In their first power rankings of the 2024-25 NHL season — which they themselves dubbed as “way too early power rankings” — ESPN ranked the Vancouver Canucks as the ninth-best team heading into next season.
Here’s what ESPN wrote about the Canucks, who ranked one spot ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs (10th) and one spot behind the Nashville Predators (8th):
“A cavalcade of playoff-tested ex-Bruins found its way to the Pacific Northwest, bolstering a core of players that all seemed to perform at or near career-high levels in 2023-24. The Canucks are clearly not ready to cede the Pacific Division to the Cup finalist Oilers.”
As ESPN alluded to, the Canucks added ex-Bruins Danton Heinen, Derek Forbort, and of course Jake DeBrusk to their roster in free agency. DeBrusk could have serious upside in Vancouver, Heinen will bring great versatility and scoring to the lineup, and Forbort will act as a suitable replacement for Ian Cole both at even strength and on the penalty kill. All have played meaningful games and are no strangers to the requirements of playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The club has undergone a notable upgrade at the forward position this offseason and despite appearing to take a step backwards on defence, the Canucks feel confident that their coaching staff will be able to get more out of players like Vincent Desharnais and improve the backend as a whole.
Another thing to note from ESPN’s rankings is that just the Cup-finalist Edmonton Oilers — who the Canucks lost in game seven of the second round to — are the only Pacific Division team ahead of the Canucks on the rankings. The rest of the Pacific teams are the Vegas Golden Knights at 12th, LA Kings at 14th, followed long after by the Seattle Kraken, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks, who all project to finish towards the bottom of the league.
What do you think of ESPN’s ranking of the Canucks heading into 2024-25? Let us know in the comments section below!
