Canucks quietly have the deepest forward group in the league

[Pavels Dog]

The lineup could have many changes but ngl it looks deep

View attachment 575325

Some questionmarks:

- Can Kuzmenko be one of the rare-ish success stories of older players coming over from Europe to the NHL?
- Can Pettersson step into legit star/superstar territory (PPG+) rather than hovering around in that 60-70 point range?
- Can Miller replicate what he did last season or was that an outlier?
- Can Boeser bounce back and become a 30+ goal scorer?
- Can Podkolzin take a step and show more offense?
- Can Mikheyev repeat what he did last season, or close to it, for a full season?
- Can Höglander bounce back?

Only if the answer to literally all those questions is a resounding 'yes' will the Canucks be one of the better forward groups in the league.

 

[Maurice of Orange]

The Canucks lineup doesn’t really look that deep to me especially if an injury or two takes a few of those forwards out for any significant time.

Line 1 LW Garland C Miller RW Boeser
Line 2 LW Kuzmenko C Pettersson RW Mikheyev
Line 3 LW Hoglander C Horvat RW Podkolzin
Line 4 LW Pearson C Dickinson RW Lazar

1st Pair LD Ekman-Larsson RD Myers
2nd Pair LD Hughes RD Schenn
3rd Pair LD Dermott RD Burroughs

Goalies:
Starter: Demko
Backup: Martin

Scratches:
C Dowling
LD Brisebois
RD Poolman + Post Concussion Syndrome Out Indefinitely IR
RW Ferland + Post Concussion Syndrome (Career Ending) LTIR

As far as placement in the standings go I could see Vancouver around the 4-5 spot if they can hold it together and Demko stays healthy.

1. Edm, 2. LA, 3. Cgy, 4. Van 5. VGK, 6. SJ, 7. Sea, 8. Ana

 

[WeThreeKings]

That Mikheyev prediction is laughable, sorry buddy.

That contract is terrible, in fact.

 

[Golden_Jet]

The Sens were 26th in GF last year, sure adding DeBrincat helps but even if you add his 41 goals (and that's not how these things work as he is just replacing another top line spot that was there last year) that would have only made them 12 in GF last year.

Also I don't agree with the OP but I do expect the Canucks forwards to be around the top 10ish area this year.

What about Giroux as well.

 

[Beezeral]

You just need to make it in. Then anything can happen.

Uh ok. Go with that.

 

[Brownies]

I was ready to agree to the OP, but it jumped to speculations about Mikheyev way too quicky.

 

[Rob Brown]

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.

Well the Oilers do have this guy named McDavid...weird to even compare the two, really.

 

[wetcoast]

Add Debrincat
Add Griroux
Add full year of Joseph
Add full year of Pinto
Batherson stays healthy
Norris Stays Healthy
Chabot Stays Healthy
Add Sanderson
Stuetzle, Norris, Tkachuk, Formenton, Batherson, and are a year further in their development.

That's a pretty remarkable amount of change to a roster.

Now you are kind of doing what the OP did in assuming that everything goes perfect eh?

Things just don't work that way and it's dubious to claim that the Sens will be better offensively than the Canucks this year.

I mean sure it could happen but it also very likely could not but there still is only 6 top 6 spots and one top PP unit so I doubt they increase their scoring by 40 + goals..

 

[wetcoast]

What about Giroux as well.

Sure forgot about him but still there is only so many spots top 6 to go around to improve from last year.

 

[ItWasJustified]

He was suffering from a wrist injury for more than half of the season. Once it had healed he went on a tear scoring at a considerably higher pace than a point per game — 44 points in 34 games. Over a full season and assuming his wrist problems are a thing of the past, which they appear to be, that projects to well over 100 points — giving merit to my initial statement.

Now I really don't blame you for not laughing, but I certainly am. Before getting all pissy with elementary school-level retorts, you should perhaps consider that someone may have a good reason for saying what they did, and they may be aware of information that you are not.

He has to stay healthy for a full season for your prediction to come true, a feat he's not been able to do yet.

 

[Captain Mountain]

I mean, its deep if absolutely everything goes right, which almost never happens. And by that measure, its not that deep compared to other teams.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

good depth but nothing special

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Seems strange that they’ve been trying to trade all of them except Petterson if they’re so spectacular.

 

[12ozPapa]

There’s no such thing as “quietly” deepest forward group. It doesn’t make any sense. Deepest forward group in the NHL and most are oblivious? I doubt it. Vancouver is far from the deepest.

 

[sting101]

Skating and IQ is important.. but so is battling the forwards in front of your net, while having the size and mean streak to wear down opponents in the corners throughout the course of a game. Hughes is a tremendous talent with the puck, but his physical play is non-existent and he will be outmuscled in close quarters by most players in the NHL. Enjoy watching Hughes get manhandled by stronger players in front of his net, and then ponder on how that could potentially be a problem for a Dman.

How much of a problem was it for Makar this last year?

 

[Canuck Luck]

Well the Oilers do have this guy named McDavid...weird to even compare the two, really.

Is McDavid a top 4 d or even a selke level forward? The poster I quoted was talking about how the 1 and only reason they think the Canucks are a bottom 3 team will be lack of top 4 d. Weird to bring up McDavid in a conversation comparing defenses, really

 

[crazy8888]

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.

They also have a really good coach to boot. Future looking bright

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

Quick answer, no they don't..

 

[blankall]

The Canucks lineup doesn’t really look that deep to me especially if an injury or two takes a few of those forwards out for any significant time.

Line 1 LW Garland C Miller RW Boeser
Line 2 LW Kuzmenko C Pettersson RW Mikheyev
Line 3 LW Hoglander C Horvat RW Podkolzin
Line 4 LW Pearson C Dickinson RW Lazar

1st Pair LD Ekman-Larsson RD Myers
2nd Pair LD Hughes RD Schenn
3rd Pair LD Dermott RD Burroughs

Goalies:
Starter: Demko
Backup: Martin

Scratches:
C Dowling
LD Brisebois
RD Poolman + Post Concussion Syndrome Out Indefinitely IR
RW Ferland + Post Concussion Syndrome (Career Ending) LTIR

As far as placement in the standings go I could see Vancouver around the 4-5 spot if they can hold it together and Demko stays healthy.

1. Edm, 2. LA, 3. Cgy, 4. Van 5. VGK, 6. SJ, 7. Sea, 8. Ana

That 4th line is awful....Not necessarily a killer, as it's the fourth line.

The centre depth is great, but the rest is really trash. I like Garland, but if I think of a deep team, Garland is the kind of guy you want in your #2 LW position, not on the first line. Behind him you have Kuzmenko and Hoglander. Kuzmenko has yet to play a game in the league and Hoglander had 18 points in 60 games last year.

Then on the right side you have Boeser, once again, who would be a fantastic #2 on a very deep team, but is weak again on the right side. Mikheyev is a border line #2 and Podkolzin had 26 points in 79 games last year.

So great centre depth, but this might be some of the worst winger depth in the league. It's almost a certainty that not all of Podkolzin, Kuzmenko, and Hoglander all take big steps forward. In fact, none of them might. It seems like overall the lineup is set up so that almost every winger is playing a whole line above their abilities.

 

[Satire]

A lot of people really going down hard on the Canucks in here, and I get that the OP added fuel to that fire before it even started...

That being said, people probably underestimating the team overall. I do think they will make playoffs this year and they are more dangerous than they are being given credit for. I think they are probably somewhere around 10th-16th in the league for forward groups, but lots of potential there. Their defense needs work, but their window is probably opening pretty soon here.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Now you are kind of doing what the OP did in assuming that everything goes perfect eh?

Things just don't work that way and it's dubious to claim that the Sens will be better offensively than the Canucks this year.

I mean sure it could happen but it also very likely could not but there still is only 6 top 6 spots and one top PP unit so I doubt they increase their scoring by 40 + goals..

Maybe I'm doing something like the OP but I think it is justified. When it comes to injuries I'm hoping things just don't go bad like last year.

Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson
Debrincat-Stuetzle-Giroux
Formenton-Pinto-Joseph

That is a very good top nine just considering where the players were at the end of last year. If everyone goes perfect...

 

[McJedi]

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.

OEL is now elite? Ummm.

Is Hughes even elite. He’s good… offensively, but elite. I don’t know.

EP also has a lot to prove. Can’t be wildly inconsistent, which he has been.

 

[seafoam]

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.

 

[Wats]

No. But they have better depth than Edmonton imo.

And I haven't even gotten into the lopsided goalie situation.

McD
Drai
Kane
RNH
Hyman
Yammamoto
Puljujarvi
Mcleod
Foegle/Janmark

vs

Miller
Elias
Boeser
Horvat
Garland
Mikheyev
Pearson
Pod
Kuz/Hog


Without Kane maybe but with him, their depth beats Nucks. Goalie is no question favouring Nucks but another thing is durability. Nucks seem to never stay healthy.

 

[TheOrangeDesk]

Sure I'll enjoy Hughes getting manhandled every now and then meanwhile 10 other plays he gets the puck up the ice and gets his team a goal instead. You can ponder how Nurse being a blackhole offensively with low iq leads to turnovers and goals against and how being big and physical wasnt as effective to defending goals against vs just clearing the crease and throwing hits along the boards.

last 4 years where nurse ranks in 5on5 points by Dmen:

18/19: 17th
19/20: 10th
20/21: 5th
21/22: 65th

he just had a down year but he's been very good offensively over the last several years. Nurse also plays some of the toughest minutes in league in terms of zone start, competition and total minutes.