The Vancouver Canucks have not made it to the playoffs since the 2014-2015 season. Vancouver has been in a bit of a rebuild with Travis Green at the helm. Are the Vancouver Canucks legit?
He is in his third season as the head coach of this team. It appears as if this hockey team is finally blossoming under his eyes.
The Canucks are currently in second place in the Pacific Division so far this season with a 9-3-2 record with 21 points.
They are one point back of the Edmonton Oilers for first place in that division. Vancouver is only up to two points on the Vegas Golden Knights and the Calgary Flames.
However, the division is really tight and it is also the weakest division in hockey.
Elias Pettersson won the Rookie of the Year Award last season (Calder Trophy) for the Vancouver Canucks. He is one of the reasons why Vancouver is good so far this season. Pettersson has scored six goals and has recorded 14 assists so far this season. His plus/minus is 5.
Brock Boeser has scored seven goals and has recorded nine assists so far this season. His plus/minus is 6. Boeser is a sniper, but he has also improved his playmaking.
Those two players are probably the best two players on the roster. They will be one of the best duos in the NHL for the next decade.
I don’t know if Pettersson and Boeser will win a Stanley Cup Title together, but they could. Vancouver has not been there since 2011 against the Boston Bruins and they lost in seven games. The Canucks were also there in 1994 against the New York Rangers and they lost in seven games.
J.T. Miller was acquired in a trade this offseason with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Miller has scored six goals and has recorded nine assists so far this season. His plus/minus is 4.
Bo Horvat has also scored six goals and has recorded seven assists so far this season. His plus/minus is -3.
Quinn Hughes is the anchor on the blueline. He is the brother of number one overall pick Jack Hughes (2019). Quinn was taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and he played his college hockey at the University of Michigan.
Hughes has scored one goal and has recorded nine assists so far this season. His plus/minus is even.
Brandon Sutter has scored five goals and has recorded three assists so far this season. His plus/minus is 5.
Jake Virtanen and Tim Schaller have scored four goals so far this season. A lot of other players have been contributing. Virtanen has recorded three assists. His plus/minus is 5. Schaller’s plus/minus is 3.
Thatcher Demko and Jacob Markstrom have been a solid goaltending duo so far this season. Demko’s record is 4-1 with a .938 save percentage and a 1.78 GAA.
Markstrom’s record so far this season is 5-2-2 with a .917 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA.
This team has the potential to make it to the playoffs this season. They also have a chance to win a playoff series, but I don’t think Vancouver is ready to make it past the second round yet.
This team will be a serious Stanley Cup Title contender in a year or two. They will have some big games coming up including Tuesday night against the defending Stanley Cup Champions the St. Louis Blues at home and against the Winnipeg Jets on the road on Friday night.
The Vancouver Canucks have done a very good job of rebuilding. This team should only get better moving forward. Are the Vancouver Canucks legit?
