This offseason the Vancouver Canucks expended considerable effort, to say nothing of the expense, to assemble a group of six defencemen that they felt would be among the best in the NHL.
That, at least, was the theory. And after five months and 72 games, that’s still the theory because — due to unforeseen circumstances, mostly to do with broken feet — the Canucks haven’t had their top six together.
They haven’t, come to think of it, had their top eight together and have struggled to put their top 10 together on some nights, all of which makes their position atop the NHL standings all the more remarkable.
Kevin Bieksa, he of the metatarsal issues, was asked if the blueline fraternity is looking forward to the day when the top six are in the lineup together.
“Who are the top six?” he answered. “I’m not sure any more.”
We know the feeling.
Wednesday night at The Rog, the Canucks topped a dispirited Colorado Avalanche team 4-2 with a version of their best six which has been intact for a dozen games or so. By the standards of this season, that might make this group the longest-serving blueline the team has employed, and they’ve been both reliable and productive in their limited time together.
For the Canucks, that’s the sort of good news. The more interesting development, however, awaits in another week and, if everything goes according to plan, another three weeks when the troops might be fully restored.
All season long, Canucks’ fans have fantasized what the defensive corps would look like with a full complement.
They’re finally close to finding out.
Bieksa, who’s missed 14 games with a fractured foot, is close to returning. We know this because, when he was asked on Wednesday when he’ll be back, he became vague and evasive.
Some time during next week’s road trip is a good guess.
Barring further catastrophe, that will also make Alex Edler the lone holdout from the core six and Edler has started off-ice workouts and skating on his own. Again, if it all goes according to the script he’ll be back for the start of the playoffs, and that’s when things will get interesting.
The wondrous thing about this Canucks season, after all, isn’t their first overall placement in the league. It’s they’ve forged their record using 13 defencemen — remember the Lee Sweatt era? — and with serious injuries to five of their projected top six. To date, Christian Ehrhoff is the only one of that group who’s escaped a prolonged stay in the infirmary. Dan Hamhuis has missed 14 games; Bieksa 15 in total; Keith Ballard has missed 18; Edler is 23 and counting.
Sami Salo, for his part, is a whole different category, but it’s also Salo’s return to live action that has sparked the imagination of the faithful. The Canucks now contemplate a blueline where five of their defencemen could play in the top four on any team in the league, and Ballard should belong to that group.
Now, try to envision what this could look like. You’d have the shutdown pair of Hamhuis and Bieksa. You’d have Edler and Ehrhoff driving the offence — and making the Sedins that much more dangerous. You’d have Salo, who might be the best all-around player of the lot, available for any situation.
It would also mean Ballard or Aaron Rome or Andrew Alberts would be the sixth guy with the odd men out acting as insurance. Taken collectively, that’s a formidable group. It’s just that the Canucks haven’t seen anything close to it since the start of the season.
Wednesday night, for example, rookie Chris Tanev played his 26th game with the big club and Rome, who was supposed to be in tough to make this team, continued to play top-four minutes, logging over 20 minutes of ice time.
This was the same group, with Salo, Hamhuis, Ehrhoff and Ballard, who’ve carried the load during the team’s current seven-game winning streak and were good again against the Avs.
So how much better could they be with the full cast? It’s hard to say, but you know the Canucks are dying to find out.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/St...#ixzz1GsWKlKTa
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