Either by accident, necessity or design (maybe not), the Canucks are being forced into using guys on their third and fourth lines that they should have been targeting all along.
The likes of Highmore, Vesey, Boyd, Michaelis and Hawryluk are all making under $1m a season, and in some cases close to the league minimum.
The thing you notice is how much faster they look than the plugs the Canucks have been utilizing down in their lineup. With Beagle and now Roussel injured, it's actually been 'addition by subtraction'.
If you add Motte and MacEwen to this group of forwards, the Canucks actually have a very serviceable bunch of third and fourth line forwards on very team-friendly contracts.
Who knew? You don't actually have to overpay for depth forwards!