Vancouver Canucks could level up on defense in the near future

Still, without a firm timeline for his return, the Vancouver Canucks will likely be getting defenseman Carson Soucy back very shortly, as he has finally begun skating again after suffering a fractured leg in November (article link). Factoring in the recent acquisition of Nikita Zadorov, once their defensive core becomes completely healthy, there is a very reasonable argument to be made that Vancouver may have the best defensive core in the league.

Joining the organization this past summer as an unrestricted free agent, Soucy would sign a three-year, $9.75M contract after spending the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken organization. Throughout his two years in Seattle, Soucy would skate in 142 regular-season games, scoring 13 goals and 37 points, becoming a very valuable two-way defenseman for the Kraken.

Now in Vancouver, Soucy skated in 13 games before his injury, scoring two goals and five points, averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time per night. Without any real reason to carry eight defensemen on the active roster, Soucy’s return will likely spell the end of either Mark Friedman or Noah Juulsen’s time in the NHL.

Other notes:

• Earlier Saturday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reported that forward Alexander Barabanov will be out of the lineup Saturday night with an illness. Already missing over a month of the season with a finger injury, Barabanov has been quite good upon his return on Dec. 3rd, scoring one goal and four assists in eight games for the San Jose Sharks.
• According to the AHL transactions log, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. It will mark the 10th time already this season that Moverare has been recalled by the Kings, scoring zero points in four games at the NHL this year.