Canucks really lost Pius Suter this season – Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks
Shortly after Filip Chytil was acquired from the New York Rangers in the JT Miller trade, he went down with a concussion and ended up missing the entire season. After that, Elias Pettersson was also injured, leaving Vancouver Canucks with Pius Suter, Aatu Rat, Teddy Blueger and Max Sasson as their four centers. By default, Suter became a top-line center and thrived in the role, often playing more than 20 minutes a night in all situations, while being a key player in both the offensive and defensive positions.
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Suter finished the season with a career-high 25 goals and 46 points, and as a result, the Canucks felt the Swiss army knife wasn’t good enough to re-sign in the offseason. With Lowball offers reportedly sent his way by the Canucks Front Office, he decided to take his versatility and two-way game to St. Louis Blues.
Suter’s 2024-25 season doesn’t seem like a flash in the pan
A lucrative contract re-signing would be a gamble after his best season on the board. While he is versatile, scoring 14 or 15 goals per season with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21, no one is confused to come to the Top-Sindion Center worth $4.125). Everyone wondered if if it was 2024-25 it was a flash in the pan, it strengthened the chance in the top-six period and extended the ice time in the whole situation. After a massive sample size of four seasons of limited production, there had to be some doubt that he would do it again.
Yes, the 19-game hitting streak is the 2025-26 season, and Suter seems to be proving otherwise. While his Ice time has slowed back down to his professional form, he is still producing at a high level, along with his usual composure. He is tied for second on the Blues with five goals, and tied for fourth with 10 points. He is its top method in penalty killing, leading in Shorthanded Ice Time with a ratio of 1: 24. Basically, he does everything he does last time, in the blue value instead of ORCA, something that I really am the general manager Patrik Allvin regrets right now.
Canucks lost puter in pk
Last season, the Canucks’ Petomuly Kill was one of their strengths, finishing third in the NHL with 82.6 percent. The Duo that led the way in shorthanded Ice Time’s in Suter with 185: 24 (2: 2: 5: 50 per Game) and 172: 50 (2: 2:06 per game), respectively. This season, they’ve finished last at 66.1 percent, a drop of 16.5 percentage points. While the two players were not making effective penalty kills, the fact that Blueger played two games with 5:45 in the PK and suter is no longer on the list, and the Canucks are tired in the games under 19 of the season, it is no longer easy.
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Suter and Blueter are one of last season’s penalty killers, and the Canucks’ management should have considered that when deciding whether to bring them in or not. Not having him as an option this season really hurt his PK and it could be that they miss the playoffs. Suter’s lethal skills alone should have been worth the money he received in free agency.
The canucks could really use a suter in the top 6 right now
Before signing David KAMPF to a one-year contract on Saturday, the Canucks center depth includes Pettersson, Lukas Reichel (who is not a natural center), rator, and sasson. With Blueger and Chytil injured, it was one of the youngest teams in the NHL. While Kampf will help on the floor – six with a penalty kill, he’s not something specific and is likely to move the needle well.
Even if Suter was still on the roster, the Canucks may have signed Kampf anyway, but the top six looked much better. Suter continues to produce as a top-six forward in St. Louis. Louis and playing the role of a second line center, there is an allvin that has been wanted on the trade market all along. This thing, he had his understanding before hitting the Suter Agent Market on July 1.
While President Jim Rutherford revealed in a recent interview that he wanted to return, the name and the money were apparently not enough to stop him from turning down the Blues’ offer. He pointed “inappropriately to the term,” saying that they were willing to go beyond the two years he entered St. Louis, but that “didn’t pan out.”
It didn’t matter if Allvin and Rutherford had to make him a priority before the other team could offer anything. They had control of the negotiation process before July 1, but it seems that they did not accept that he was useful enough to really draw and do something. So far this season, that has turned out to be a big misstep.
Canucks Hope Kampf can help fill Suter’s shoes
As mentioned, the camp should help to fill the void suter on the left in PK and in defense, but not in goals and in the Department of points. His career high is 11 goals, set in 2021-22, and the only one in double figures. His production compared to blueger numbers – low. Other than that, though, Kampf is excellent as Suter, a Swiss army knife of good guys with a hockey IQ and work ethic. Who knows, he may surprise us and do better than we think.
However, that doesn’t negate the fact that the Canucks make a mistake and can re-sign. With him in the lineup – even with all the injuries – he’s probably over .500, given his ability to kill penalties and generate offense. The painful penalty kill has been the reason for many losses this season already, and the Canucks underestimated how important he was, not only on the PK, but to the rest of the team.
