On Wednesday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal broke down what the Vancouver Canucks need to do to consider their upcoming five-game road trip a success.

The trip begins Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, followed by a back-to-back in Chicago on Friday. From there, Vancouver faces the Washington Capitals for a rare 9:30 a.m. start Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, and wraps up against the Nashville Predators before heading home.

With a gruelling schedule ahead, Harm set the bar for what he considers a reasonable outcome.

“If they can walk away from that with three wins, you’re very happy,” he said. “This is a tough road trip, and even when they come back, you’ve got a back-to-back at home against a Montreal team who’s off to a 3-1 start and looks electric offensively, and then the Oilers the next night. These next seven games are going to be a tough test, and looking at the road trip — bare minimum for the market to not panic, you want to see them walk away with at least five points in those five games. If you can get three wins and six points, even better, but because of how difficult I’m expecting especially the first three games to be, I’m hoping they can get five points.”

Quads shared a more specific prediction for how he thinks the road trip will play out.

“Here’s my prediction: I think they come out firing but ultimately fall short against the Stars. I think they beat Chicago, Washington, and Pittsburgh – although Silovs might have something to say about the Penguins game – and then close it out with a loss to Nashville. If they can get three out of five, that’s a win and what you’re hoping for as a Canucks fan,” he said.

He added that, with some fans already growing anxious after two early losses, the team’s performance on this road trip could significantly impact the mood in the market.

While Elias Pettersson’s early struggles have dominated the conversation, Harm argued that the focus shouldn’t just be on one player, but on the team’s overall lack of offensive flow.

“We spend a lot of time talking about Pettersson, but I do want to shift away from him specifically because it’s about the team’s offence as a whole,” Harm said. “If your one supposed star forward isn’t going, there isn’t anyone else in that forward group who can pick up the slack and drive play like a first liner? That’s going to be one of the most interesting things, process-wise, to watch over the road trip. Can they manufacture offence? Can they be faster through the neutral zone, attack and get to the inside? That was the most concerning part over the last two games – it’s not that they have a 1-2 record, it’s not the result, it’s how bad the process has looked.”

He pointed out that the team’s territorial play and possession have been issues early on.

“They got their teeth kicked in. They weren’t creating meaningful scoring chances, yet also surrendering 35-plus shots. It looked like they were in complete disarray,” Harm said. “You have to look at the process and how convincing they look. If they go into Dallas with clean breakouts, are faster through the neutral zone, tighten up defensively, and you see sparks in the offence but they happen to lose a tight game? To me, that’s not the end of the world because your process is improving.”

He added that even a win wouldn’t mean much if it came with the same problems that plagued their recent performances.

“If they go up against Chicago and win, but it’s on the back of Demko or Lankinen standing on their head, you’re sub-20 shots – that’s going to be concerning even if you get the win,” he said.

Harm summed up what would make the trip a success for him – not just in results, but in progress.

“What I’m hoping for on this road trip is: can you iron out those kinks and feel like, with your system and style of play, that you’re heading in a direction that can lead to long-term success this year.”

Watch the full replay of the episode below!