Canucks: Why this is the year to pass on professional tryouts

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PTO or no PTO? Which way should they go?

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Awarding a professional tryout is always an option, but it shouldn’t be a pressing pursuit as the Vancouver Canucks prepare to open their three-day training camp Sept. 18 in Penticton. They have much bigger concerns, like landing a proven support centre via trade or free agency.

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Getting their house in order in a hurry for a return to the NHL playoffs trumps doing somebody a favour to gain PTO exposure and prolong a career here or somewhere else. It’s a nice gesture, but let’s be honest — the pressure to prove that last season was an injury-plagued and drama-filled anomaly is already building.

With several in-house forwards competing for a roster spot in Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, Arshdeep Bains and Jonathan Lekkerimaki — and rookie head coach Adam Foote more consumed by cementing structure and systems to ensure his club breaks smartly from the gate — this is the year to pass on an invite.

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There are the usual suspects looking for work, including former Canucks depth winger Tyler Motte, 30, whose pedigree as a penalty-kill specialist might move the management meter with the free agency departure of Pius Suter. But the club’s PK options to fill the void are deep.

And the thought of adding more size with the trade exit of Dakota Joshua is trumped with big winger Drew O’Connor patrolling the left side.

More importantly, the customary practice of adding a veteran player to push the pace and beat roster odds as a fourth-line addition rarely plays out. Last season, winger Sammy Blais, 28, proved in a PTO audition that his pace of play and fitness weren’t up to NHL standards. He had his camp moments, but not enough of them.

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However, Blais was already under contract with the AHL affiliate in Abbotsford and proved a galvanizing force. His 40 points (14-26) in 51 regular-season games and 19 points (6-13) in 23 playoff outings with an agitating forechecking presence helped propel the club to its first Calder Cup championship.

Goaltender Dylan Ferguson, 25, was also extended a PTO last September but was released when Kevin Lankinen was acquired in free agency to help shore up the net with Thatcher Demko on the injury mend.

This year, it’s about the top-six mix up front in place and likely the third line unless a centre arrives. I like Elias Pettersson between Evander Kane and Brock Boeser, and Filip Chytil working with Jake DeBrusk and Conor Garland. That leaves Teddy Blueger or Raty between O’Connor and Kiefer Sherwood for a grind-and-go alignment.

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Fourth-line wingers should be Nils Hoglander, who needs to find his game, and Karlsson. That leaves a fight for what is right for the 13th forward, which is a slippery slope. Is Lekkerimaki better off growing his game in the AHL after getting a long preseason look? Is Sasson the extra forward here, or do you go the Bains route, even though he needs to clear waivers for re-assignment?

Plenty is at play and, again, there is not really room for a PTO unless it’s another let’s-push-them mantra. Which brings us back to Foote.

Last September at camp, he was the close confidant to bench boss Rick Tocchet. The Canucks believed they had their back end in order, and the premise was to push and do more off the rush. But they struggled to generate consistency, gave up countless odd-man rushes and defended poorly. So, what’s the plan this year?

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Is it an up-tempo attack for the top two lines and dump-and-chase for the bottom two? With a quick camp and six preseason games to figure that out, the importance of having the roster set well before the season opener is vital. And key veterans need to play more than just a couple of preseason games.

“There’s a reason why we put a lot of thought into drills,” Tocchet stressed last September. “The plan from Day 1 of camp and into October is push the pace. If there’s a play to be made, make it. If there’s no play, make sure you don’t make a mistake. And the guys understand that.

“We want to be a little bit more risky, but not be a high-risk team. We just have to find that sweet spot.”

With the 23rd-ranked offence last season, it’s Job 1 for Foote so the Canucks can gain a fast footing.

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‘I’m willing to chew threw rope to be here’

The PTO play has worked to a degree with grinding wingers Alex Chiasson and Jack Skille making respective impressions. However, the impact is often contained to just one season.

Chiasson, 31, made most of a one-year deal for the 2021-22 season. He had 13 goals and 24 points in 67 games, and was a net-front presence on the power play, but the Canucks still missed the playoffs. Chiasson then signed with the Detroit Red Wings organization and was released from a PTO in 2024.

Skille, 29, may have authored the best PTO quote when he arrived full of vim and vigour in 2016. Lumped into a tryout triumvirate with James Sheppard, 28, and Tuomo Ruutu, 33, he didn’t lack bravado.

“I’m willing to chew through rope to be here,” he told Postmedia. “If I prove I’m on a mission and ready to go, I think I should turn some heads. When you look back as a young guy, you always have time and if you don’t make the playoffs, there’s always next year. That’s not the case. I’ve seen how hard it is.”

Skille landed a one-year deal and had five goals in 55 games before bolting to Minsk Dynamo of the KHL.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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