Vancouver Canucks: How Will the Addition of David Booth Impact the Roster?

On Saturday, October 22nd, the Vancouver Canucks acquired David Booth from the Florida Panthers.

I’ve already covered the reasons why this is a great deal for the Canucks, but how will Booth fit in with the team? 

And what will this mean for the existing lines? 

The top line of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows will remain intact.

Daniel is sitting at second overall in the scoring race with 12 points, while Henrik is comparatively slacking with only 10 points, which puts him in a tie for fourth in the scoring race. Burrows has been contributing as well with two goals and two assists. 

Likewise, the fourth line should remain intact. Dale Weise, Maxim Lapierre and Aaron Volpatti have been grinding and mucking it up each game. 

The changes to the lineup will happen on the second and third lines. 

Ryan Kesler is rounding back into form after offseason surgery and will center the second line. Chris Higgins (three goals, two assists, nine hits and 10 takeaways) has been one of the most consistent forwards and has earned the right wing spot on the second line. 

Newly acquired David Booth has a history with both Kesler and Higgins and should slot into the left wing role on the second line. 

Booth has played with Kesler back in minor hockey and on the US National team. Likewise, he played with Higgins in Florida during the early part of last season, prior to Higgins being acquired by the Canucks at the trade deadline. (Mike Gillis has stated he has been working on the Booth trade for over six months, so apparently he wanted Booth for the playoff run last season as well.) 

Booth’s willingness to shoot (he was 12th overall in the NHL for shots last season with 280) and his speed should be a great fit with Kesler and Higgins to form an effective second line. 

On the third line, Manny Malhotra and Jannik Hansen have been off to a slow start. They should be joined by Cody Hodgson, who is being displaced from the second line in favor of Booth. 

Both Hodgson and Malhotra are centers, but Hodgson should be playing left wing, as Malhotra is one of the best faceoff men in the NHL. This should be a good spot for Hodgson, as he can learn from a veteran center and won’t be under pressure to score like he was while on the second line. 

On special teams, Booth should find a home on the second power-play unit. Neither the departed Samuelsson, nor Booth, play on the penalty kill normally, so those pairings shouldn’t be affected.

The odd man out should be Andrew Ebbett, who has only drawn into two games so far this season. Barring a horrible game from Hodgson or an injury to a veteran player, expect Ebbett to man the press box as a healthy scratch.