Tell me why I shouldn’t worry about the Canucks slipping

[NVious]

One word: Jonathan Tonathan freaking Miller

 

[jackjohnson]

Yeah I think they'll be a wild card team or 3rd in the Pacific. The month or two without Demko could really set them back but I don't know if anyone in the west took a big enough step forward to totally knock them out

I doubt it, remember how Canucks still won the pacific with Demko being injured for 2 months?? Plus now we have 2 established backup goalies in Silovs and Lankenin when last year we had mostly relied on DeSmith and I take both over DeSmith. Silovs playing like a modern day Hasek last night might even prove that we might not need Demko

 

[BCNate]

Canucks will be just fine. Much improved forward group with lots of depth. D is better than it was on opening day last year. They will almost certainly add another D As the season progresses. Goaltending will be better than last year once Demko is back.

I’d say Oilers maybe got a bit better, but still have question marks, and everyone else in the division got worse.

 

[jackjohnson]

Peterson has a lot to do with it. They really need him to be elite he is the center depth on that team.

Something tells me DeBrusk/Lekker/Sprong will be able to help with that much more so than 10 goals a season brick hand Mikheyev.

Lekker-Pettersson-DeBrusk
That could very well be a 1A line to JT millers 1B line if Lekkermaki starts lighting up the NHL

 

[jackjohnson]

Canucks will be just fine. Much improved forward group with lots of depth. D is better than it was on opening day last year. They will almost certainly add another D As the season progresses. Goaltending will be better than last year once Demko is back.

I’d say Oilers maybe got a bit better, but still have question marks, and everyone else in the division got worse.

Oilers have more question marks than Canucks imo. Who will replace Ceci and Deharnais size and defensive zone time? 5'4 Stecher? Will Skinner still be inconsistent in net? Can Arvidsson and jeff skinner replace the loss of grittyness and physcial play of Foegele and Kane?

Seems to me oilers got much softer to play against losing more grit and adding soft finesse players. Canucks lost Zadorov which was huge in terms of losing a big physical player but they went on to add physical players like Deharnais, Forbort, Blais, Sherwood, Debrusk etc.

 

[BCNate]

Oilers have more question marks than Canucks imo. Who will replace Ceci and Deharnais size and defensive zone time? 5'4 Stecher? Will Skinner still be inconsistent in net? Can Arvidsson and jeff skinner replace the loss of grittyness and physcial play of Foegele and Kane?

Seems to me oilers got much softer to play against losing more grit and adding soft finesse players. Canucks lost Zadorov which was huge in terms of losing a big physical player but they went on to add physical players like Deharnais, Forbort, Blais, Sherwood, Debrusk etc.

Good points. As well I think people forget that the Canucks had Hirose and Juulsen playing on opening night last year.

 

[Three On Zero]

Im considering putting a bet on them missing the playoffs considering the odds. Especially if Demko really isn’t returning

Kravtsov disapproves

 

[Three On Zero]

This is still a well-coached team with some top-end talent, but it also had 83 points 2 years ago with a lot of the same top-end talent.

And I’m seeing some red flags.

It was career years across the board for so many key Canucks last year. Isn’t some regression to the mean likely?

There aren’t a lot of returning players where you could say “that guys got more to give” or up-and-comers giving off the “this kid is going to make a real impact” vibe.

The guys coming in (Debrusk, Heinen, Sprong, Sherwood, Forbert, Desharnais) don’t look as good as the guys that left (Lindholm, Mikheyev, Lafferty, Podkolzin Zadorov, Cole) especially on the blueline.

Two important guys are out to start the season and it’s unclear how much they will be able to contribute. Joshua (and Zadorov) were identity players and IMO Demko is their most important piece.

I mean, on paper, the roster looks like a playoff team, but pretty much everything went right for Vancouver in the regular season last year. Reassure me why the opposite won’t happen this year.

Canucks had a fairly good season last year and caught a lot of opponents off guard, I think teams will have read the book a bit more on them this season. Offensively they improved, defensively they downgraded slightly. Goaltending could be a huge downgrade of Demko can’t recover. At the end of the day anything can happen. Canucks could lose Demko and spiral. Edmonton could lose McDavid and turn into a lottery team. Bobrovsky could fall off a cliff and cause Florida an early exit. Or anyone of those 3 teams could win the President’s Trophy or the division

 

[HockeyVirus]

That pacific division is so terrible it's hard to imagine them not making the playoffs

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Cause for concern sure. As there is with any team.
The only really big concern imo is Demko. You just don’t replace a Vezina finalist goalie. His health is definitely the number one issue. Adding Laniken on the cheap should buy the team some time if he’s not ready soon.
Forward depth is definitely better with no big losses and lots of adds and Lekkerimaki and Raty looking great in camp so far and knocking on the door.
D depth is worse without Zadarov but there’s likely an add in season.
But the biggest factor for me in being confident is the great management we’ve seen since Rutherford and Allvin took over. It’s like night and day. And then add Tocchet’s coaching a much more structured style of play and I think the team will be in the mix with Edmonton and Vegas.

 

[benfranklin]

Its like the Oilers. I dont believe a coach can make that much of a difference long term. Sure a quick spark and thats my guess with both the Canucks and Oilers.

 

[GreeningOil]

Hoglander is hitting 100 points

And it isn’t even debatable if he’ll reach it
It’s a forgone conclusion

Do you mean in his entire career? I think the necessary 10 points is likely

 

[Another Empty Netter]

Insanely well coached

Coaches also have a shelf life. Rick is part of the window. I think he minimizes this leaning on other coaches & hall of famers - Gonch, Sedins - smart

 

[GreeningOil]

Oilers have more question marks than Canucks imo. Who will replace Ceci and Deharnais size and defensive zone time? 5'4 Stecher? Will Skinner still be inconsistent in net? Can Arvidsson and jeff skinner replace the loss of grittyness and physcial play of Foegele and Kane?

Seems to me oilers got much softer to play against losing more grit and adding soft finesse players. Canucks lost Zadorov which was huge in terms of losing a big physical player but they went on to add physical players like Deharnais, Forbort, Blais, Sherwood, Debrusk etc.

Well… the Oilers did lose those players…

Foegle was meh outside of stints with Drai. Same with McLeod. Ceci is replaceable (while I do agree a replacement is badly needed)

Kane will hurt, but they have added new players to inject into the top 6. They will likely also have 1-2 different players added throughout the season.

I also think the Nucks will be alright. Good coaching can help mask mistakes if their players maintain the culture Tocchet has implemented!

It will be a good test to see what happens this season!

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Its like the Oilers. I dont believe a coach can make that much of a difference long term. Sure a quick spark and thats my guess with both the Canucks and Oilers.

Tocchet has been coaching the Canucks 118 regular season games. That’s not a quick spark. You may have a point with the Oilers but I think their coach has also set up a good system.

 

[Rafafouille]

Everything went right last season? Boy you probably missed most of the Canucks games. Petersson was injured, Soucy missed half the season, Demko got injured for 2 months and in playoffs and he was our top player. Must have forgot how Lindholm was playing with injury and ineffective all season except playoffs.

Also why does the 2 seasons prior have anything to do with present?? So by your logic a team can not improve and will be mediocre for eternity if they were mediocre in previous years. I always wondered how Oilers became a top team when they were medicore a decade ago

Basically your redflags are nonsense and you are probably the same person that had Canucks missing playoffs last year by a wide margin.

Canucks improved by changing their management first then the coaching and replacing dead weights with contributors.

You mean the Pettersson that played 82 games? Also my god, poor Canucks, how did they survive losing their #5/6 defenseman for half the year, tragic I tell you. As for Demko, he was injured March 9th, came back April 16th. Missed 14 games. Not a particularly long absence.


Then on the other hand, JT had a career year, Hughes had a career year, Boeser had a career year, Hronek had a career year. That and the fact your top 9 scorers minus Joshua all played 78+ games. Unbelievably healthy. I'm more likely to win the lottery than the Canucks not having even a minor setback next year. Everything went for them.

 

[SensontheRush]

I'd be more worried about EDM. So many question marks throughout that lineup, and the looming karmic justice of the Hockey gods brought upon by hiring Bowman.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

"Tell me why I shouldn’t worry about the Canucks slipping"

They are all hockey players and are used to being on the ice.

 

[McPoyle]

I think they will take a step back standings wise. Team had an all time heater for much of last season. The goaltending situation is concerning as well. They will get in as a 2-3 spot in the division.

 

[Raistlin]

I think most canucks fans expect the team to slot in 2nd or 3rd barring more injuries. Losing Demko for any extended period will knock them out of president trophy/division title stratosphere.

I'm not too concerned because ownership has fixed the whole operation from the President/GM out. Tocchet/Gonchar/Foote/D&H Sedin along with Hughes as captain just oozes accountability and its looking like JR is delivering on the "developing a culture" promise from couple years ago. thats a sustainable solid foundation that is not constrained by a salary cap.

Looks like the window is open right now, its a low risk that they are going to make bad decisions and scupper their season with Allvin. I dont think its a mirage, the core is formed and growing with balance, I think they are solidly emerging from the Benning years.

 

[RandV]

Oilers have more question marks than Canucks imo. Who will replace Ceci and Deharnais size and defensive zone time? 5'4 Stecher? Will Skinner still be inconsistent in net? Can Arvidsson and jeff skinner replace the loss of grittyness and physcial play of Foegele and Kane?

Seems to me oilers got much softer to play against losing more grit and adding soft finesse players. Canucks lost Zadorov which was huge in terms of losing a big physical player but they went on to add physical players like Deharnais, Forbort, Blais, Sherwood, Debrusk etc.

Oilers have their own question marks of course but going head to head against Vancouver next season you also have to look at the fact they had a terrible start to the season compared to the Canucks hot start and were swept in the head to head matchup. That specific set of events is probably not going to happen again which being lead by McDavid and Draisaitl should put them on top of the division. Where these potential issues will hit them is in their Cup chances.

 

[kanucks25]

Would not be surprised if we took a step back.

Few players had "bad" years and no major/long-term injuries.

Pettersson is also a major question mark especially considering he admitted the injury that made him play like a complete clown is still bothering him, which doesn't sound good for someone who is as mentally fragile as he is.

And then of course perhaps the biggest story - Demko's health.

All that said, I don't think we're an elite team but I also don't think last season was a fluke. I'd be surprised if we missed the playoffs.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

Driven by a still-improving Quinn Hughes, the Canucks are going to improve on last season and will fight for the top spot in the West.

 

[jackjohnson]

Driven by a still-improving Quinn Hughes, the Canucks are going to improve on last season and will fight for the top spot in the West.

Pettersson needs to step up though. Miller, Boeser, Hughes, DeBrusk and others seem to be playing good in preseason yet Petey is still playing like an injured petey.

 

[jackjohnson]

You mean the Pettersson that played 82 games? Also my god, poor Canucks, how did they survive losing their #5/6 defenseman for half the year, tragic I tell you. As for Demko, he was injured March 9th, came back April 16th. Missed 14 games. Not a particularly long absence.


Then on the other hand, JT had a career year, Hughes had a career year, Boeser had a career year, Hronek had a career year. That and the fact your top 9 scorers minus Joshua all played 78+ games. Unbelievably healthy. I'm more likely to win the lottery than the Canucks not having even a minor setback next year. Everything went for them.

Missed 14 games means 2 months bud. So aside from some of the injuries you seem to brush off, you think Petersson playing with an injury since january was fine? I guess McDavid also didnt have any injuries, just missed 2 weeks, probably fake.