The Vancouver Canucks rank 29th in the NHL in shots per game this season.
The Vancouver Canucks are over a third of the way through the 2024-25 season, yet are still having issues generating offence. While they do rank 13th in goals per game, Vancouver has struggled to create scoring chances and sits in the bottom five in most offensive categories, according to the analytics. Benefiting from a 12.03% shooting percentage, the Canucks will need to find a way to generate more chances if they want to have success after the holiday break.
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Vancouver's inability to create scoring chances is very odd, especially considering the talent they have on their roster. While they have missed some key contributors for extended lengths of time this season, the analytics are still lower than they should be. Below is a look at some of the Canucks even-strength offensive analytics and where they rank as per Natural Stat Trick.
What may be more confusing than the rates is that Vancouver can't generate offence despite their zone time percentages. According to NHL EDGE, the Canucks rank sixth in even-strength offensive zone time this season at 42.9%. This points to a problem that has plagued the franchise for what seems like forever: that despite being able to control possession in the offensive zone, Vancouver is unable to get pucks on the net and will give up possession before generating a scoring chance.
While the team as a whole has struggled, the lack of production from their top forwards is one of the main reasons the Canucks are in this current predicament. Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk each have under 20 even-strength points, while J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser are both under 15 on the season. Here is a look at where these four rank compared to other 323 forwards who have played at least 300 even-strength minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.
In the end, Vancouver is too talented of a team to be producing analytics this low. It also highlights how strong of a campaign Quinn Hughes is having, as despite very little production from the Canucks top forwards, he already has 40 points and is just two behind Cale Makar for the most by a defenceman this season. Unless Vancouver can find a way to become stronger in the offensive zone, more frustrating losses could be on the horizon for the Canucks.
