Article content continued

He scored 20 even-strength goals and was top 15 in the league in even-strength goals per hour played.

His reward?

The Canucks went all in on Loui Eriksson, mostly because they assumed he’d be a great fit with the Sedins. It hasn’t happened yet.

Hansen, of course, took it all like a champ.

And just three weeks into the season, the Canucks are aching for goals and hoping they will generate some again with Hansen back on the top line.

A few years ago, all of this could have freaked Hansen out. Not anymore.

“I would have been a little bit overwhelmed a couple of years ago,” Hansen admitted. “You play with them, you have to score. I’m not saying all of (the team’s) offence hinges on them but we rely on them to produce.

“If they don’t produce when you’re with them, you’re the odd man out.”

Hansen is calmer now, and better. He did help produce a goal with the Sedins against Washington Saturday. It wasn’t enough, but it was a step in the right direction for a team that was shut out in two consecutive games.

The Sedins have been pretty unlucky to start this season, and the underlying data indicates there hasn’t yet been a dropoff from last year.

The problem, however, is that the Canucks need the Sedins to be better than last year if they really are going to compete for the playoffs.

As much as the story has been Eriksson’s scoring slump, the more alarming trend is how Hansen played with Brandon Sutter.

Despite his four points, it hasn’t been good. In eight games with Sutter, Hansen had three without a shot. His even-strength shots-per-60-minutes with Sutter are half what they were last year, and last among the Canucks forwards.