Team feels it has improved in off-season, but lingering questions remain
With just one playoff appearance in the past eight years, the heat is on the Vancouver Canucks. The time has come for this franchise to start taking steps forward. With that in mind, here are five burning questions as the hockey club nears the start of its 2023-24 National Hockey League regular season.
1) What impact will Rick Tocchet and his coaching staff have with the benefit of 36 games behind the bench last season and a full training camp and preseason this time around?
The Canucks are certainly hoping the days of mass confusion in their own zone and the need to outscore defensive deficiencies are a thing of the past. Since Day 1 on the job, Tocchet has been drilling down -- hard -- on implementing his systems and structure. That has continued through training camp and into a pre-season where aside from a 10-0 embarrassment with a mostly AHL roster, the Canucks have scored and surrendered seven goals in the three games since. The past three outings have probably been a pretty good indicator of the way Tocchet wants his team to play. However, it's important to note the Canucks have just four even-strength goals through their first four exhibition outings. The Canucks seem poised to be a lower event team at both ends of the ice than in recent years trying to win more games 3-2 or even 2-1 which may impact individual point totals, but should help the team remain competitive in the difficult Pacific Division and Western Conference.
2) How much better will the Canucks penalty kill be this season?
Considering the Canucks were dead last in the league on the penalty kill last season (71.6%), there is only one way to go. Certainly, addressing the shorthanded short-comings was an off-season priority with the additions of Ian Cole, Carson Soucy, Teddy Blueger and Pius Suter. Lump in Filip Hronek who only appeared in four games after the trade from Detroit and -- the Canucks fingers are crossed -- a healthy Thatcher Demko and there is reason to believe the hockey club will be better while down a man. Then again, they can't be much worse. But there are early signs of improvement to the eye from the pre-season where (again putting the lopsided Calgary loss aside), the Canucks have surrendered just one power play goal in 11 tries over their past three exhibition outings. The league-worst penalty kill sunk the Canucks on far too many nights last season. If it can hold its own and keep the Canucks in more games -- and there is reason to believe that will be the case -- then even a move toward league average this season would represent a massive improvement in a key area of the game.
3) Will Elias Pettersson's contract extension be a distraction?
The star centre addressed the issue on the first day of training camp in Victoria and hasn't been asked questions about his future since. And that's the way it should be. Now it's on Pettersson to ensure that the topic remains on the back-burner. If he gets off to a quick start and helps the hockey club win games, he adds leverage for whenever the two sides get around to discussing a new mega-deal. If, however, Pettersson struggles out of the gate or the team falls off the pace early, the contract uncertainty is bound to be a hot topic in a hockey-mad market like Vancouver. Pettersson, himself, has admitted that his contractual situation weighed on him after his last negotiations when he missed training camp and part of the preseason and got off to a slow start just two years ago. Soon to turn 25, Pettersson is older, wiser and more experienced now and is probably better able to handle the business side of the game. But make no mistake, this next deal will be complex and significant and it's simply human nature to think that the implications may weigh on him from time to time. But as long as both Pettersson and the Canucks have early season success, the contract chatter should remain a whisper.
4) Do the Canucks have a breakout candidate on the roster?
At first glance, the answer is no. There was hope in the market that Vasily Podkolzin would be that guy. But he's going to start the season in the American Hockey League. Nils Höglander looks to have made the opening night roster, however it remains to be seen if he's an every night player under Tocchet. If not, it's hard to consider him a breakout candidate. They just need him back to where he was as a rookie when he scored 13 goals and drove opponents wild with his relentless forecheck in 56 games in the All Canadian Division season. Otherwise, the breakout candidates are the same cast of characters people have been waiting on for a few seasons now. Brock Boeser turns 27 in February. That seems late in the day to be a breakout guy, but the hope of that elusive 30-goal season will always follow him. Conor Garland is now in his third season with the Canucks and has yet to hit the 20-goal mark in Vancouver. Anthony Beauvillier is in a contract year surely hoping to boost his value with a big season. But what does that look like? And it's hard to know exactly where the 26-year-old winger will wind up on the depth chart. It would be great if any of those players set career highs offensively, but Canucks fans probably shouldn't be holding their breath. This team will be led in scoring by Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, JT Miller and Andrei Kuzmenko. After that, it will be interesting to see just how supportive the supporting cast is.
5) Are the Canucks a playoff team?
The Vancouver Canucks should be better. On paper they are -- and soon we'll see if that carries over to the ice. Much of the team's success will hinge on the health of Thatcher Demko. He has shown, when healthy, to be knocking on the door of the list of elite netminders in the NHL. But he needs to avoid injury and prove it for an entire season not just for a month or two along the way. If he does, Demko represents a huge boost to the Canucks playoff chances. The team showed last year that 102-points from Elias Pettersson and 76-points from Quinn Hughes ultimately didn't amount to much. I think those players understand that fact, too. Individual statistics are great, but it's time for this team to take a step forward and for that to happen the stars still have to shine and the rest of the team needs to do its part, too. This market deserves to see playoff hockey at Rogers Arena for the first time since 2015. It's been far too long for hockey fans in Vancouver to live and breathe and feel the post-season. Unfortunately, that wait will likely continue. The Canucks should be a better, more-structured team under Tocchet. They will likely show considerable improvement over their 83 points from last season. But in the end, they may not have enough to fend off eight other teams in the West.
Let the games begin so we can see how it all unfolds.
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