Ever since Derek Dorsett’s career ended due to an unfortunate spinal injury, a certain segment of the fanbase has been clamouring for the Canucks to replace his lost physicality. Without Dorsett, the Canucks do lack a certain rough-and-tumble edge to their roster.
Meanwhile, waiting in the wings of the AHL, the Canucks have had a potential answer in the form of Darren Archibald. There had just been one problem: Archibald didn’t have an NHL contract.
The Canucks solved that little problem with a simple solution: they signed him. On Wednesday they announced that Darren Archibald signed a contract with the Canucks and, moreover, he has been recalled from the Utica Comets and will join the team on their current road trip.
One thing that may have helped it happen now rather than a later date is that Sam Gagner sprained his ankle on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers and is heading back to Vancouver. With three games remaining on this road trip, that suggests that Gagner will be out for at least a week.
Sam Gagner suffered a sprained ankle last night. Tried to skate today. Is headed back to Vancouver. #canucks
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) February 7, 2018
For Archibald, this has been a long time coming. The 27-year-old has been with the Canucks organization since 2010, when Mike Gillis signed him as a free agent out of the OHL. His professional career stuttered out of the gate, as he spent parts of his first two pro seasons in the ECHL, but got his groove back and became a key player for the Utica Comets in their inaugural season.
In his seven seasons in the organization, Archibalrd has received just the tiniest taste of NHL action, playing 16 games under John Tortorella in the woeful 2013-14 season. During those 16 games, he got to experience the joy of scoring his first NHL goal, powering to the front of the net, then jamming in his own rebound.
Tortorella liked Archibald quite a bit, saying, “I want him to take someone's job. There's really something there.”
Unfortunately for Archibald, when Tortorella was fired he lost his biggest champion in the Canucks organization. He signed another one-year contract, but spent the entirety of the 2014-15 season in the AHL. After that, he didn’t receive any NHL contract offers and signed a one-way AHL deal with the Utica Comets.
Along the way, however, Archibald earned himself another fan: then-Comets head coach Travis Green.
Under Green, Archibald blossomed into a well-rounded and dependable top-six forward for the Comets, leading the team in both goals and points in 2016-17, with 23 goals and 47 points in 76 games. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.
“The good thing about Arch is he didn’t change his game last year,” said Green at Canucks training camp this season. “He got results from playing a hard, heavy game. He’s got a big body and has improved over the last few years.”
With Green promoted to the head coaching job in Vancouver, Archibald had a shot at earning a contract and a roster spot with the Canucks at training camp and gave it everything he had. He was consistently noticeable with his physical presence, throwing big hits and scoring a goal on Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Smith on a breakaway.
“He’s had a really good camp and deserves to be here right now,” said Green. “He’s a smart player and is a big body who hits really hard.”
“In the game today, you need some stiffness and he brings that,” he added. “But it’s up to him and he’s getting a chance because he deserves it. When you have big bodies who can skate and forecheck and be hard to play against in their own way, it’s an advantage.”
Unfortunately, the numbers were not kind to Archibald, who had to face the reality that young players and veterans who already had NHL contracts were ahead of him in the pecking order.
Archibald has continued to be a key component for the Comets and has been particularly hot recently. He has seven points in his last eight games. Of course, what fans might be more excited to see is his physical play.
There are fans who have wanted Archibald in the Canucks lineup ever since he laid out Karl Stollery in the AHL in 2013 with one of the most eye-catching hits you’ll ever see. He sent Stollery somersaulting to the ice with a clean shoulder-to-shoulder hit.
Something that doesn’t really get talked about in regards to this hit is just how casual it seems for Archibald. He doesn’t erupt into Stollery, leaving his feet. In fact, Archibald barely seems to move, seemingly denying Newton’s Third Law of Motion.
At 6’3”, 210 lbs, Archibald is physically imposing. He doesn’t just throw hits; he runs over players. In football terms, Archibald trucks his opponents. He’s also a willing combatant when it comes to extracurricular fisticuffs.
With his hits, fights, and ability to score big goals, it’s understandable that Archibald became a fan favourite in Utica. He’s a high-energy player that plays with a lot of emotion, engaging fans with his emphatic goal celebrations and exhortations to the crowd after a fight.
The biggest question mark with Archibald is his skating. He has strong straight-ahead speed — he was second to Dale Weise in the fastest skater competition in 2014 — but lacks some acceleration and east-west agility. That didn’t seem to hurt him in his cup of coffee with the Canucks, as he posted decent underlying possession numbers for his role.
For those who have been following Archibald’s career and wondering if he would ever get another NHL shot, this is an exciting development. If he gets a chance to play real minutes, Archibald could surprise and have a late-blooming NHL career. Even if he doesn’t, however, the financial windfall of some time in the NHL is a nice bonus for one of the Utica Comets’ best players.
An additional positive about this signing is that it hopefully forestalls any attempts by the Canucks to make a trade to acquire toughness. Why spend assets on toughness when you can pluck some from your own backyard, even if that backyard is across the continent?
