Will Kane play on Pettersson's line? New Vancouver Canucks winger seems to like the idea
Evander Kane has always played with a chip on his shoulder. That chip should swell as he enters the 2025-26 campaign.
The 17-year NHL veteran joined the Vancouver Canucks after he was acquired for a fourth-round pick on June 25. Kane is firmly in the back-nine of his career, and he should be hungry to prove he still has something left in the tank.
Perhaps the best way for Kane to do that, would be to earn a spot alongside Elias Pettersson, something he alluded to when he spoke to the media after an informal team skate at UBC.
“You want to play with the best players available as much as possible,” Kane said on Wednesday. “I anticipate that’s probably going to happen at some point.”
But, is playing Kane with Pettersson best for the Canucks?
Can Kane and Pettersson work?
When Pettersson has been at his best in the NHL, he’s had a productive left winger playing alongside him.
Pettersson and J.T. Miller were a smashing success together when they first united on the Lotto Line alongside Brock Boeser. However, Miller’s playmaking ability was far superior to Kane’s.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Pettersson also clicked, as the left-winger potted 39 goals during his one-hit wonder season with the Canucks. Unlike Kane, Kuzmenko provided no physicality, but he was able to mimic one of Kane’s strengths by scoring a lot of goals right around the crease.
One benefit Kane can bring to a line with Pettersson is the fact that he’s played with a lot of talented NHL centres throughout his career. Kane believes that could give him a leg up if he plays with Pettersson.
“He’s a guy that obviously skates really well,” Kane said. “He’s able to handle the puck through the neutral zone; he has great speed. I’ve played with a couple of guys like that in my career. I think it’s imperative to help them create space through the neutral zone, off the rush… Excited to play with him, and we’ll see what happens.”
During his time with the Oilers, Kane often produced while playing with Connor McDavid. He didn’t have as much success while playing with Leon Draisaitl. Both were subpar defensively, which led to them being on the ice for a barrage of goals against.
Going back to Kane’s previous stop with the San Jose Sharks, he spent most of his even-strength minutes playing alongside one of Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, and Joe Pavelski. Among those three, he was most productive with Pavelski.
The takeaway? Kane does his best work when paired with a defensively responsible pivot who can feed him the puck.
If Pettersson can return to form, it’s easy to envision him being that guy.
Other winger options for Petey
Another thing going for Kane is the fact that there isn’t a lot of stiff competition to play with Pettersson on the left side.
Jake DeBrusk was Pettersson’s primary left-winger last season, but the two had very little success together. Pettersson’s struggles clearly played into that, but DeBrusk didn’t do much to drive play either.
Nils Höglander might be the most intriguing left wing option for Pettersson. The two friends have had success together when paired throughout their NHL careers; however, the lack of trust towards Höglander from numerous Canucks coaches has limited their time together.
Last season, the two best forward trios featured Pettersson, including a combination of Höglander, Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Those three had an expected goals-for percentage of 58.7.
Statistically, however, the best trio featuring Pettersson included Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland. In limited minutes, they dominated possession with an expected goals-for percentage of 73.2.
Even though the Canucks forward group lacks some oomph on paper compared to the top teams in the Western Conference, Kane believes the Canucks still have options.
“We have some great skill up front. Obviously, we got Petey running up the middle there, and he looks like he’s come into this season with a bit of a new look and probably a slightly different attitude, which is obviously going to bode well for us,” Kane told reporters. “It’s going to start with him, and it’s going to be on everyone to help him out and produce offensively at a high level with our entire forward group.”
The best scenario for the Canucks (aside from obviously, Pettersson returning to form), may be that Höglander takes the next step and proves he’s a capable top-six options, something he’s shown in spurts throughout his NHL career.
However, another intriguing option could be uniting Kane, Pettersson, and Garland. Kane is essentially replacing Joshua as a hard-nosed left-winger, albeit with better hands. Couple that with the fact that Pettersson had most of his on-ice success with Garland last season (the Canucks controlled 62.9 per cent of expected goals when they were on the ice together), and Adam Foote could have something there.