The countdown is on to the start of the new Vancouver Canucks season. But before the team sets its opening night roster or faces the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, you had questions about the upcoming season. In this week’s mailbag, we want to take a broader view of the Canucks as they embark on the 2024-25 campaign. So, we’ll try to answer some of the bigger-picture questions you posed. Let’s dive in.
I’m going to say five: Boeser, Miller, and Pettersson, for sure. Jake DeBrusk needs to be a 20-goal guy at the very least, so let’s add him to the list. There are a bunch of other candidates in the running: Höglander, Sprong, and Garland have all been 20-goal guys in their careers.
Dakota Joshua was on pace to score 20 for the first time last season. Danton Heinen hasn’t reached 20, but has come close. So there are a number of players in the running. But I’m going to say Quinn Hughes is the fifth. I think the team will have a bunch of 15-18 goal guys, but some of them may prevent others from reaching the 20-goal mark.
Did you see Carson Soucy jump into the rush on Friday against Edmonton and take that backhand feed from Elias Pettersson in the slot? The proof is already in the pudding. Okay, that was just one example and it was also preseason. But I do think the Canucks are going to try to activate their defence more than they have in the past and create that secondary wave (or level) of offence that Rick Tocchet has yearned for. I think this has the potential to be a quick team that can use its speed to push opposing defences back to create space. So I’m willing to give this a chance.
Let’s tackle that first one. Does anybody remember Dakota Joshua dropping the gloves with Vincent Desharnais in the first fight of the season on opening night a year ago? Joshua and Nikita Zadorov led the Canucks with four scraps apiece last season. Big Z is gone and Joshua’s got a bigger fight on his hands right now. Ian Cole was the only other Canuck to fight more than twice last season – he duked it out three times.
I don’t think this is going to be a team with a lot of fighting majors this season. But I’ll go with the newcomer Desharnais who had four tilts last season in Edmonton including the one with his new teammate Joshua. Desharnais likely has to be prepared to fight on some nights to keep his spot in the Canucks line-up.
I don’t think much has changed whether it’s today or a month out from the trade deadline – the Canucks will surely be looking to add to their defensive depth. There are legitimate concerns about the puck moving abilities of the blueliners below Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek on the depth chart. If they can somehow fashion a deal for a true number three, then they’d likely be set with one of the stronger and deeper defence corps in the league.
Simple math tells you that 12 goals in 60 games is a goal every five games. That seems like an unlikely pace for Arshdeep Bains at this stage of his career. Now, he did score twice in the preseason – both on the power play. So he knows where the net is as he’s shown at lower levels. But he hasn’t looked dangerous in his eight regular season appearances so far and he’s not likely to get power play time if everyone ahead of him on the roster is healthy. So as impressive as he’s been in the AHL and through training camp and the preseason, Bains reaching a dozen goals this season seems like a reach. I’d like to see it – and I’m sure he and the Canucks would, too. But that feels like it’s asking a little too much right now.
Sure, but that’s a big if right now. And I don’t think you can expect Suter to fetch a top four defenceman straight up, so you’re probably looking at another depth defender and this team has a surplus already. Suter provides versatility and has a hockey IQ that Rick Tocchet appreciates.
But he’s a pending UFA. If teams really want him, they may be prepared to wait until the summer to see if he hits the open market rather than surrendering assets to grab him. It’s hard to imagine a late season bidding war developing for the services of Pius Suter. But I’m here for it, if it happens. Let’s see how the season unfolds and ultimately where he slots in and is able to best help the Canucks – and perhaps, in turn, boost his trade value.
I’m going to to take the over. He’s coming off back to back 46 and 43 point seasons in Seattle and Detroit. He’s going to get a chance to play with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk and get second unit power play time. If he stays healthy, I have to think he can be a half-a-point a game guy over the course of the season.
Wow. Going big. Well, I suppose we did ask for big picture questions. Only once in their existence have the Canucks finished with more than 111 points. That was 2010-11 when the best team in franchise history racked up a club-record 117 points. That team had an Art Ross Trophy winner and a Selke winner and went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
This year’s club has a lot of star quality component parts, but I don’t think this group is on the same level as the 2010-11 team. So I think 115 points is out of the question. Repeating as Pacific Division champs is possible, I suppose, but I think this iteration of the Canucks would much rather be playoff Pacific Division champs rather than the regular season version. That’s the goal regardless of their overall record or how many points they finish with.
Sponsored by bet365
