As NHL jobs go, it's a rather attractive one, even though it's likely just a temporary posting.
The Vancouver Canucks are in the market for a top-six forward to fill in for injured winger Alex Burrows. The successful candidate will either play alongside Daniel and Henrik Sedin(notes) on Vancouver's first line or ride shotgun with Ryan Kesler(notes) and Mason Raymond(notes) on the Canucks' No. 2 line.
So is there a prospect in the house?
No one that has really caught the eye of coach Alain Vigneault, who was hoping someone was going to make his job easy. More than halfway through the pre-season, Vigneault's still looking for someone to stake a claim to the job.
"Nobody has come out and grabbed it and said, 'Coach, I'm the guy,' who is going to go out there whether it be with the twins or whether it's moving [Mikael] Samuelsson with the twins and playing somebody else there [on the second line]," Vigneault said Monday. "Nobody has come out and grabbed it. There are three games in four nights [this week] and hopefully somebody is going to force our hand."
There is no shortage of candidates who came to camp hoping to land that spot. Jeff Tambellini(notes), veteran Brendan Morrison(notes), rookies Jordan Schroeder(notes) and Cody Hodgson(notes) and Russian Sergei Shirokov(notes) were all thought to have a chance to win the job.
That dream ended Monday for Schroeder, who was sent to Manitoba after a rather disappointing camp, and Shirokov hasn't helped his cause by showing up in less than ideal shape.
So it's now probably a three-man race. Vigneault has liked some of what he has seen of Tambellini and Morrison and hasn't seen enough of Hodgson to pass judgment on him.
Vigneault wasn't behind the bench for Saturday night's 4-1 win over Anaheim but watched the game on TV after attending a funeral back east. He thought Tambellini played well alongside the Sedins.
"I thought he had a lot of Grade A chances with the twins," he said. "Unfortunately, he didn't finish, but he was there and he had the chances."
Vigneault also liked Morrison's game Saturday night.
"I thought that was probably Brendan's best game so far. He played back to back [on Sunday night in Edmonton] and wasn't as effective. But those guys are right there. We're not quite sure what we are doing with that spot right now."
Hodgson will be given another audition alongside Kesler and Raymond tonight, when the Canucks play host to the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena.
"Obviously, we are going to have to see more than we did yesterday, but yesterday was his first game and we are going to be patient," Vigneault said of Hodgson.
Morrison could also conceivably be part of another battle for jobs on the bottom two lines. The 35-year-old is also being considered as a possible fourth-line centre. While Morrison doesn't have the size the Canucks would like on their grinding lines, his versatility is a positive. He can kill penalties, work the power play, is responsible defensively and is comfortable at centre and on the wing.
"You never really know, you always think you can do more, you always think you can play better," Morrison, with the team on a professional tryout, said of his play so far. "I think I have been generating chances in games, which is a good thing. I think I have proven I still have the ability to skate and challenge guys. Those are all positives."
Morrison would obviously love the opportunity to play a top-six role in the absence of Burrows, who is expected to miss the first month of the season following off-season shoulder surgery.
"There's an opportunity for someone to step in and take advantage of the opportunity that is there with him being out. Whether that's me or somebody else, somebody is going to get that chance. It's what you make of the opportunity and if it comes along it would be exciting."
Tambellini, a 26-year-old former first-round draft pick, was pleased with his play Saturday with the Sedins, but also knows a goal or two during the final week of the pre-season would help his cause.
"Saturday night was great playing with the Sedins," he said. "We had the puck a ton, had lots of chances and got one on the power play and one even strength. I was happy with that, but it was just the starting blocks and now guys are going to get slotted as to the way they might play this year, so I have to show what I can do.
"I think I have to keep playing with a lot of confidence at both ends of the ice, good defensively, try and stir things up in front of the net, get a lot of shots and hopefully put a couple behind them."
There's a real battle going on for the grit positions on the bottom two lines. With Raffi Torres(notes) and Manny Malhotra(notes) seemingly set on the third line and Rick Rypien(notes) and Jannik Hansen(notes) probably also guaranteed spots in the bottom six, there are a whole bunch of players competing for the remaining crash-and-bang positions. They include Darcy Hordichuk(notes), Tanner Glass(notes), Alex Bolduc, Victor Oreskovich(notes), Guillaume Desbiens(notes) and Joel Perrault(notes).
"There's a place for players like that on our team," Vigneault said. "How many is it, one, two, three? I don't know. We have got three games left to figure it out."
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