What does the Canucks’ projected lineup look like post NHL free agency?

While the rest of the Vancouver Canucks‘ offseason is shaping up to be a big game of “will they, won’t they?” when it comes to adding a second line centre, the club currently has a lineup we can look at and start to draw some conclusions from.

Here is our first look at the Canucks’ lineup post free agency. Note, these line combinations are just what we have on paper. You can put whoever you want wherever you want, we won’t argue with you!

Forward lines

Evander Kane – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk – Filip Chytil – Conor Garland
Dakota Joshua – Aatu Räty – Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Höglander – Teddy Blueger – Drew O’Connor

The Canucks have some options when it comes to their wingers. Two seasons ago, Conor Garland began the year at the first line wing position with Elias Pettersson. The two even connected on a sweet-looking goal on opening night. Last season, Garland spent some time with Pettersson as well. With the Canucks having committed long term to Garland, don’t be surprised to see him get plenty of top six opportunities next season.

We have Kane and Boeser listed as Pettersson’s wingers because rumour has it that Pettersson is very excited to play with Kane. It will be interesting to see how well those two mesh together, and Brock Boeser has shown flashes of chemistry with Pettersson in the past.

In the bottom six, the wingers are almost interchangeable and the possibilities are seemingly endless. Could Calder Cup playoff standout Linus Karlsson usurp someone’s spot in the lineup? Absolutely he could. And who could forget prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who put together a strong rookie season in the AHL and even showed flashes at the NHL level? Could Dakota Joshua bounce back enough to force his way into the top six on Conor Garland’s opposite wing, where the two have had success in the past? There’s going to be plenty of options and possibilities for the Canucks on the wings as it stands.

Defence pairs

Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort – Elias Pettersson/Tom Willander/Victor Mancini/Pierre-Olivier Joseph

Two big questions face the defence pairings as it stands. The first: is this the year the Canucks split up Hughes and Hronek? It feels like we have this conversation almost every year and that the answer is almost always “no”.

The more interesting question comes on the third pair with all of the options the Canucks have. And as you can see by the list of names, those options almost all come in the form of young and promising defence prospects.

Who will get the job out of camp? Who has the inside track right now? It would seem Elias Pettersson’s exclusion from the AHL playoffs due to the club feeling he’s a full time NHLer would make him the early favourite for that spot right now. But don’t count out Victor Mancini or Tom Willander, either.

Do you like the Canucks’ lineup as it currently stands? Would you like to see them do more before the season begins? If so, what?