With the Canucks’ lack of offensive production to begin the season, the question has to be asked, does the team have enough offensive firepower to be competitive in the Pacific Division?

The simple answer is no. The harsh truth is the Canucks don’t have enough skill in the top six as currently constructed. Boeser and DeBrusk are both skilled goal scorers, but they both lack consistency and often find themselves in long scoreless droughts. Pettersson was expected to come out ready to live up to expectations from fans, management, and himself, and he hasn’t done that just yet. Chytil showed promise in the season opener against the Flames, but even he suffers from inconsistency, not to mention the injury risk he comes with. Other than a bit of physicality, Kane has brought little to the top six. Garland has started the season unusually slow, but it’s only a matter of time till the pesky forward picks up the pace.

It all really comes back to Pettersson’s struggles. When he’s on his game, he makes the players around him better, but when he’s off his game, the entire team suffers.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, there’s no easy solution to the scoring issues. Some might suggest promoting young forward Jonathan Lekkermäki to the top line with Pettersson, but even that has it’s risks. Lekkermäki hasn’t exactly been an offensive weapon either, recording only one goal this season. The Canucks did make one move following the teams loss to the Blues, reassigning rookie Braden Cootes to the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds and calling up forward Max Sasson. Sasson had periods of strong play last season, but even adding him to the lineup is unlikely to provide much offensive firepower to the Canucks lineup. They need more from their top six forwards, plain and simple.

The best course of action for the Canucks will be gouging the trade market for top six help, but even that is a tall task. The Canucks don’t have a ton of assets to move outside of top prospects like Tom Willander and Lekkermäki, and there isn’t exactly a surplus of top six forwards readily available.

Whatever the solution is, whether it be a trade or finding a way to get Pettersson back to his 100 point form, Adam Foote and Co better find it soon. With each day the offence continues to struggle, the harder it’ll be for the Canucks to make up ground in a division that features elite offensive firepower such as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel, and Adrian Kempe, just to name a few.