The Vancouver Canucks have announced that Antoine Roussel will remain out until late November. The forward is still rehabbing from April ACL surgery. Canucks beat reporter Jeff Paterson was one of the first to announce the news through Twitter.
#Canucks Benning just told me that while Roussel is skating on own and has been for a while, still looking at late November for full medical clearance to return from knee surgery
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) October 2, 2019
Vancouver Canucks Antoine Roussel Ruled Out
Antoine Roussel
Roussel debuted with the Dallas Stars in 2012-13. He’s posted 73 goals and 172 points in 478 games. His first year with Vancouver was 2018-19. It was also Roussel’s career-high in points with 31. The French forward isn’t relied upon heavily as he has never averaged more than 15:31 of ice time per season but he is an effective bottom-six option. He is reasonably priced for his skill set at just $3 million in annual cap hit through 2021-22.
Roussel’s main role is as an agitator. He has accrued over 100 penalty minutes every season except for his debut campaign. His 924 PIMs is 11th among active players, which is impressive considering his relative lack of usage. He is good on the forecheck and competent maintaining puck possession; Roussel was top 10 in both blocks and hits for Vancouver last year. He also has positive marks in both Corsi and Fenwick for his career. Those are the sorts of qualities that make for an ideal penalty killer.
What This Means for the Team
While Vancouver would likely want Roussel healthy to add some grit, they can’t replace him at the moment with only $167 thousand in available cap space. That means the bottom-six wings will be a rotating combination of players including Josh Leivo, Jake Virtanen and Loui Eriksson. None of them are the same sort of physical presence as Roussel so getting him back in the lineup as soon as possible will make the organization happy. Vancouver is on the rise in the Pacific and Roussel’s abilities will help make them more competitive assuming his health holds up.
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