Rick Tocchet takes a shot at Ilya Mikheyev after he scratched him

Nils Hoglander returns to the Canucks' starting 20, while Vasily Podkolzin will step onto the Canucks' ice for the first time in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. One of the Canucks' hottest topics since the playoffs started has been Elias Pettersson's play.

The Swede hasn't been as productive as the team would've needed him to be, and during today's pre-game interview, the journalist asked the Canucks' pilot if he felt like he needed to help him with better linemates, and the response said it all.

Pettersson spent most of this season playing with Ilya Mikheyev, a $4.5M winger paid to play hard and score goals. Yet, he hasn't found his way to the scoring sheet in 10 playoff games. Tocchet openly stated that he felt he needed to give Petey better linemates if he intended to see him succeed:

During his first season as a Canuck, the Russian registered 13 goals and 28 points in 46 games. His second season exposed his lack of offensive flair since, even though he played the majority of the season on the same line as Elias Pettersson, he only managed 11 goals and 31 points through 78 games.

As the Canucks head into the 2024 post-season, with lots of pending free agents, they could use some more money to spend. Should they be considering the idea of buying out the remainder of Mikheyev's contract? He has two more years on his deal carrying a $4.5M cap hit.