With the Vancouver Canucks tail-spinning towards the bottom of the NHL’s standings (last night notwithstanding) Canucks Army has learned from a well-placed source that the organization has, after months of decisions to the contrary, decided to send forwards Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann to their respective Canadian Hockey League teams to join them for the playoffs.

The Canucks kept both McCann and Virtanen up with the team throughout the year, forgoing the cutoffs for burning a year on their entry-level contracts (Game 10) and towards Unrestricted Free Agency (Game 40). Both management and the coaching staff believed that the teenagers would both gain more valuable experience by being up in the NHL, and that the Canucks would be a better team for having them.

Whether their decisions were the correct ones has been a constant debate. McCann started the season off strong, but hasn’t had a multi-point game October 27th and has just five points in calendar-year 2016. He’ll finish his season with 16 points in 65 games, in which he played an average of 12:27 per game. Virtanen has had flashes where he’s looked like the top-six power forward he’s projected to be in the long run, but has just as many games where his presence is minimal if not detrimental. The timing of this decision perhaps works out better for him than anyone else; Virtanen is in the midst of serving a two-game suspension.

McCann will head back to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, with whom he had 81 points in 56 games last season. Virtanen, on the other hand, will head to the Calgary Hitmen; he had 52 points in 50 games with them last season, the hope is that he’ll play like the prospect who scored 45 goals in 2013/14.

By sending the two back now, it will allow them to escape the post-season media frenzy and spend a few weeks getting their offensive groove back. While most players would head to their AHL affiliates, they’re both a year too young to that sort of eligibility.

Leaving now guarantees them action as well; the Greyhounds are currently up 3-1 in their first-round series against Sarnia, Calgary are in a bit of a tougher situation; they’re down 2-1 against Red Deer, but is guaranteed a game so long as he reports by Saturday night. It might be a little unfair to those who will come out of the lineup to squeeze them in, but players of this calibre should help the clubs go even further than they were expected to.

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Needless to say, Canucks fans would be wise to hope for a Hitmen/Greyhounds Memorial Cup Final. As for exact dates, it sounds like McCann will play tomorrow’s game while the still-suspended Virtanen will make his way sooner; no word yet on who takes their place in the lineup.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to say that this is the wrong decision. While it seems a little foolish to have waited until April to make this move, at least these two will get some meaningful hockey in before the season ends.





