Nov 23, 2015
Vancouver: Canucks perfectly average in first quarter
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button assigns his letter grades for the Vancouver Canucks at the one-quarter mark of the NHL season. At 8-8-6, the Canucks are a clear choice for a C grade.
By Craig Button
The rebuilding-on-the-go Vancouver Canucks have learned turnabout is fair play in the NHL. After winning 22 of 31 one-goal games last season — the NHL’s second-best winning percentage in such games — the Canucks have won just two of 14 this season, representing the worst winning percentage.
The bright side is that the Canucks earned points in seven of those games. The dark side is that in seven of those games, they lost points. At 8-8-6, the Canucks are a clear choice for a C grade.
Below are the Canucks’ individual player grades.
Three factors were considered in assigning grades: performance, results and expectations, as framed by age, previous performance and cap hit/contract average annual value (AAV). Skaters must have appeared in a minimum of 10 games and goalies, five, to be graded.
Spotlight Player Grade: Ryan Miller got off to a sensational start, posting a 1.21 GAA and .955 save percentage in his first four decisions. Those are unsustainable numbers, but dropping to 2.93 GAA and .898 save percentage over his next 14 starts was not part of the plan. He has had more games with a save percentage below .900 – eight – than above – five – and one at exactly .900, the goalie Mendoza Line.
No goalie has played more – 18 games and more than 1,000 minutes - so fatigue may be a factor. Nonetheless, the expectation is that a $6-million man delivers at a higher than C-minus level.
Editor’s Note: Follow TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button at @CraigJButton and join the discussion on his Interim Report Cards.
Grading System
A Excellent
B Very Good
C Satisfactory
D Poor
F Failing
Inc. Incomplete
Canucks' Grades By Player
| Goalies | Grade | Age | AAV | W | L | OT | Sv% |
| Ryan Miller | C- | 35 | $6.0 m | 6 | 7 | 5 | 0.911 |
| Jacob Markstrom | Inc. | 25 | $1.6 m | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.903 |
| Defencemen | Grade | Age | AAV | GP | G | P | +/- |
| Alex Edler | B | 29 | $5.0 m | 21 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| Ben Hutton | B- | 22 | $896 k | 20 | 0 | 8 | -6 |
| Matt Bartkowski | B- | 27 | $1.8 m | 21 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| Chris Tanev | B- | 25 | $4.5 m | 21 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Luca Sbisa | C+ | 25 | $3.6 m | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Dan Hamhuis | C | 32 | $4.5 m | 19 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Yannick Weber | D | 27 | $1.5 m | 15 | 0 | 3 | -7 |
| Forwards | Grade | Age | AAV | GP | G | P | +/- |
| Daniel Sedin | A | 35 | $7.0 m | 22 | 10 | 23 | 5 |
| Henrik Sedin | A- | 35 | $7.0 m | 22 | 7 | 21 | 7 |
| Jared McCann | B+ | 19 | $894 k | 20 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| Jannik Hansen | B | 29 | $2.5 m | 22 | 6 | 13 | 10 |
| Brandon Sutter | B- | 26 | $3.3 m | 16 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Brandon Prust | C+ | 31 | $2.5 m | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Alex Burrows | C | 34 | $4.5 m | 21 | 5 | 11 | -2 |
| Radim Vrbata | C | 34 | $5.0 m | 20 | 4 | 9 | -12 |
| Derek Dorsett | C | 28 | $2.7 m | 22 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| Adam Cracknell | C | 30 | $575 k | 16 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Jake Virtanen | C | 19 | $894 k | 17 | 1 | 4 | -2 |
| Chris Higgins | C | 32 | $2.5 m | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Bo Horvat | C- | 20 | $894 k | 22 | 2 | 8 | -10 |
| Sven Baertschi | C- | 23 | $900 k | 19 | 2 | 7 | -1 |