Jim Benning’s big off-season signing this year was Loui Eriksson, a player he previously had a hand in acquiring when he worked for the Boston Bruins. Eriksson was the key piece that went to the Bruins in the Tyler Seguin trade and he played three solid seasons in Boston, while Seguin turned into one of the best players in the NHL.
Eriksson’s best season with the Bruins was his last one, as he scored 30 goals and put up 63 points in 82 games. With his experience playing with the Sedins in international competition, it was expected that he would help the Canucks in the goalscoring department, something they desperately needed after setting a franchise record for fewest goals in a non-lockout season.
So far, it hasn’t worked out that way. Nine games into the season, Eriksson has zero goals and has found himself not only off the top line, but off the first power play unit. The only goal he’s scored this year was into his own net. Meanwhile, the Canucks are the lowest scoring team in the league, averaging just 1.78 goals per game, on pace for just 145 goals this season.
It’s a little early to be too concerned about Eriksson, but he is signed for six years and 36 million dollars. While Eriksson is a versatile, two-way player who can contribute even when he’s not scoring, at some point he has to score.
Watching Eriksson play, you might wonder just how he managed to score 30 goals last season. So, let’s take a quick look at all 30 goals to see how he scored them and how the Canucks can best put him in a position to succeed this season.
Here are all 30 goals in a convenient, sub-4 minute package, complete with a super-weird music choice of Stories’ cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie,” a song about an interracial couple, which is definitely the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Loui Eriksson. His 30 goals have also been if you care to see some more detail.
Before getting into the video, though, let’s break down his goals: 10 of them came on the power play, where Eriksson was on the top unit. 2 came shorthanded. That means 18 of his goals came at even-strength. None of his goals were into an empty net, so he didn’t pad his stats that way.
Eriksson also had an above average year by shooting percentage at 16.3%, 19th highest among NHL forwards with at least 40 games played last season. That alone is enough to suggest he would have trouble replicating his 30-goal season this year, but he does have a career shooting percentage of 13.8%, so his regression shouldn’t be too significant.
Looking at his goals on the video, it’s striking how many are scored from right on top of, or just to the side of the crease. By my count, 18 of his goals are scored from the area immediately around the crease, not counting breakaways. Many of those are on the power play, where he served as the net-front presence and tipped pucks in, jammed in rebounds, or tucked pucks in on the backdoor.
Five of his goals came on breakaways, with a tendency to go 5-hole whether he was shooting or deking. Four of his goals I would classify as one-timers, with a couple of those coming off odd-man rushes. Just two of his goals came off wrist shots, not counting two wrist shots on breakaways.
That leaves just one other goal and it was the lone goal that could be counted as lucky, a centring pass that went in off a defender’s skate.
With that said, the type of goals that Eriksson scored most depend on a fair amount of luck as well. Sometimes a tip or deflection from on top of the crease can send the puck just past a goaltender; other times it sends the puck directly into the goaltender or just wide. Sometimes that rebound is available to jam in; other times, the rebound skitters into the corner or gets swallowed up by the goaltender.
In any case, it’s immediately clear where Eriksson’s strengths are as a goalscorer: around the crease. Whether on the power play or at even-strength, Eriksson does best when he goes hard to the net and stays there.
That raises the question of whether he is the best fit for the Sedins at even-strength. At one time, all the Sedins needed was a finisher around the net, but as they’ve aged, they have developed a need for someone to get in on the forecheck, retrieve pucks, and participate in the cycle. That makes Jannik Hansen the ideal fit at this time.
Neither does it seem like Eriksson is best-suited for playing with Brandon Sutter, whose offensive contributions mostly come off the rush. Sutter isn’t a great playmaker and struggles to hold possession in the offensive zone.
The best fit for Eriksson might then be with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, both of whom have shown an ability to get the puck to the front of the net and could benefit from Eriksson’s finishing ability in tight. Baertschi is also struggling with no goals, but perhaps the best answer is to get them to bust out of their slumps together.
Jake Virtanen is a decent fit with Horvat and Baertschi, but he might do even better with Sutter and Markus Granlund, as he’s surprisingly decent defensively and could fit well with Sutter’s tendency to produce offense off the rush.
Finally, the Canucks have to keep Eriksson on the first power play unit: he’s the Canucks’ best option as a net-front presence. Any time they want to move Sutter off the top unit, though, they can go right ahead.
Will Eriksson score 30 goals this season? It’s possible. He’s had slow starts in the past and had just two goals in his first 10 games last season, as well as a nine-game goalless drought, so it’s certainly not out of the question. The longer this goal drought continues, however, the more unlikely it becomes. And with so few other Canucks scoring, it's imperative that he start finding the back of the net soon.
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