The 2024-25 season did not go as planned for the Vancouver Canucks. After winning the Pacific Division in 2023-24, Vancouver missed the post-season, finishing the campaign with 90 points. Overall, there were many reasons why the Canucks missed the playoffs, with one of the major issues being the injuries.
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One of the main reasons Vancouver had so much success in 2023-24 was that the team stayed relatively healthy. Yes, players like Carson Soucy, Dakota Joshua, Pius Suter, Teddy Blueger and Thatcher Demko missed 10+ games, but overall, the Canucks roster was able to stay intact, which allowed the team to build momentum throughout the season. Fast forward a year, and almost the exact opposite occurred as Vancouver was one of the most injured teams in the NHL.
Even before training camp began, the Canucks were already down to key players. Demko was recovering from his popliteus injury, while Joshua was set to miss time after having a cancerous tumour removed during the off-season. Joshua would return to the lineup on November 14, while Demko made his season debut on December 10.
The injuries would not stop for Demko, who, later in the season, would miss a month and a half with a lower-body injury. Vancouver's goaltender also missed a couple of games with a back injury and sat out the final few games of the year with the flu. Ultimately, it was a tough year for Demko, who finished 2024-25 with 23 games played.
Moving to Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, both missed significant time with injury. Hughes missed a total of 14 games, while Hronek was out of the lineup for 21 games. While the Canucks were able to tread water when these two out of the lineup, Hughes and Hronek missing games played a factor in why the Canucks did not qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As for other key players, Brock Boeser missed seven games with a concussion, Derek Forbort missed 28 games with multiple injuries and the death of his father, Noah Juulsen missed 21 games with a sports hernia, while Filip Chytil missed 16 while being in concussion protocol. As mentioned, with players coming in and out of the lineup, it was hard for this team to build momentum, which was one of the reasons their season went off the rails.
Lastly, center Elias Pettersson had a nightmare season with injuries. He couldn't train properly in the off-season due to his knee, which caused him to start the season slow, and then he dealt with two upper-body injuries, missing a total of 18 games. With the injuries hopefully behind him, the hope is that Pettersson can return to his previous form in 2025-26 and show he can be a player that a team wins with.
In the end, the injury issue spiralled out of control for Vancouver. The team even had to deal with the flu multiple times this season, which knocked a few players out of a game or two. If the Canucks can avoid some of the long-term injuries their players dealt with this season, it will go a long way in helping them qualify for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs next season.
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