The Vancouver Canucks injury history, year after year, is a recurring theme for fans. “If we hadn’t lost [this guy]!” is second only to “Man, the [refs/league/salary cap] screwed us this year!” as an unofficial June mantra. This year may be different.
Can Comeback Canucks Come Back Quick Enough?
In a word, sure.
But it’s not just getting players back that makes the difference from one season to another. The coaches need to find the right spots for them – including on special teams. The general manager has to fit them into the budget. The players need to find their game again.
And the pro scouts have to keep their eyes open in case one of those doesn’t happen.
Not Returning
Getting the bad news out of the way first, Tucker Poolman isn’t coming back. He’s very much in the same category as Micheal Ferland from a few seasons ago. Please go home, enjoy your money, and recover with your family.
Poolman has five million reasons not to retire in the next two years, and that’s fine. It’s a risk that teams run, and why the long-term injured reserve list exists. Not the end of a career anyone wants, but it is a dangerous sport.
From Table to Team
Let’s take a look at the two players coming off the Canucks injury lists and the changes they will cause. Assuming, of course, they both stay.
Tanner Pearson
Tanner Pearson‘s trials have been long. He started off in Vancouver as an excellent fit beside Bo Horvat, getting 30 goals and 57 points in his first 88 games with the team. An excellent use of Erik Gudbranson, I think Canucks fans would agree.
While his scoring numbers dropped later to a more normal-for-him level, Pearson is still a useful player. He has solid puck retrieval skills, uses the boards well, and rounds out Vancouver’s middle six nicely. Assuming, that is, he’s recovered from repeated hand surgeries.
His season ended in game 14 in Montreal, and his recovery time hasn’t exactly been “4-6 weeks”. Before the Canucks injury curse bit, we unironically mentioned Pearson as the most drama-free player they have. That’s, uh… That’s changed.
Quinn Hughes, of all people* brought up how the injury was being handled by the club. As a direct result, the team president Jim Rutherford held a press conference, flanked by team doctors. It’s not a coincidence Rutherford said he would be backing out of the spotlight soon after.
Just How Recovered
Pearson himself says that he’s training “like he’s still a hockey player”. And yes, he’s been very frustrated by the half-dozen procedures he’s had on his hand. And earlier this month, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said he’s finally healed and will be ready for training camp.
Patrik Allvin says Tanner Pearson's hand has healed and he'll be ready to participate in training camp.
Said things are more uncertain around Tucker Poolman's future. #Canucks
— Sekeres and Price (@sekeresandprice) July 1, 2023
This does keep things interesting around him, as Pearson now has a lot more competition for his spot. The team is very wing-heavy and has plenty of veterans and young guns wanting roles.
To Pearson’s advantage, he has a decent two-way game. For a team desperate to find penalty-killers, that’s an advantage. His skills translate well in either a middle-six or bottom-six role. And he’s signed for $3.25 million and one more season.
From Canucks Injury List to Financial Plan
Okay, maybe that last one isn’t an advantage per se. But it does propose an option for the team if he proves to be healthy enough to contribute.
Pearson’s first two seasons on his new deal included trade protection and this year that’s gone. There’s also a $1.5 million bonus payment – presumably already paid – so his actual cash owed is $2.75 million.
There is a very real question about how hard he’ll be able to pass and shoot on Pearson’s return. Even relatively inobtrusive surgery needs to be healed up. Expecting full strength after a half-dozen at the same location is asking a lot.
And this is where his other talents can maintain his value – either for Vancouver or another team. Stanley Cup rings don’t tarnish, even if they were won a decade ago. He could be just what a challenging team is looking for come the deadline. Assuming they can get him that far.
Without Pearson’s $3.25 million salary cap exception, Vancouver suddenly needs to find another $1.77 million. They have until October 10th to find it, so it’s not a panic… yet.
Ilya Mikheyev
Yes, Ilya Mikheyev was barely on the team for most of the season. But he wasn’t healthy for most of the time he skated – at least not entirely so. That’s actually good news, given how underwhelmingly he played in 2022-23.
Not that Mikheyev played poorly, exactly. But there was plenty of hype surrounding the team’s shiny new signing. He was a dangerous penalty killer, a versatile winger with scoring, and, of course, one of the fastest players in the league.
Then came his Canucks tenure and he was fine. Just fine. For several months, fans waited for the exciting speedster to get into the groove, but it never really happened. And that’s not what anyone paid to see.
Again, his numbers were decent with Vancouver. But then, they should have been: he spent most of his time with Elias Pettersson and either Brock Boeser or Andrei Kuzmenko. But his 13 goals and 28 points in 46 games were hardly earth-shaking.
Surprises Abound
Fans eventually discovered that Mikheyev had been injured almost as soon as the season started. And when we say “almost” we mean before the season opened, getting a torn ACL on September 25th.
Now, given the Vancouver Canucks injury history, the revelation caused a firestorm among fans. There was plenty of understandable outrage that the team would allow a new free-agent signee to play injured.
The noise was bad enough that Mikheyev’s agent, Dan Milstein, encouraged him to issue a statement. In it, Mikheyev made clear that the decision to play on the injured knee was his under medical supervision. The timing of his knee surgery was so he would get the time to recover for the 2023-24 season.
And here we are, with Mikheyev expected to return at full speed by the time the Canucks reach Victoria.
Squeeze In One More
Unlike on the defence, all the pressure on the Canucks forwards is from fellow veterans. Anthony Beauvillier took Mikheyev’s spot beside Pettersson after he left and did very well there. Conor Garland on a third line would be a spectacular waste, and Nils Höglander and Vasily Podkolzin are pressing hard.
All that isn’t to say that Mikheyev is at any risk of dropping out of the top six. But his return adds pressure for the team to make a deal of some kind, even at a loss. The difficulty in doing that now is not actually knowing if Mikheyev is completely healthy.
It will be easier on the salary cap front, as everyone is running with the assumption that Mikheyev will return. His $4.750 million cap hit is already factored into the math for next year. Now he just needs to be worth it.
*And future captain. Book it.
Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
