Ryan Gurevitz
November 03, 2022
The Vancouver Canucks have started the season 2-6-2, going into tonight’s game, they sit tied for last place in the NHL. This start to the season has come quite shocking to everyone involved in the Canucks organization. The freshly overhauled front office worked diligently to improve the squad in the offseason. General Manager Patrik Allvin worked hard to recruit the undrafted ex-KHL star Andrei Kuzmenko, eventually signing him to a one-year contract after beating out the Edmonton Oilers in a race to the finish line. Fellow Russian winger Ilya Mikheyev then joined Kuzmenko in Vancouver on a four-year deal. The newly bolstered forward core had given fans something to look forward to come October.
The 2022-23 campaign held high expectations for the Canucks, something the organization hasn’t had in years, but it quickly came apart with a string of blown multi-goal leads to start the season. It took the team until their sixth game versus the sophomore season Seattle Kraken to get themselves into the W column, where a late empty net goal from Conor Garland ultimately made the difference in a 5-4 win. The Canucks successes didn’t last for long though, and the team now sits at an abhorrent 2-6-2 record going into tonight’s matchup with the Anaheim Ducks. What was expected to be a year of forward progress has taken a disastrous turn, although that doesn’t mean a turnaround isn’t possible for a team that sits 4 points out of the playoffs with 72 games remaining. The main thing that fans and media alike want to know is, how can they turn it around?
“What’s wrong with the Vancouver Canucks?” is a broad question that can’t be answered concisely. Hopefully, this article can provide some insight into the team's main issues and potential solutions.
Some things never change: death, taxes, and the Vancouver Canucks defensive woes are some of the inevitables in life. Injuries to Quinn Hughes, Tucker Poolman, and Travis Dermott have kept them off the ice for most of the season, in Dermott’s case, the entire season. Seeing injuries to an already weakened defence is never fun, but the absence of Hughes has led to the Canucks icing one of the most uninspired and low-level defences in the NHL night in and night out. The Canucks sit in the bottom half of the league in every defensive stat, most notably the last-place penalty kill to start the season for the second year in a row. The six Canucks defensemen shouldn’t be the scapegoat for the team’s defensive woes however, forwards such as JT Miller have turned into vanished souls once they enter the defensive zone. To help bolster a response from the team, Allvin brought in defenseman Ethan Bear from Carolina on a retained deal for a 5th-round pick. Bear was phenomenal in his first game as a Canuck despite the scoreline, so here’s hoping that can keep up. Another positive in this team's not-so-positive defence has been the play of youngster Jack Rathbone, who’s been a two-way spark in the absence of Quinn Hughes. His recent play, compared to that of some of his teammates, should be enough to keep him on the roster with Hughes back, and it would be a mistake to keep this kid from getting a fair shot at staying in Vancouver. This defence has not been up to an NHL standard so far, but they can start pulling more weight as the season picks up.
Before I begin let me say that this is not a knock on Demko, I still believe that he’s a star and without a doubt the next great product in a long line of Ian Clark’s students. With that being said, Demko has not been off to the hot start the team desperately needs, given the lacklustre defence. Say what you will about the state of the defence, but there aren’t many stats that can bail out Demko this season. A .876 save percentage and -7.5 goals saved above expected put Demko among the worst netminders to start the season. h/t Moneypuck.com
In response to Demko’s slow start, Bruce Boudreau has confirmed he will turn to backup Spencer Martin tonight against Anaheim. Ultimately this will be beneficial for Demko, a night off will allow the young netminder some time to refocus. Goalie coach Ian Clark has no choice but to keep working with Demko to get him back into form, and eventually the 26-year-old will reclaim his spot in the blue paint.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment for the Canucks has been the offence to this point. For a supposedly top-heavy team, they have not played up to standards this year. Much like last year, the fourth line is the only one consistently doing their job, and they’ll score the odd goal too. There’s a plethora of issues with the other nine forwards on the team, Brock Boeser, who’s now slowly inching towards a return to the active roster, seemed to be exorcized of his scoring touch leading up to his recent absence. Nils Hoglander, Vasily Podkolzin, and Tanner Pearson have continued to struggle immensely, and are fighting to keep themselves on the ice consistently. Overall, this looks like a group of forwards who need a kick in the behind to get going, and it’s on the coaching staff to provide them with that spark.
This is a team that has the potential to turn its season around. Players such as Brock Boeser and Travis Dermott are hopefully nearing a return, and new arrivals such as Jack Studnicka and Ethan Bear hope to boost a team that vitally needs it. This is a team that’s surely looking to win back the fans, and silence the media going forward.