Fantasy point projections for each Vancouver Canucks core player

It’s almost time for fantasy hockey team owners to pick their keepers, draft their squads, and compete for the ultimate bragging rights this upcoming season.

As such, ESPN has released their point projections for each NHL player, and today, we’re looking at the Vancouver Canucks’ core players. Here’s what ESPN projects for Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, JT Miller, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Thatcher Demko.

With a career-high 45 goals and 71 assists, ESPN is projecting that Elias Pettersson will top his point total of 102 points in 2022-23. This would break Henrik Sedin’s franchise record for most points in a single season (112 in 2009-10).

Not only is ESPN projecting Quinn Hughes to miss five games, they’re also expecting him to regress offensively, putting up seven goals — the same number he scored this past season — but recording nine fewer assists with 60 instead of 69.

This one is simple. In year one of his new seven-year contract, ESPN projects JT Miller to still maintain his point-per-game status. Only in 2023-24, they expect him to play in one less game than last season, and as a result, score one less point than he did this past season with 31 goals and 50 assists instead of matching the 32 goals and 50 assists he tallied in 2022-23.

Hey! That’s one more point than Andrei Kuzmenko recorded this past season! ESPN is projecting that while his goal output will decrease, Andrei Kuzmenko will make up for it in the assist department, with 33 goals and 42 assists through 80 games.

ESPN didn’t provide projected assist numbers for Thatcher Demko, but they did provide a projected save percentage, overall record, and more when it comes to the Canucks’ starting goaltender.

Demko had a tough year in 2022-23, and as a result, so did the Canucks. ESPN is projecting a .910 save percentage and a 2.86 goals against average as opposed to the .901 and 3.16 he logged in 2022-23. As for a record, ESPN projects 31 wins, 22 losses, and two shutouts for Demko this season.

What do you think of these projections? Let us know in the comments section below!