The Canucks have continued on their torrid pace since last week’s edition of the roundtable, and have now gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. With that in mind, it may be time to start re-adjusting expectations for what this team can accomplish this season. Have you seen enough from the Canucks to convince you they’re a playoff team?

I will be grading your answers.

Yes. The team is currently playing a bit above their heads, and the wheels are inevitably going to come off at some point – but only to a certain degree. The Canucks have also shown a great deal of resiliency in bouncing back from a number of early-season setbacks – like the Brock Boeser contract negotiations, an 0-2-0 start, and that disastrous collapse against the Washington Capitals. In previous seasons, such bumps in the road would be prelude to a spiral, but this edition of the Canucks has come back stronger than ever before after each and every setback. That means that when certain statistical anomalies even out, the Canucks should have the fortitude to weather the storm long enough to maintain their spot in the standings. This is a team built to improve as the season wears on, not one to peter out and fumble at the finish line.

That playoff feeling is back in Vancouver Canucks fans hearts. The feeling that makes you not want to miss any action on the ice. The feeling of when your team is clicking on all cylinders as each line is contributing offensively and the stars have been shining when the team needs a boost. Though the difference in play on the ice should be the main focus I think we need to look at the organization as a whole to start to talk about playoffs. The team has been healthy early this season but the injuries are to come and I feel different about who will replace the fallen Canucks when they go down. The Utica Comets are 8-0 and with players like Sven Baertschi, Nikolay Goldobin, Justin Bailey, Zack MacEwen and other names as possible forward call-ups it feels as if the depth has done a complete 180 from the previous few years. Something feels different about this year’s team and I am drinking all of the Kool-Aid. I believe the Canucks have enough overall team skill to make the playoffs and from there hope to be the team that goes on a run with a young core.  This likely isn’t the year that the Vancouver Canucks win The Stanley Cup, instead it will be known as the year that the young core took a major step towards that ultimate goal. I’m now team playoffs too so save me a another seat at the next meeting.

Not completely. I say this mostly because of where we are in the schedule. 11-14 games is such a small sample size for any team. At this point, there are only roughly 7 or 8 teams that I’m convinced are playoff locks and the Canucks aren’t one of them yet.However, I have seen a level of play from the team that makes me think they are closer than I thought they were at the start of the season but to say I’m fully convinced would be a stretch. They’ll have to continue this level of success for a bit longer in a league filled with parity and unpredictability to have me convinced. Continuing this level of success is definitely possible, but it’s a long road ahead and we are just getting started. I’d prefer to enjoy the ride as we have thus far before labelling them a playoff team.

I haven’t seen “enough” from the team yet but I also have seen what they’re capable of. They haven’t really faced adversity yet against a number of good teams as their schedule has been pretty easy peasy.
The statistics don’t lie, though. Every line has a positive outlook so far and both the defense and goaltending haven’t fallen off in the slightest. Add to that the advanced stats have the Canucks higher up game after game, we may have to remember how to be tense for 60 minutes come April.

I’m not ready to call this team playoff bound. The Canucks like many other teams across sports are buying into the idea that good processes create good results over the long run. The results through October have been promising but I’m much more interested in the process that the Canucks have undergone. The traits demanded of a Travis Green led team have bleed through in the first 12 games. The defence is playing an up-tempo puck transitioning game and the forwards are committed to being relentless on the rush and forecheck. The Canucks even bounced back from some early season adversity with their 7-2 victory just days after blowing a 5-1 lead. If the Canucks want to make the playoffs this year, they had the kind of October that is required. They took advantage of a weak schedule and have accomplished part of the process. But the season is long and full of terrors and the Canucks have a ways to go in their journey.