucks should not trade Ben Hutton for Evander Kane. They should be extremely hesitant about trading Hutton for anyone at all. That’s not only because Hutton is a good, young defenceman who has yet to reach his full potential, but because the Canucks don’t have many good young defenceman in the Canucks’ organization that naturally play on the left side.
On the right side, the Canucks have Troy Stecher and Nikita Tryamkin, with, potentially, Jordan Subban if he figures out the defensive side of his game in the AHL. The Canucks’ top-scoring defenceman in Junior is Carl Neill, who also plays on the right side.
Meanwhile, Chris Tanev and Erik Gudbranson are 26 and 24, respectively. The Canucks’ right side is young, with lots of potential.
Who do the Canucks have on the left side? Alex Edler is 30. Luca Sbisa is a third-pairing guy who struggles when more is asked of him. The Canucks appear to have lost faith in Andrey Pedan, who has yet to record a point in Utica this season.
The Canucks do have Olli Juolevi, along with Tate Olson and Guillaume Brisebois, in Junior. They hope Juolevi will develop into a top-pairing defenceman, but they’ll still need Hutton.
Yes, the Canucks need goalscoring, but they shouldn’t hurt the future of their defence in order to acquire it. And they should be particularly hesitant if the source of that goalscoring is Evander Kane, who hasn’t had a 30-goal season in five years, has battled injuries, and has legitimate off-ice issues. Kane has no points in five games with the Sabres this season.
Just don’t do it.
