Breakouts have long been a nightmare for the Vancouver Canucks.



The blueline’s clunky skating has made exits slow and predictable, while subpar passing and questionable decision making have only compounded the issue.



Last year, the backend finished with a 30.3 percent possession exit rate in Corey Sznajder’s sample — finishing second-worst in the NHL.



It’s a massive problem considering the researched two-way implications of breakouts. Earlier this year, Alex Novet presented a study showing that 24 percent of five-on-five goals came after the opposition had possession but failed to exit the defensive zone. Expand the criteria to also include clearances that resulted in the attacking team regaining the zone immediately, and the figure jumps to an astounding 43 percent.



Meanwhile, on an individual level, CJ Turtoro’s research found that possession exit percent is a better predictor of future goal differential(GF%) for...