Time to sign Sven Baertschi, give him the C

Analytic nuts like John Dylan Burke of Canucks Army says Sven Baertschi is going to taper off and the Canucks should use caution re-signing Baertschi.

That's all I need to hear to say - Vancouver Canucks need to sign Baertschi as soon as possible.

Pretty much anybody can see the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft is now coming into his own as a legitimate superstar. He's the little engine that makes the first line run. It's Baertschi who runs into traffic, throws his body around, and collects the puck.

It's Baertschi who appears to be Jim Benning's biggest trade win. He's not only highly talented - he's got super grit.

After his usual slow start he now has 17 points in 22 games and is beginning to show the leadership required to wear the C.

Yes.

There. I said it.

If you watch Baertschi on the bench you can see he's driving the bus here. He's talking to Horvat constantly. He's constantly talking to Boeser. He's smiling at them. He's directing them on the ice.

In short - Sven Baertschi is a leader. He's taken it upon himself to make sure these "kids" (though Sven is hardly older than they are) have a great year. And he's not complained about not being on the first power play unit.

Instead he's taken that second power play unit under his wing and he's directed it into something useful.

He didn't bitch.
He didn't complain.
He just got after it.

He also kills penalties.
And he's pretty damned good at it.
He blocks shots and that shows a good amount of courage.

While everyone is looking at Boeser (and with good reason) and Bo Horvat (again with good reason) take a second and focus just on Baertschi.

Watch how he's always in good defensive position.
Sportsnet650's Alex J Aulds said that it reminds him of Brendan Morrison on the Pineapple Express line. No one noticed how good he was. And he was very good.

Baertschi is defensively the heart of that Number One line.
He's always in the right place. If he gets the puck on his stick in his own zone - it's always dependably out. He makes the right play at least 90% of the time and that's damned good.

Will he get to 40 goals?
No. But he's capable because of his offensive ability.
But he seems to be more impressed by making the good defensive play which means he's incredibly unselfish. And that's the sign of a captain.
He really enjoys seeing Boeser score goals. He's delighting in helping Horvat achieve. I mean you can see that's not fake. He digs it. He's a good person in a profession that's all about self and me and I and money. He gets it. He's about team.

And if you put the C on Horvat or Boeser - you put unnecessary pressure on them. Baertschi looks like a guy who can handle the pressure. It leaves Boeser and Horvat to playing hockey.

And he probably speaks 5 languages since he's from Switzerland so talking to media in any language shouldn't be an issue.

It's not who I was expecting to be the next captain of the Canucks.

But it all kind fell into place, didn't it?


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