Lekkerimaki’s Rise Offers Hope as Canucks Navigate Rebuild Growing Pains

Rebuilding an NHL roster is never easy, and the Vancouver Canucks knew the process would be painful.

As the league’s last-place team approaches the quarter-mark of the season, the growing pains are evident: a confidence-shattering 10-game losing streak, defensive struggles, a porous penalty kill, and a search for consistency.

“It’s not just going to happen,” veteran Brendan Gallagher told Postmedia. “For lack of a better phrase, you have to go through shit before it gets better. We’re going through a tough time, but it’s rewarding if you can come through it as a group. A lot of the young players will understand that and you learn a lot about your teammates.”

Gallagher speaks from experience. The grinding winger endured a rebuild with the Montreal Canadiens, who finished dead last in 2021-22 and required three seasons of restructuring before returning to the playoffs.

These Canucks have shown a willingness to improve and refuse to lose their way as losses mount.

“It’s a long, arduous process, but to see the small growth from day to day and continue to teach and plug away is demanding of the guys and coaching staff to stay with it,” head coach Manny Malhotra said. “The players have bought in to that mindset and have done a good job.”

That belief is a positive takeaway; when a team trusts the process, results often follow.

Here is an assessment of where things stand:

THE VERY GOOD

1. Jonathan Lekkerimaki: The winger could have stumbled out of the gate after being shut down in February with right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. Would it affect the velocity and accuracy of his shot? Would it keep him from finding the forecheck engagement needed to win board battles and set up goals?

Lekkerimaki, 22, responded with pace and presence, amassing 13 points (6-7) in his first 17 games to rank among the league’s top under-23 players. He is also on pace for 30 goals. The confidence boost may have started when general manager Ryan Johnson told Lekkerimaki before training camp to find a place to live in Vancouver, not Abbotsford.

“I don’t think I’ve surprised myself, it was just getting opportunities,” said the soft-spoken Lekkerimaki. “I played consistently a few games and needed that engagement to get into games more. The confidence is good.”

“He understands more what it means to have body position on guys and just being heavier on his stick,” Malhotra added. “He’s not the biggest guy, and he’s not going to blow anybody up, but it’s how he protects pucks and gets on the right side of battles.”

2. Elias Pettersson: The hope was that a new hockey operations group, less drama, and more personal resolve would spark a resurgence. The slick centre has responded with a team-leading 18 points (4-14) in 17 games, though he has yet to score at even strength. Still, much of his play is a throwback to his dominant days.

There is improved pace pushing through zones, more instinctual play, and a willingness to hang onto pucks rather than hesitate or overthink. He is threading perfect passes to set up scoring chances. Pettersson also leads club forwards in shot blocks (24) and ranks second in hits (36)—a clear sign of commitment.

3. Leevi Merilainen: From a waiver-wire claim to taking over the net, the Finnish goaltender gives the Canucks a chance to win. It is a difficult task when his team surrenders a league-high 31.4 shots per game and the most goals at 4.53 per outing, while the penalty kill operates at a second-worst 63.2 per cent.

Those factors have contributed to a bloated 3.31 goals-against average and .897 save percentage, but the cool and calm Merilainen, 24, doesn’t get rattled. He tracks pucks smartly through traffic, makes sharp, quick movements to seal the short side, and possesses a reliable glove hand.

4. Filip Hronek: The defenceman welcomes tough assignments and mentors young blueliners. His leadership is augmented by piling up minutes and points, and that is commendable. Hronek, 26, is an obvious trade chip, but he wants to be part of growing this club. His 12 points (1-11) through 17 games rank 13th among all defencemen, and his 25:54 of average ice time is eighth in the league.

“We don’t ask Fil to be dynamic and carry the team, but his continued consistent play is a bonus for us. And leadership provides consistency of breakout passes and making plays down low,” Malhotra said.

5. Open and honest: Credit the new hockey operations department for understanding the vital link between media, players, head coach, and management by improving availability and one-on-one access. Those connections result in better coverage.

THE SORT OF GOOD

1. Veteran leadership: Luke Schenn, Brendan Gallagher, and Jamie Oleksiak understand the assignment. They are voices of reason who help young players survive the rebuild grind and grow their games. If the trio adds a measure of offence or provides a strong presence in other areas, all the better.

However, all three have been healthy scratches at times—some by design or necessity to develop younger defencemen. Gallagher, 34, has just two assists in 14 games and is essentially a fourth-liner. Oleksiak, 33, has struggled with positioning, and the speed of today’s game has challenged Schenn, 37.

THE VERY TROUBLING

1. Kevin Lankinen: What happened to the affable 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympic competitor? Perhaps it is a carryover from last season and the Canucks’ plummet to the bottom of the standings. Lankinen’s 3.70 GAA and .875 save percentage last year have ballooned to a 6.03 GAA and .808 percentage this season. Poor defending hasn’t helped, but neither has his trademark battle level. It remains perplexing.

2. Penalty killing: It was a league-worst 71.5 per cent last season and sits second-worst this campaign at 63.2 per cent. Part of the decline is the departure of effective killers Teddy Blueger, Kiefer Sherwood, and Conor Garland. The rest is players still learning the ropes.

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