Projecting Canucks lines for opening night next season

Opening night is still more than two months away, but the Vancouver Canucks’ roster appears to be mostly set.

GM Patrik Allvin will surely make tweaks to his lineup before the puck drops on October 11, but his options appear to be relatively limited. The Canucks have less than $1.5 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly, but that’s only if Tanner Pearson remains on long-term injured reserve, and that’s not a guarantee.

Making matters worse is most of the league is capped out, meaning low-cost additions are likely the only realistic changes to the current roster.

Within the current collection of players, there are a few question marks.

Who will play with Elias Pettersson? He and Andrei Kuzmenko clicked last season, but is there room for Brock Boeser on that line?

The Canucks need young players like Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Höglander to take another step in their development. Will we see them break through into more prominent roles?

Who plays with Quinn Hughes? Ian Cole and Carson Soucy appear to be the most likely candidates, though there may be some votes for the more offensive-minded Filip Hronek as well.

What about the sixth defenceman spot? That seems to be wide open at this stage.

Then there’s the backup goalie job. Arturs Silovs impressed at the World Hockey Championship, but Spencer Martin posted better AHL numbers last season, albeit in limited action. The 22-year-old Latvian only has 55 games of AHL experience and appeared in just five NHL games last season, so he might need more time in Abbotsford.

Projected forward lines

The Canucks’ depth chart is clear at centre, with Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Teddy Blueger, and Nils Aman slotting in, likely in that order.

How the wingers will piece together is a different story.

Andrei Kuzmenko had a lot of success playing on Pettersson’s wing last season, and smart money is on him playing there again. But who fits on their wing? Anthony Beauvillier and Ilya Mikheyev are options, but perhaps a rejuvenated Boeser or Conor Garland would make sense too.

Beauvillier gets the nod based on his two-way play, while Boeser slots in on an all-American line with Miller and Garland.

Teddy Blueger has never scored more than 28 points in a season, so it makes sense to build out a checking line with him as the centrepiece, along with Ilya Mikheyev and Vasily Podkolzin.

Nils Aman and Dakota Joshua fit together on a surprisingly good Canucks fourth line last season. Can Höglander play well enough defensively to play alongside them? The answer in this exercise is yes.

• Beauvillier – Pettersson – Kuzmenko
• Garland – Miller – Boeser
• Mikheyev – Blueger – Podkolzin
• Joshua – Aman – Höglander

With a 23-man roster, the Canucks could keep two extra forwards. We’re picking Phil Di Giuseppe for his reliable two-way play and “wall work” that head coach Rick Tocchet praised last season, along with Sheldon Dries in case the Canucks need more scoring punch down the middle. That means players like Jack Studnicka, Aidan McDonough, Linus Karlsson, Tristen Nielsen, and Aatu Räty will find themselves in the AHL.

Let’s assume that Tanner Pearson starts on LTIR.

• Extras: Di Giuseppe, Dries
• LTIR: Pearson

Projected defence pairings

The Canucks will have a fresh look on defence, as Hughes and Tyler Myers are the only returnees that played at least 20 games in Vancouver last season. Cole and Soucy are both left shots but have experience playing the right side.

Hughes gets Cole as his defence partner, based on the fact the 34-year-old played big minutes in Tampa last season. Soucy plays on his natural side alongside Hronek.

Myers should be a lock for the third pairing, with lots of competition for the final spot. Akito Hirose is fresh out of college hockey, but he’s 24 years old, so this isn’t a project. He looked steady in seven NHL games with the Canucks last season, so he makes it onto the opening-night roster.

• Hughes – Cole
• Soucy – Hronek
• Hirose – Myers

There are lots of depth options for the Canucks on defence, but we’re going with Matt Irwin. The Victoria native has nearly 500 games of NHL experience and would be a good option in case Hirose struggles. He makes it over a group of other depth options like Christian Wolanin, Jack Rathbone, Noah Juulsen, Guillaume Brisebois, Cole McWard, and Filip Johansson.

• Extra: Irwin
• LTIR: Poolman

Projected Canucks goaltenders

Thatcher Demko is Vancouver’s unquestioned starting goalie, but who is his backup?

Let’s give the nod to Silovs, despite the risk of stunting his development. The 22-year-old will get extra games in the AHL when the Abbotsford Canucks are in town to help keep him sharp. Martin starts in the AHL.

• Demko
• Silovs

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