Canucks management deserves credit for defence makeover

Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

Two months into the season, the Vancouver Canucks have the best defensive pairing in the NHL, and the biggest pairing in the NHL.

Tidy bit of business from GM Patrik Allvin and the front office given where this team was… uh… just two months ago.

Let’s remember the hand-wringing after Carson Soucy got injured in the final game of preseason. We were all wondering who would play with Quinn Hughes and whether their defensive depth would hold up?

Turns out Filip Hronek was the answer to play on Hughes’ right-side.

They were the last pair in the league to surrender a goal this season, rank second as of Tuesday in Corsi-for percentage at 55.43 (minimum 300 minutes on ice) according to naturalstattrick.com, and they’re combined 59 points make them the highest-scoring duo.

But it was the acquisition of Nikita Zadorov last week that now give the Canucks’ a second-pairing of fascination.

“Nikita was a name out there in conversations earlier. We talked internally here and we felt it was a fit for us at this point.”

🗣 Hear from #Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin as he discusses the recent addition of Nikita Zadorov and what he brings to the team. pic.twitter.com/T0dZNKXWBV

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 3, 2023

Tyler Myers is 6-foot-8, 229 pounds, and Zadorov is 6-foot-6, 248 pounds. Together, the Twin Towers have the ability to eat space and skate, as both move better than their massive frames suggest.

That ups the ante for head coach Rick Tocchet, who has expressed a preference for size on defence, especially when considering the offseason additions of Ian Cole (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) and Soucy (6-foot-5, 208 pounds). For Tocchet and other hockey men, size matters.

Bottom line, the Canucks have done a remarkable job improving an area of the club that had been a longstanding weakness.

And there’s the potential for even further improvement if they manage to sign free-agent Ethan Bear later this month.

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