The loss of injured winger Tyler Motte hurts Vancouver a lot

Ailing, sidelined winger has been a valuable, high-energy contributor to the club

Tyler Motte is accustomed to being the hammer that drives the nail.

However, a high hit that the Vancouver Canucks' winger absorbed April 29 in Toronto is having a lasting effect on the speedy and feisty fourthliner. He will miss training camp and his undisclosed injury will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

Motte was sidelined for the final 12 games of the compacted 2020-21 National Hockey League season after Maple Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren followed up his pass at the offensive blue line by putting a shoulder into the chin of the charging winger near the end of the second period.

Motte was sent sprawling, hit the ice hard, appearing dazed by the impact and didn't return.

Nearly five months later, you're left to wonder if he suffered a concussion, shoulder or neck injury from the whiplash effect of the blow. You also wonder if he tried to rehab the ailment, had a procedure or may need one, or if time is the ultimate healer.

Regardless, the setback is significant for the Canucks.

Motte packs gritty intangibles into a small frame that have a big effect, but that willingness promotes injury from shot blocks and aggressive forechecking. He was limited to 24 games last season by two injuries and missed 17 games with an ankle injury in a Feb.6 sideboards collision in Toronto with Leafs winger William Nylander, and had lingering effects of contracting the coronavirus.

The fearless fourth-liner still led the club in hits (100) and was tied for second in blocks among forwards (28). It's why Motte was named the club's unsung hero for his presence, penalty-kill effectiveness and strength on the puck with just five giveaways.

That's hard to replace. Motte, 26, is in the final year of a two-year, US$2.45-million extension.

In the interim, the Canucks could shuffle their fourth-line formation or go looking elsewhere for an affordable and veteran winger as insurance in case Motte's absence is prolonged.

Brandon Sutter could be slotted between Matthew Highmore on left wing and there are right-side options in Zack MacEwen and rookie Will Lockwood, but to get off to a fast start on a six-game road trip to open the regular season, coach Travis Green may want a more-veteran presence and a penalty-kill specialist.

Motte worked well with Sutter, but Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel were traded to the Arizona Coyotes in the off-season. And the Canucks prefer Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller to concentrate on offence and not killing penalties.

Winger Phillip Di Giuseppe, 27, was signed in the off-season to a one-year, two-way deal that pays the league minimum of US$750,000 in the NHL. He has logged 201 career games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators and New York Rangers. Di Giuseppe has never scored more than seven goals in an NHL season, but had 14 goals in 43 games in the 2019-20 American Hockey League season with the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The Canucks also signed a Motte clone in feisty forward Sheldon Dries, 27, who's also on a one-year, two-way deal at US$750,000 in the NHL. He has killed penalties and logged 48 career games with the Colorado Avalanche. Nic Petan, 26, is on a similar oneyear, two-way contract and has played 136 NHL games, split between the Winnipeg Jets and the Maple Leafs.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning is also pondering a professional tryout invite to camp and has talked to a number of players. On Wednesday, the Arizona Coyotes offered a PTO to winger Alex Galchenyuk, the Detroit Red Wings did likewise with Bobby Ryan and the New York Islanders with Erik Gustafsson. It brought the league total to 23 invites.

The loss of Motte is critical because of how the Canucks are now structured and their mandate to return to the playoffs. As good as Motte has been in the regular season to do the grunt work and chip in occasionally — he had nine goals in 2018-19 — he's even better in the post-season.

In the 2020 playoff bubble at Edmonton, he had consecutive two-goal games to help eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues from title contention in an opening-round matchup. He also logged a career-high 24:17 in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3 of that series, in which he had four shots, seven hits, four blocked shots, three giveaways and two takeaways.

In the heat of that battle, Green responded to a query about Motte's effectiveness and didn't hold back.

“At times, I've been asked why he's in the lineup but, man, this guy is an important part of our team,” he started. “He goes to a lot of the hard areas — especially against a team like St. Louis — because you have to fight for space and it's not just about the PK with him.

“He does a lot of things 5-on-5 that go unnoticed and really helps relieve and create pressure on the other team. In playoff hockey every year, you need guys to provide certain parts of the game and he does that.”

OVERTIME — Elias Pettersson has reportedly joined teammate Quinn Hughes in Michigan where the restricted free agents have been skating and work out options as they await contract extension solutions.