Mike Reilly hit waivers this morning, and the last-place Canucks are the team Taj wants to see put in a claim.
Vancouver lost its seventh straight Friday night, 5-1 to the Rangers. The Canucks sit at 3-17-1 with 95 goals against, the worst mark in the league standings column that matters most right now.
Taj didn't hold back on his idea, and he laid it out with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
He said Reilly is the ideal type of player for Vancouver, suggesting the club feed him top-four minutes and flip him at the deadline. He also joked that a veteran might at least help them start losing 4-1 instead of 5-1.
-
The joke lands because the numbers are so ugly. Vancouver is 1-9-0 at home and 2-8-1 on the road, so there is no building to hide in.
The Hurricanes' decision to waive Mike Reilly came as Jordan Staal came off injured reserve, which means this is a roster squeeze and not a verdict on the player. He's now available to all 31 teams.
Reilly is 33, a right-handed shot from Chicago, 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. He has 2 assists and a +4 rating through 8 games this season, and 135 points in 468 NHL games over his career.
Would Mike Reilly actually fix the Canucks blue line?
No, and nobody should pretend he would. A defenseman on a minimum-type deal, with a cap hit under $1 million, can eat minutes and tidy up a pair. He can't turn a team allowing this many goals into a contender.
But as a pure risk-reward play, it's hard to argue against it. The price is a waiver claim, and Reilly is on an expiring deal, so Vancouver could flip him or let him walk without any long-term damage.
Zeev Buium logged 24:38 against the Rangers and finished a -1 with an assist. Those are heavy minutes for a young blueliner on a team in free fall, and a steadier veteran next to him would ease some of that load.
We think the Canucks should put in the claim. A bad team that is 32nd of 32 has plenty of ice time to hand out, and Reilly costs nothing but a roster spot.
Vancouver, coached by Manny Malhotra, plays at Vegas on Sunday. Reilly's destination, if any team claims him, could be known well before then. The Hurricanes, for their part, have Jordan Staal back in the lineup for the Global Series game against Seattle in Helsinki.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
What should the Canucks do about their blue line?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Waivers today: Veteran center could quickly draw interest from several teams around the league: Kyle MacLean
