The Search For A Second Pair Defenseman Has Never Been More Urgent For the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin has already announced he is shopping for a defenseman, but with their recent blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers, their speed further exposed their issues, and a search for an upgrade is urgent if they want to compete against the best teams.
When you look at the Canucks defense at face value, you think that that they have a pretty solid group. I mean, they have the 48-point Filip Hronek playing alongside reigning Norris Trophy Winner and Captain Quinn Hughes. Their third pair features young prospect Erik Brannstrom and big shut down Vincent Desharnais, who have been improving ever since being slotted together, but then, you have Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy on the 2nd paining...
Tyler Myers & Carson Soucy Struggles call for a change
In the 13 games that featured Soucy and Myers, there have been only 4 separate occasions where the opposing team did not completely outshoot and out chance them. To make matters worse, 3 out of the 4 of those came on their recent road trip when they played against "bottom feeder" teams such as the Anaheim Ducks (5-7-2) and the San Jose Sharks (5-9-2).
As the second pair, they are not asked to be offensive wizards, but to be solid all-around. Their job is too move the puck effectively, make minimal mistakes and shut down other teams, but, as it shows, they are doing the exact opposite to this.
With the recent comments made by Patrik Allvin about his desire and efforts to acquire a d-man to fix these issues, the cap-space that he has generated through tricky moves, indicated that a big move is just around the corner.
As it stands right now, Soucy and Myers are just not cutting it, they are always on their backfoot, chasing the game instead of letting it come to them, and the time to make a move is now.
