October 10th, 2024
JC Clemas
In the 2023-24 season, the Canucks played their best regular season since they won the President’s Trophy in 2012. Then, in the playoffs, they played their best since the 2011 season (do not ask what happened in the 2012 playoffs). After so many years of the fanbase suffering with bottom-10 league finishes, the Canucks finally pulled together a season-long performance that was up to the potential of their roster. So, how can they improve on that? Here are 5 things that I think would contribute to another successful year for the Canucks.
Elias Pettersson’s Resurgence
Elias Pettersson is a franchise-level talent. A player who started out as an undersized centre drafted higher than projected has turned into a 100 point player who truly has been top 10 at his position many times the past couple seasons. Pettersson got off to a hot start last season, and in the first 49 games he had already racked up 64 points. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. From February until the end of the regular season, Pettersson’s production struggled (by his standards), with 25 points in 33 games. In the playoffs, Pettersson was a target of heavy scrutiny, with just 1 goal and 5 assists in the 13 games. We later found out that he had been dealing with a knee injury, which provides me with a lot of hope that EP40 is about to have a crazy revenge season in 2024-25. He had already proved himself as a playoff player back in the bubble, with 18 points in 17 games, so criticising him for “not showing up” in the playoffs after 1 injured run is quite pre-emptive.
A Healthy Thatcher Demko
The Canucks need Thatcher Demko. I could leave this section with just that statement. Don’t get me wrong: I love Arturs Silovs. I think he has all the tools to be a future full-time starting goaltender in the NHL, and he clearly is able to deal with pressure very well. Not only did he step up for the Canucks in the playoffs, but he also carried Latvia to the bronze medal in the World Hockey Championships of 2023. Demko is just a different animal at this point in his career. His 22.0 GSAx of last season was second only to Connor Hellebuyck (via moneypuck.com). Fresh off of a season where he was a Vezina Trophy nominee, Demko’s status is up in the air. It appears he should be ready within the next month, but his health has been unpredictable for the past two seasons. Silovs already got off to a shaky start against Calgary, seemingly struggling to pick up the puck at times. It was the first game of the season, so judging him on that would be quite an overreaction, but it’s quite obvious that the Canucks win that game with Demko in net.
Penalty Killing
The two seasons prior to last, watching the Canucks play while down a man was about as fun as watching grass grow. In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Vancouver’s penalty-killing group finished 30th and 32nd respectively (via covers.com). Last season marked a significant boost in that statistic, raising the percentage from 71% to 79% and finishing 17th in the league. 17th in the league is still not good enough for a team that wants to win a Stanley Cup. Look at the Oilers in the 2024 playoffs: they locked down every power play they faced and were one win away from eternal glory. 79% is not going to do that. The team brought in some talented penalty killers over the offseason, and already looks a lot more aggressive, so I think this is a goal that can be reached. Losing Elias Lindholm isn’t very fun for this objective, but the Canucks still have the squad to get it done. Plus, it seems like Conor Garland is starting to get some penalty-killing time, which is something that excites me. He just gets into those greasy areas of the ice, y’know?
Depth Scoring
Beyond the fact Vancouver had 5 All-Star skaters last season, they also received plenty of scoring from the other forwards who rounded out the lineup. The third line of Joshua-Blueger-Garland is the best example of that, being such a spark to the Canucks that they were given the nickname “The Life-line”. In a stretch that spanned from mid-December to late January, each member of the line garnered 20 points in a 30-game span. Joshua’s injury in a February game against Chicago proved costly for the team, with the Canucks going on their worst stretch of the season in the winger’s absence.
The Canucks were also given 24 goals from Nils Höglander, wonderful two-way play from Pius Suter, and 13 goals from the recently-departed Sam Lafferty. Over the offseason, the Canucks actually improved their depth offence. In my last article, I discussed these moves. Danton Heinen, Daniel Sprong, and Kiefer Sherwood are all forwards that will offer the Canucks’ stars more support from lower in the lineup. The top 6 cannot and do not show up in every game, so it is essential that the bottom 6 is able to win the Canucks a game here and there.
Weak Divisional Opponents
The Pacific Division is pretty obviously the weakest division in the NHL. The Flames, despite upsetting the Canucks in the season opener, will likely not sustain a winning pace throughout the season. The Ducks, Sharks, and Kraken improved, but will not be very threatening. The only teams the Canucks should have to fight for a divisional spot are the Kings, Golden Knights, and Oilers. The Oilers are basically guaranteed a top 2 division spot in my mind, with great additions to the top 6 in Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. LA’s team got worse over the summer, and with the loss of Drew Doughty to injury for a couple of months, their defensive group looks awful. I struggle to believe Darcy Kuemper will pick up the slack. As for Vegas, the winger depth is very thin. Besides Mark Stone, none of the wingers average more than about half a point per game. Stone himself has not played 60 games in a season since 2019-20. Their centre and defensive depth look pretty good, but will that be enough to make them better than Vancouver? Likely not. There is really no reason for the Canucks to not win one of the three divisional spots the Pacific has to offer. I don’t want to jinx it, but the question should really be “which one?”
After a 6-5 loss against Calgary, the Canucks are looking for a less embarrassing performance against Philadelphia on Friday night. Unfortunately, Philadelphia is a team that they played 2 of their worst games against in 2023-24. The Canucks are set for a redemption game, so hopefully they come through with the first tick in the win column. I really don’t want to wait 8 games to see one of those this season (2022 was an interesting time).