Canucks Notebook: Centre Search Ramps Up, Pettersson’s Ice Time, Injury Bug & More

To make matters worse, Hoglander has already been ruled out until late November/early December, and Chytil’s status is up in the air, with analyst Craig Button talking worst-case scenario, like asking him to retire. While I don’t think that will happen, there is a real possibility that he will be out long-term, maybe even the season, which will really put the Canucks in a bind. They have already struck out in the trade market in finding a second-line centre; now, with desperation added to the mix, those negotiations will only get tougher as every general manager will have leverage over Patrik Allvin.

Canucks’ Search for Centre Depth Ramps Up With Chytil & Blueger Injuries

Allvin has already come out in the media and said he’s started to ramp up his search for a centre. In fact, he got on the phone immediately after Chytil was rocked by Tom Wilson on Sunday morning. He has even changed his stance on what type of trade he would be willing to make, saying, “I think there’s always been an urgency (to add that player) and that’s been something we looked into all summer. I would say this probably makes me look at other things I might not have looked at before. Just take a different view. My job is to look at the options, short-term and long-term and what makes sense for us.”

The Canucks have refused to part with blue-chip prospects like Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander in the past, but with Allvin’s recent comments, has that changed? If Chytil is out long-term, their centre depth is frighteningly thin. No offence to Aatu Raty, but he has not established himself as a legitimate second-line centre yet, and right now, he’s that on the depth chart. If Allvin really wants to acquire an impact player, he will have to part with a premium asset, and unfortunately, Lekkerimaki and Willander are all he has to bargain with.

But who could the Canucks acquire? The market is reportedly very sparse when it comes to top-six centres, and there aren’t many teams that are “sellers” this early in the season. Stephan Roget of Canucks Army offered up Nazem Kadri (Calgary Flames), JT Compher (Detroit Red Wings), JG Pageau (New York Islanders), Lukas Reichel (Chicago Blackhawks), Ross Colton (Tampa Bay Lightning), Tommy Novak (Pittsburgh Penguins), and Adam Henrique (Edmonton Oilers) as potential options, but only three of those are legit top-six players. Kadri, Compher and Pageau would help fill the void, but they all carry high cap hits and, in the case of Kadri and Compher, a lot of term left as well.

Out of the three, I would go for Pageau, since he’s in the final year of his contract at $5 million average annual value (AAV), and likely wouldn’t cost as much as Kadri and Compher. He’s also versatile, can play on both special teams, and most importantly, can win faceoffs, something the Canucks have struggled with so far this season. Raty is the only regular centre that is over 50 percent (55.5), and Pageau has a career average of 54.5 percent and hasn’t fallen below 50 since 2014-15. Also, if it looks like the Canucks are going to miss the playoffs, he could be flipped for assets at the deadline.

Foote’s Deployment of Elias Pettersson Has Been Questionable Early On

While it’s only a seven-game sample size, one questionable trend has emerged in head coach Adam Foote’s system: the distribution of ice time when it comes to his top players, especially Elias Pettersson (from ‘Canucks: Coach Foote needs to play his No. 1 centre more,’ The Province, 10/22/25). In the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, he played only 16:56 and had the lowest five-on-five ice time on the team. And that was without Chytil and Blueger in the lineup and Raty, Nils Aman and Max Sasson as the other centres. That trio played most of their time in the American Hockey League (AHL) last season; they should not be seeing more ice time than Pettersson. He should be at the 19 or 20-minute mark, maybe even more, when he’s the most skilled centre on the active roster.

Overall, Pettersson has seen the lowest average ice time of his career so far at 17:56, almost a minute less than last season. He’s also being deployed more often in the defensive zone, and appears to be Foote’s “matchup” centre a la Elias Lindholm, something he’s struggling to be, especially in the faceoff dot, winning only 40.9 percent of his draws – punctuated by two horrible games against the Penguins (22.7 percent) and Edmonton Oilers (16.7 percent).

Bottom line, Foote should be deploying Pettersson as a first-line centre, not a bottom-six centre, and lean on his top players more. Even the Canucks’ leading scorer last season, Jake DeBrusk, has seen a reduction in ice time lately. While he’s averaged more than last season, he’s only been above 20 minutes once, and saw a season-low 13:50 against the Penguins. Evander Kane, who is still without a goal, has almost three minutes more average ice time than Pettersson and is only slightly below DeBrusk. That can’t continue if the Canucks hope to win consistently moving forward.

Canucks’ Road Trip Wraps Up in Music City

The Canucks wrap up this tough road trip in Nashville tonight, and they need to have a better effort than fans saw in Pittsburgh. Yes, they will return home with a winning record if they lose, but the good vibes that everyone was feeling after a 3-0 start will be washed away – if they haven’t been already after the loss against the Penguins.