Welcome Matt: New Canucks penalty killers take a lot of penalties themselves

If Carson Soucy and Ian Cole are going to help the Vancouver Canucks’ league-worst penalty killing, first they’ll have to stay out of the box themselves.

That’s proved difficult for the pair of free-agent defencemen signed by Vancouver on Saturday, opening day of the new NHL year.

Cole took 28 minor penalties to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning last season and finish in a tie for 12th amongst all NHLers. Soucy was called for 24 minors, tied for most with the Seattle Kraken and 42nd overall in the league.

Throw in Tyler Myers (27) and J.T. Miller (20) and Canucks have four of the 57 players who had 20 or more minors last season.

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And in Vancouver penalties hurt more than elsewhere.

Canucks killed just 71.6% of their penalties last season, dead last among 32 clubs. They were 26th in the league in net penalty-kill percentage because of their 15 shorthanded goals, second in the NHL after Edmonton.

Head coach Rick Tocchet wanted a bigger more robust defence and he has that after the additions of Soucy (6-foot-5, 208 pounds) and Cole (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) to go along with Myers (6-foot-8, 229 pounds), should they keep him.

But we also know that big guys tend to get called for more penalties, and the Canucks may have deepened their penalty-kill issues if the newcomers can’t stay out of the box.