The Vancouver Canucks’ penalty kill in 2019-20 was modestly successful this season, killing off 80.5% of penalties during the regular season (16th in the NHL) and 80.0% of penalties in the post-season (15th in the NHL). Being roughly league average on the kill is nothing to write home about, for better or worse. As a…
When the Hockey Diversity Alliance, among other vocal groups and individuals, called for the NHL to postpone its games today in peaceful protest against racial injustice in the United States and around the world, it was all too tempting for too many people to ask: “but what will that accomplish?”
When the Canucks dispatched the Minnesota Wild in four games during the NHL’s return-to-play play-in series, it was largely on the backs of stars like Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and (game four aside) Jacob Markstrom. That said, the Canucks’ depth pieces pulled their weight, and in a match-up in which their bottom six was clearly…
In each of the three previous seasons, I’ve published articles about the likelihoods of various Canucks prospects making their NHL debuts in that particular season (see 2016-17 here, 2017-18 here, and 2018-19 here). Each year, I have done this in October, and this season I, unfortunately, missed the boat. As I recently reviewed the draft…
Prior to this recent slide, the Vancouver Canucks were one of the league’s hottest teams, winning 14 times in a 17-game stretch from December 19th to February 1st, securing the top spot in the Pacific Division. Much attention has been paid to their ability to close out hockey games, particularly with the advent of Loui…
When the Canucks signed Brogan Rafferty and Josh Teves out of college last Spring, it was already found money. College free agents are often like picking up wallets on the side of the road – sometimes they contain two bucks, other times you might find a thousand in there. Regardless of the outcome, you might…
Another World Junior Championship has come and gone, this time with Canada getting back on top and winning gold. For Canadians from coast to coast, that’s something to feel good about. For NHL fans, watching their teams’ prospects on the big stage is nearly as exciting as watching your home country succeed. Here in Vancouver,…
Early on this season, the only line with a better expected goals share that the Canucks fourth line of Jay Beagle, Tim Schaller and Tyler Motte was their top line of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Though they were still getting outshot, the fourth line was limiting thei opponents’ shot quality to the…
Quinn Hughes has been nothing short of a revelation this season. He’s played a major role in revitalizing Vancouver’s power play, and is part of a three-horse race for the 2020 Calder Trophy along with Colorado’s Cale Makar and Buffalo’s Victor Olofsson. An undersized but highly skilled defender, we were led to believe that defensive…
Despite a recent slide (before an even more recent winning streak), the Vancouver Canucks certainly look to be an improved squad relative to last year. The currently hold a points percentage of 0.523 compared to last season’s 0.494. Among the other statistical categories in which they have shown in improvements are goals per game (3.18…
There are players in the NHL that excel at drawing penalties, and there are players in the NHL that excel at defending without taking penalties. There aren’t many players that excel at both. Those players are wizards, unicorns if you will. One such player is Vancouver’s own Elias Pettersson. This season, Pettersson has drawn a…
The Canucks hot start to the season built them a lot of capital both in the standings and with their fanbase. However, yet again the month of November is proving to be their greatest adversary. After leading the entire NHL in goal differential through the first few weeks, the Canucks have felt the sting of…
