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The Canucks are about halfway through the season, with 45 games played heading into their bye week. It’s time to break out the red pen and do some grading. I’ve included their quarter-mark grade to show how they’ve improved or diminished.
Team Grade: D (C+). The only reason the Canucks aren’t last in the Pacific Division is because the Arizona Coyotes are truly terrible. Injuries explain a lot of their struggles, but lack of depth added to the sting of those injuries.
FORWARDS
Sven Baertschi: B- (A-). A broken jaw took him out of the lineup for several weeks, but his point production had slowed before the injury.
Brock Boeser: A+ (A+). Even without Horvat and Baertschi, Boeser has continued to produce, providing one of the few bright spots for the Canucks this season.
Loui Eriksson: D (C). For a moment in late November, it looked like Eriksson had re-found his scoring touch. Then he had just 2 points in 13 games in December.
Sam Gagner: C+ (C-). Gagner has looked good on a line with Vanek and Boeser, but has struggled defensively.
Brendan Gaunce: C- (Inc). Gaunce has been decent defensively and finally put in a few goals, but still has too little impact in the offensive zone.
Nikolay Goldobin: C- (N/A). Goldobin finally got the call-up from the Comets, but has been too inconsistent to earn regular ice time.
Markus Granlund: C (C-). Granlund has consistently been used in a defensive role, giving him little opportunity to match his points from last season.
Bo Horvat - A (A-). His absence due to injury has actually improved his grade by showing how much the Canucks miss him. They’ve gone 4-11-2 since Horvat fractured his foot.
Daniel Sedin: B- (C). Adding Boeser to the power play has helped significantly, but the Sedins have stepped up at even-strength as well.
Henrik Sedin: B (C). Henrik is third in points-per-hour behind Boeser and Vanek.
Brandon Sutter: C+ (C). The Canucks didn’t struggle as much with Sutter out of the lineup until Horvat also got injured, but they clearly missed him a lot.
Thomas Vanek: A- (B). Vanek has found chemistry with Boeser and is second on the team in scoring, increasing his potential value at the trade deadline.
Jake Virtanen: C (C+). The 21-year-old winger shows signs of figuring out how best to use his size and speed, and has also found some use in a checking line role.
DEFENCE
Alex Biega: C+ (C+). Biega has been a spark plug when occasionally inserted into the lineup.
Michael Del Zotto: C- (C+). Del Zotto leads the Canucks in ice time and really shouldn’t. Flashes of offensive upside have not made up for defensive miscues.
Alex Edler: B- (C+). Edler has improved after a shaky start to the season and can still soak up big minutes.
Erik Gudbranson: D (D). Gudbranson is riding an unsustainably high on-ice save percentage that is making him look a lot better than he is.
Ben Hutton: C+ (C+). Hutton found his way into Travis Green’s dog house, then returned to the ice with some added physical edge.
Derrick Pouliot: B- (B). Pouliot’s point production has slowed, but he’s still the leader in shot attempt differential among Canucks defencemen.
Troy Stecher: B- (B-). While he’s been in a sophomore slump, Stecher is rushing the puck up ice with more confidence.
Chris Tanev: A- (A). Frankly, the Canucks should be leaning on Tanev more than they are: he’s easily the team’s best defenceman.
GOALTENDERS
Jacob Markstrom: C- (B-). Too many soft goals and too little consistency has brought down Markstrom’s grade, but he’s not getting much help defensively.
Anders Nilsson: D (A). After a strong start to the season, Nilsson has fallen apart and now has one of the worst save percentages in the NHL.
Stick-taps and Glove-drops
A tap of the stick to former Canuck Mason Raymond for getting named to Team Canada’s Olympic roster. The speedy winger has long been a favourite and will be a key player for Canada in the absence of NHL players.
I’m dropping the gloves with Sweden for not putting Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson, at the time the SHL leader in points-per-game, on their Olympic roster. That’s a decision they could regret come February.
Big Numbers
41 - Brock Boeser’s goal-scoring has slowed of late, with just one goal in 2018, and yet he’s still on-pace for 41 goals this season. At this point, it would be surprising if he doesn’t break Pavel Bure’s rookie record of 34 goals.
1.59 - Canucks prospect Adam Gaudette is currently leading the NCAA in scoring with 17 goals and 35 points in 22 games, an average of 1.59 points per game. He seems a likely candidate to sign with the Canucks and play a few games before the end of the season, much like Boeser did last season.
