Garth McLennan

sports@theotherpress.ca

 

 

 

 

What's wrong with Edler?

Metis a summer of broken promises
and little accomplishment, one of the few
significant things new General Manager,
Mike Gillis did was sign 22-year-old
defenseman, Alexander Edler to a four-year,
$13 million contract extension that will kick
in after this season, the final one on Edler’s
entry-level deal.

When that deal was signed, it looked like
a brilliant move on Gillis’ part. Edler was
part of the team’s young core and had all the
markings of another Mattias Ohlund, who

 

Garth
McLennan

    
 

high level game that he wowed the city with
last year.

In 15 games, Edler has just one goal and
four assists. What’s worse than his numbers
though is the fact that on far too many nights,
he’s been practically invisible. He hasn’t been
involved significantly in the play at either end
of the ice on a regular basis and he’s had little
impact on the team’s fortunes.

Part of his slump could be attributed
to the fact that he hasn’t been receiving the
same amount of quality minutes that he did
last year. With relatively minor injuries to the

“What’s worse than his numbers though is the fact that on far
too many nights, he’s been practically invisible”

was drafted by the Canucks back in 1994 and
is still with the team as its best blue liner.
Edler is a terrific skater, fires off excellent
passes and has outstanding offensive

and defensive instincts. He consistently
demonstrated terrific outlet-first passing
ability from his own zone, which is a godsend
to NHL coaches.

Edler, who was drafted by Vancouver
91" overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft,
proved his worth to the team last year when
the Canucks were ravaged by injuries on the
back end. With practically everyone out, the
young defenseman stepped up his game and
played brilliantly. He finished the year with
a solid 22 points in 75 games in his rookie
year with the club and for a time was among
the league’s plus/minus leaders until more
injuries forced him to play on the team’s first
defense pairing and against the other team’s
best players every night.

Some players might buckle under that
kind of pressure. To give a scope of it,
Ohlund, Willie Mitchell, Kevin Bieksa, Aaron
Miller and Sami Salo all missed significant
time last season. Some players might have
fallen apart, but not Edler. He thrived under
the pressure and showed over and over again
that he has all the markings of a first-pairing
defender. His development accelerated to the
point that by the end of the season, he was
considered to be one of the Canucks’ best
defenseman.

When the 2008-09 season opened,
the Canucks’ organization and its fan base
understandably expected big things from
Edler, particularly after his contract signing
just before the year began. However, he
hasn’t displayed anywhere near the ability or

Canucks’ defense core so far, Edler has seen
limited ice time in comparison to last year.
So far, he has been able to successfully
fly under the radar, but in a hockey-mad
city like Vancouver, if he doesn’t begin to
produce and play up to his new contract soon,
it won’t be long before the public shouts start
to surface.