Are board battles and wall work enough? Or are their expectations of offense, too?
You've heard the buzzwords. Repeatedly.
Structure. Systems. Wall Work. Board Battles. All are tenets of Rick Tocchet's coaching philosophy -- and especially so for role players. But in the modern National Hockey League, is it enough for depth forwards to simply grind for 30 to 45 seconds at a time and get off the ice? Or as the Vancouver Canucks attempt to improve as an organization do they need more from players lower in the line-up?
As the Canucks get down in roster numbers ahead of next week's regular season opener, it's becoming clearer what Tocchet is thinking about the way he plans to deploy his forwards. And based on preseason action and in practices, it looks very much like the Canucks will open the year with a fourth line of newcomer Teddy Blueger between Nils Aman and Jack Studnicka.
"That line has brought a little bit of an identity," Tocchet explained after practice Tuesday at UBC. "They've done a nice job in a checking role. Teddy Blueger has had a couple of really intelligent hockey games. I think if we get Ams (Aman) stronger on the puck and with his speed and I think Studs (Studnicka) has done a nice job and get him a little stronger, I think that could be a really good line."
For too long now, it has felt the Canucks fourth line has been a revolving door of inter-changable parts -- few, if any, who actually moved the meter outside of some penalty killing utility. You know the names: Jay Beagle, Tim Schaller, Tyler Motte, Juho Lammikko, Matthew Highmore, Curtis Lazar. All of them hustled, but far too often, spent the bulk of their even-strength shifts hemmed in their own zone.
The Canucks need to win some battles at the fringes and have players lower in the line-up outplay their counterparts on the other side. That means spending less time defending and more time in the offensive zone.
"Let's face it, we need some scoring," Tocchet said. "We've got to get to the net more. There are attributes of some of our players that have to get better. We need some more goal scoring from certain people, it can't just be two or three guys. That's a challenge. But as you're building that up, you can't get scored against and you can't be a liability. That's the key. Right now, if you're not scoring goals you better be neutral and you better wear the other teams down. If you're not scoring and you're getting scored against every night, then you're in trouble. That's what it really comes down to."
The addition of Blueger as a free agent should help. Originally when signed on July 1st, it looked like he might be miscast as the team's third line centre. But the addition of Pius Suter in August should allow Blueger to be a solid addition to the Canucks fourth line.
However, the 29-year-old Latvian has never reached double-digits in goal-scoring in an NHL season. And both Aman and Studnicka were limited to four goals for the Canucks last season. They won't be expected to light up the scoreboard, but it would benefit the hockey club greatly if on some nights, the fourth line found a way to contribute offensively.
For that to happen, Tocchet knows that line needs to find a way to gain control of the puck and not get stuck defending for long stretches.
"Right now, I like the way those guys have been playing without the puck," the coach said. "I'd like a little more puck possession; maybe a little more offense from certain guys. But the one good thing is when we don't have the puck is they've stayed in structure and the goalies are going to make the saves. But we can't do rope-a-dope all year. You need to get to the net, you need to hit the net. We miss the net a lot. Those are the attributes of scoring goals. But in the meantime, the one thing I do like that they're doing is their play without the puck and the structure. Now they have to hone their games on the offensive part."
That could very well be a work in progress that takes much of the season. With the Canucks opening with a pair of games against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, Rick Tocchet's knows his checking forwards will be tested right off the bat.
It's foolish to think that this iteration of the Canucks fourth line will be game breakers. But if all goes well, on some nights perhaps those three can be game changers.