Vancouver Canucks: Adding a 20-goal Scorer Won't Help
Jim Benning wants to add a scoring winger to help the Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, the team needs a lot more help than that.
After failing to score in four of their last five games, the Vancouver Canucks need help.
Overall, during their current seven game skid, the team has only managed seven goals. Impotent offense is nothing new, as this shutout trend extends back to last season:
Canucks shutout in 4 of Final 13 games last year
Canucks shutout in 4 of First 11 games this year#notgood #NHL #Canucks— John Horn (@SportsHorn) November 4, 2016
It’s small wonder, then, that general manager Jim Benning is seeking to add a goal-scorer:
Per LeBrun, the #Canucks are "actively seeking a 20-goal scorer that they'd like to add over the next little while, or month or two." https://t.co/zQvBasarf1
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) November 1, 2016
Benning’s search for scoring help began in the summer — too late in the summer, in fact. The Canucks replaced free agent Radim Vrbata with Loui Eriksson on July 1st. After this, they watched as available players such as Brandon Pirri and Jiri Hudler were signed by other teams. Watched, and did nothing.
Vancouver had a clear need for scoring, and had salary cap room to sign a player. In the end, the only player they added was tryout Jack Skille, a journeyman with just 38 goals in over 300 NHL games.
Management’s idleness is proving costly. Adding a scoring winger now means the Canucks will have to give up assets. As Canucks Army points out, they don’t have many assets to part with.
Besides, let’s be honest: trading for a single player won’t help.
The Canucks need more than one 20-goal man
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The math is simple. In an 82-game season, a 20-goal scorer will find the back of the net once every four games or so. How many goals have the Canucks scored in their last four games? Two. Which means that whoever they trade for will not help them win games. All he will do is turn the odd 3-0 loss into a 3-1 loss.
While suffering fewer shutout losses will be a welcome change for fans, it won’t make a difference in the standings. The change will be purely cosmetic.
Ultimately, the Canucks lacks a lot more than one goal-scorer. They lack speed; they lack playmakers. Coach Willie Desjardins has this club trying to score in transition and off the rush, but the roster is not built for it.
Now, it’s not as if Vancouver is failing to generate any offensive chances. They are getting somewhat unlucky. That’s not an excuse though — it’s their job to change their own luck.
Shooting pucks is a numbers game. In the long run, a team that attempts more shots will score more goals. As the Canucks are discovering, in the short run plenty of things can go wrong at once. Plenty of Vancouver forwards have missed tap-ins, had pucks roll off their stick, or have been robbed by goaltenders.
To outrun short-term variance, you have to try reach the long-run faster. That means shooting more, and getting better quality shots. In theory, it’s simple. In practice… well, just look at the team’s recent record.
The Vancouver Canucks could sure use that 20-goal scorer the GM is shopping for.
Their problems run much deeper, though. If Benning wants his team to win games this season, he has a lot more work to do.
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