Canucks quietly have the deepest forward group in the league

[holy]

 

[Canuck Luck]

Elias ain’t Connor, and JT ain’t Leon bru

2 players can only win you so many games. Nurse ain’t hughes, Campbell ain’t Demko if we’re going down this road.

Im not saying the poster is wrong or right for putting the oilers at #1 mate, I’m saying the sole reason said poster used for placing the Canucks bottom 3 applies to the oilers too in an even worse manner. Said poster didn’t disagree the op’s opinion that they have the deepest forward group. So how does the team with the deeper forward group, the better goalie, and the best dman finish bottom 3 compared to its counter part? Do you think mcdrai really make more of an impact over the course of a season?

My personal rankings would be:

Vegas
Calgary
Edmonton
Vancouver
LA
Anaheim
Seattle
SJ

 

[Vakarte]

Am I missing something? They were 18th in goals last year and only added Mikheyev and Lazar. I don't really think they could be considered the deepest. I suppose it's a fairly balanced forward lineup? Is that what OP means?

Most of that is due to the bad start at the beginning of the season, once Bruce got there, they were top 10 in goals per game.

 

[BouchBaby]

Funny how you say they have 1 legit top 4 d and that’s the sole reason they would finish bottom 3 but then have the oilers at #1 who also only have 1 legit top 4 dman. It’s arguable if he’s even a legit top 4 dman if OEL isn’t even one.

Nurse was hurt last season, easily a top 2 Dman if healthy

 

[BouchBaby]

2 players can only win you so many games. Nurse ain’t hughes, Campbell ain’t Demko if we’re going down this road.

Im not saying the poster is wrong or right for putting the oilers at #1 mate, I’m saying the sole reason said poster used for placing the Canucks bottom 3 applies to the oilers too in an even worse manner. Said poster didn’t disagree the op’s opinion that they have the deepest forward group. So how does the team with the deeper forward group, the better goalie, and the best dman finish bottom 3 compared to its counter part? Do you think mcdrai really make more of an impact over the course of a season?

My personal rankings would be:

Vegas
Calgary
Edmonton
Vancouver
LA
Anaheim
Seattle
SJ

Hughes is better with the puck on his stick, but if you played hockey before you would know the smaller the Dman is the easier it is to play against him

 

[GOilers88]

"Miller, Pettersson, Horvat, that’s 90-100 goals alone down the middle. I don’t think there’s any team with that type of scoring punch down the middle."
- Leafs had 110+ goals from their Centres last season.

"Not to mention Boeser having a down year last season due to family reasons. He’s easily good for 25 goals on the wing."
- Meh. Leafs had 35 goal Marner, and 34 goal Nylander on the wings. Many other teams have that too.

"Then you have another 25, potential 30 goal scorer in Mikheyev"
- LMAO at Mikheyev getting anywhere close to 30 goals. Too funny.

"Demko is a top 5 goaltender in the league"
- He's a good one, but Shesterkin, Vasilevsky, Sorokin, Saros, Markstrom, Andersen, Jarry are all better.

"and there’s Hughes and OEL (albeit overpaid) are 2 elite defenseman who make their partners much better than they are"
- LOL @ calling OEL ELITE.

You might need to calm down.

Edmonton got 99 out of their top 2 centers. 108 from top 3. Agree with you there.

Disagree with Anderson, Jarry and Markstrom all being better than Demko.
Might be close, but Demko is legit.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

no

 

[Bluesguru]

I can’t really find any other team aside from St Louis and Colorado that has a more well rounded, balanced and potential threat line up than the Canucks.

Miller, Pettersson, Horvat, that’s 90-100 goals alone down the middle. I don’t think there’s any team with that type of scoring punch down the middle. Not to mention Boeser having a down year last season due to family reasons. He’s easily good for 25 goals on the wing.

Then you have another 25, potential 30 goal scorer in Mikheyev, 50+ playmaker in Garland, Podkolzin who will definitely build from last season potting perhaps another 20-20-40pts. That’s not even mentioning Kuzmenko who could very well be another Panarin type player. Even Pearson is good for 35-40 points including 15-20+ goals.

Demko is a top 5 goaltender in the league, and there’s Hughes and OEL (albeit overpaid) are 2 elite defenseman who make their partners much better than they are (Schenn and Myers).

With the amount of team defense this team has with the additions of Lazar, Mikheyev, Joshua, and even Dickinson, having that hole on the right side is manageable. Canucks were top 5 in the league in fewest even strength goals allowed with that atrocious right side, in large part thanks to OEL and his brains. PK was the main issue on defense but that should be improved.

I just can’t really think of a more well balanced group, especially the forward group, with an average age of 25 years old.

Yeah my buddy the other day asked me who’s a good long shot bet to win Cup and I said Vancouver. They’re a potential cinderella team for sure.

 

[Breakers]

Vancouver was Bottom 10 in even strength offensive efficiency last season

what in their off-season boosts them to #1?

 

[wetcoast]

The lineup could have many changes but ngl it looks deep

View attachment 575325

Jason Dickinson is literally dead weight, the lack of center devolvement by the Canucks has been abysmal outside of Horvat and EP who were both top 10 picks..

2 players can only win you so many games. Nurse ain’t hughes, Campbell ain’t Demko if we’re going down this road.

Im not saying the poster is wrong or right for putting the oilers at #1 mate, I’m saying the sole reason said poster used for placing the Canucks bottom 3 applies to the oilers too in an even worse manner. Said poster didn’t disagree the op’s opinion that they have the deepest forward group. So how does the team with the deeper forward group, the better goalie, and the best dman finish bottom 3 compared to its counter part? Do you think mcdrai really make more of an impact over the course of a season?

My personal rankings would be:

Vegas
Calgary
Edmonton
Vancouver
LA
Anaheim
Seattle
SJ

I have the same rankings (order of the top 3 can go any way though) but LA is a solid 4th and they have added more in the offseason as well.

 

[deckercky]

It is actually pretty deep. Weak top 6 though

I'd argue the top line isn't particularly impressive, but the second and third lines are very potent. 4th line is average.

Canucks are a bubble team along with most of the Pacific.

 

[zodiacbiller]

Matthews and Tavares alone might score 90-100 goals lol. They combined for 87 last year with Tavares coming off a major concussion.

 

[Peasy]

Mikheyev 30 goals? Sure maybe if 15-20 are empty netters.

 

[rypper]

Only canucks fans think this.

Not even Canuck's fans think this.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...the term is Puff, Puff, PASS for a reason, amigo...

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Too bad that d-corps is one of the worst in the league

 

[tucker3434]

Pump the brakes a bit. The Nucks didn’t even make the playoffs last year in a really weak pacific. They appear to be a lock this year, but it’s entirely plausible they do so as only the 3rd best team in a still very weak division.

 

[blankall]

If every player on the team plays to their potential, yes it's a deep group then..... But that's true of any team really. For example, penciling in Mikheyev for 25-30 goals is optimistic. He was certainly at that pace last year, but then also only had 7 goals in 54 games the year before.

 

[The Panther]

Pump the brakes a bit. The Nucks didn’t even make the playoffs last year in a really weak pacific. They appear to be a lock this year, but it’s entirely plausible they do so as only the 3rd best team in a still very weak division.

I'd say that's even a bit optimistic.

The Canucks are the new Flames (of the past few years), meaning they could go either way. Might be a well below average team, might be a bit above average team. Impossible to confidently predict.

 

[Kairi Zaide]

Blues have pretty much the same forward group minus Perron. I.e. 7 players that just scored at a ~60 points pace, and Saad at a ~50 points pace last season. A few good two-way players in there too. Doubt they all repeat, but as it stands, Canucks don't have a deeper forward group unless Kuzmenko is really the real deal.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Funny how you say they have 1 legit top 4 d and that’s the sole reason they would finish bottom 3 but then have the oilers at #1 who also only have 1 legit top 4 dman. It’s arguable if he’s even a legit top 4 dman if OEL isn’t even one.

I don't agree with the Oilers at #1 but Nurse being overpaid doesn't make him a bad defenseman.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The OP reads like one of those posts that every single fanbase could write if they add 5-10 extra goals to every single forward on the roster.

If I project career years for every forward on the Penguins, they too, could be the best and deepest forward group in the league.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

The lineup could have many changes but ngl it looks deep

View attachment 575325

It's definitely deep. It's hard to predict how good it is. Will JT Miller be about as good this year? How good will Pettersson and Kuzmenko be? How much will Podkolzin have progressed? Does Höglander have untapped potential?

 

[Foppberg]

Canucks are definitely an underrated club, as evidence by this thread. Defense sucks, but goaltending and offense are top notch. Plus Bruce B is an amazing coach.

 

[Sinistril]

Pacific division will see Vancouver finish bottom 3.
Edmonton
Calgary
Vegas
LA
Ducks
Vancouver
Seattle
SJS
This is how I see that division shaking out. Canucks have some good forwards and a good goalie. But they only have one legitimate top four D man.

An even worse take than the OP?

Canucks are definitely an underrated club, as evidence by this thread. Defense sucks, but goaltending and offense are top notch. Plus Bruce B is an amazing coach.

Defense sucked a lot less under BB. TG is one of those coaches that made the entire defense look worse than it really is