Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning has been putting off the idea of rebuilding for a couple of seasons now, instead trying to get younger while also remaining competitive. It hasn't really worked out. And while much of the 2015-16 Canucks squad has just finally gotten back to health, giving Benning a look at what his team can be with all the right pieces in place, Vancouver is now set to lose both Alexander Edler and Brandon Sutter for some time.
UPDATE, 2:05 p.m.: The Canucks confirmed that Sutter has a fractured jaw and Edler has a fractured fibula, but offered no timeline for either player.
TSN's Bob McKenzie revealed Wednesday that "the initial sense" is that Edler, who was injured during the second period on Tuesday night, will miss 2-3 weeks and that Sutter has a broken jaw. Both players will undergo further testing back in Vancouver, per McKenzie, but it seems almost a certainty that they'll miss a good chunk of time in what is a crucial stretch of the season.
It remains to be seen what Benning will do now that he's missing his top-pairing defenseman and fourth-line center, but with the Canucks in fifth in the Pacific, it wouldn't be surprising to see Benning sell off some of his valuable pieces, like Radim Vrbata and Dan Hamhuis, who just made his second start after returning from a fractured jaw of his own, ahead of this month's trade deadline.
With Sutter out indefinitely, it'll likely be rookie Jared McCann's opportunity to jump into the Canucks lineup after being a healthy scratch for two of Vancouver's last three games. Alex Biega is the likely replacement for Edler in the lineup on "D," with Hamhuis sliding up the depth chart.
