Vancouver Canucks Cannot Afford to Split Up 2nd Line
The most successful line for the Vancouver Canucks has been the combination of Markus Granlund, Jannik Hansen and Brandon Sutter. Although they may be split up eventually, now isn’t the time to do it.
The Vancouver Canucks are off to an unpredictable start into the year and the offense is coming from an unlikely source. The second line that features Markus Granlund, Jannik Hansen and Brandon Sutter has been the best offensive line through five games of the regular season. This has led to some chatter suggesting that line should be split up to spread the offense around, but it shouldn’t happen in the near future.
The line most in need of some offensive help is the first line. The Sedin-Sedin-Eriksson experiment has largely been a failure through five games. According to Left Wing Lock, the line has combined for two goals on 62 shot attempts. The line has also allowed two goals against this season and was eventually split up, with Sven Baertschi slotting in on the right side. The second line of Hansen-Sutter-Granlund also has two goals but has only generated 37 shot attempts.
This is particularly relevant to Sutter. Sutter has never been a major offensive contributor having only reached the 40-point plateau once, in 2009-10 with the Carolina Hurricanes. This year, Sutter has produced one goal and four assists through five games. Sutter is a player that was expected to be relied on in the defensive zone but this year he has been far more effective in the offensive zone.
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Obviously, the No. 1 priority of any NHL team is to get the first line clicking offensively. As the season wears on, the Canucks will have to figure something out to get the Sedin twins producing offensively. That will likely mean putting Hansen on their wing as he was quite effective in that role last year.
However, the Canucks cannot move Hansen up the lineup just yet. With the third line producing the way it is, it’s not a good idea to mess with that chemistry. Chemistry is not an easy thing to develop, and if three players are clicking offensively, you should probably stick them together.
Instead, I would like to see the Canucks keep Loui Eriksson with the twins for at least the time being. They haven’t been good yet but eventually they will work out their kinks. They were so good in the World Cup of Hockey that I find it hard to separate them so early.
If that doesn’t work out, I would give Anton Rodin a shot with the Sedins before I would put Hansen there. Rodin’s speed is exactly what Hansen would bring to the line, so why not give that a shot?
As long as the Hansen-Sutter-Granlund line continues to produce, they can’t be split up. If the Canucks can get Sutter producing offensively, there is no sense ruining it because in today’s NHL you need three offensive lines to be a contender. It’s no longer acceptable for your second line to be shutting guys down without producing offense.
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