Price is Right: Still plenty to play for even in lost Canucks season

We are well past the halfway mark of the NHL season, but there is still more than enough time for players to salvage a year that they don’t feel has been up to snuff. And if you follow the Vancouver Canucks, you know there’s several players that fall into that category.

Players that have a lot to play for, to prove to themselves, the Canucks, and quite possibly the rest of the league, that they are indeed the players we thought them to be.

And by the way, no, I’m not talking about guys like Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Tyler Myers.

Over the age of 30, you are what you are for the most part.

First and foremost on that list is Brock Boeser. He’s in his sixth NHL season, and on the cusp of his 26th birthday, and yet perhaps more than ever, we aren’t sure what he is anymore. When you score 29 goals in just 62 games as a rookie, you assume the trajectory is up from there.

But it hasn’t been. And his place on this team, and in this lineup, is as uncertain as it has ever been, particularly with a cap hit of $6.65 million over 2 more years.

The trade of Bo Horvat and the shelving of Ilya Mikheyev clearly opens things up for a guy like Boeser to flourish..

Conor Garland is week away from turning 27, and is in a similar boat with four goals like Boeser, but with a cap hit of only $4.95 million perhaps has a lower bar to clear. And yet, he does have 3 more years remaining. So Boeser and Garland could benefit from an elevated place in the lineup on a more regular basis to boost confidence, production and ultimately value.

One guy that could block a better spot for either of these two players, is 21-year-old Vasily Podkolzin. Although, judging by his AHL production, that doesn’t seem likely.

I’ve always been a big fan of Podkolzin’s intelligence and overall skill set. But without at least decent production, he’s up against it.

He had four goals and 11 assists in 28 games with the Abby Canucks.. That would be more than fine at the NHL level, but you would have hoped he could have asserted himself a touch more down there.

Still, his game might flourish more with other good thinkers and skillful players here in the NHL. The Canucks are likely hoping this first round pick begins to look like a first round pick now, for their own benefit, or perhaps for others if he could be used to find a young defenceman.

And then finally, there’s Thatcher Demko, whose return date is still a question mark. But the starting goalie needs to look like a starting goalie.

The Canucks are getting AHL goaltending right now from their backups, hich is fine for draft order. But ultimately, an All-Star goalie is going to be important for this franchise in one way or the other, and a signal that he is that, down the stretch, would go a long way to showing organizational strength pointing forward.

As a team, not much to play for. But individually, there’s a lot going on for the Vancouver Canucks.

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