On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal broke down the Vancouver Canucks’ struggles after they dropped back-to-back games to Vegas and Utah following the 4 Nations break. With offensive production stalling to anemic levels, the guys break down what’s gone wrong.

“We all know Pettersson is the boiling point topic, and he deserves the criticism for how poorly he’s playing this season, but you can’t pin the lack of offensive generation on one guy,” Harm said. “There are deep-rooted issues with how little they create offensively. The first thing that stands out personnel-wise is the lack of high-end, top-six drivers.

“Right now, the Canucks only have two forwards who have ever topped 55 points in a season throughout their whole career, which is Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. You compare that to other Pacific Division playoff teams — the Oilers have seven, the Golden Knights, who lost a lot of talent in the offseason, have five. The L.A. Kings, a team who’s talked about for their defence and lack of offence, have five.

“You’ve got a scenario where Drew O’Connor and Kiefer Sherwood are in your top six, which is problematic. Conor Garland leads Canucks forwards in ice time this season. That’s an indictment on the lack of elite forwards this team has.”

The Canucks’ latest losses emphasized the lack of star power up front. Even with injuries playing a factor, the bigger picture looks like this team lacks the offensive firepower needed to contend.

“If you weren’t already 99% convinced this team doesn’t look like a contender, this weekend should have done it,” Harm continued. “We know they’re missing Hughes and how impactful he’s been, but even with Quinn, we know he’s playing through a couple injuries now. When he comes back, although he can be an exceptional player when hampered, can he lead you to a playoff run when he’s going to be highly targeted? Highly unlikely.

“Not only that, but the uncertainty around Demko’s status and not having confidence he can return to being the type of goalie who can play at a Vezina level. I just don’t see a path for this team having playoff success this year, and they’re so thin on assets with so many needs for next season.

“If you can’t come to a compromised extension with Boeser, you have to deal him. The problem is, this team is completely anemic offensively, so subtracting a 30-goal scorer from that is tough. I know you can find scoring wingers in free agency, but even if you find the next Brock Boeser at a comparable price, you need so much more top-of-the-lineup skill that it’s a tough position for this organization to be in.”

The discussion shifted to the Canucks’ roster-building approach and how management has had to prioritize strengthening the defence, sometimes at the expense of their forward depth.

“When this management group took over, they were so thin on the back end,” Harm explained. “It was Quinn Hughes and basically nobody else because the Benning regime was woeful when it came to supplementing the blueline through development, trades, and free agency.

“This management was dealt a horrible hand on the back end outside of Quinn Hughes, so they went out and indirectly exchanged Bo Horvat for Filip Hronek, which has worked out wonderfully. Then the J.T. Miller trade has indirectly turned into Marcus Pettersson, so now their back end is in a pretty solid position—but you had to exchange some of your top forwards to solve those needs. I’m not saying they should have kept either guy, but it illustrates from a roster construction standpoint how we’ve ended up here.”

With the Canucks struggling to score and key players underperforming, the conversation around their long-term outlook and trade deadline approach is only intensifying.

You can watch the full segment below: