The Vancouver Canucks have severely struggled in producing offense this season. Throughout the entire NHL, they have the second-lowest shots-for with 1525 in 60 games played — only the Chicago Blackhawks have a smaller amount (1483). Many can guess who leads Vancouver in shots, but after that, it’s a pretty severe drop-off.
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To no one’s surprise, Canucks captain Quinn Hughes leads the team in shots in all situations with 144 in 50 games played, as per Natural Stat Trick. He is followed by Conor Garland (131), Jake DeBrusk (119), Brock Boeser (105), and Kiefer Sherwood (101). After them are Elias Pettersson (94) and Pius Suter (90). For reference, Hughes has the 67th-most shots taken in the NHL. David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins leads the way with 257 in 62 games played, with Nathan MacKinnon (247) and Brady Tkachuk (240) coming in second and third respectively.
Of players who have played more than 30 games this season, Dakota Joshua trails the team with 21 shots in all strengths in 35 games played. Noah Juulsen is slightly above him with 26 in the same span of time. Other than Hughes, Tyler Myers leads the defense in shots taken with 66, with Carson Soucy placing third with 61 shots on the season.
For the Canucks, 5-on-5 shots tell a different story. In this scenario, Garland takes the lead with 97. After him are Hughes (94), Sherwood (85), DeBrusk (72), and Boeser (69). Surprisingly, Soucy takes the lead over Myers in 5-on-5 shots taken, racking up 59 to Myers’ 58. Pettersson falls after both with 56. Joshua has the lowest 5-on-5 shot count of players with more than 30 games played with 18.
Two players are tied for the team lead in shots taken on the power play. Hughes and DeBrusk both have 40, while Pettersson places third after them with 30. Boeser (27) and Garland (22) are the last two players to round out double-digit power play shots on the team. Throughout the entire league, Pastrnak leads the way in power play shots with 64.
There are three Canucks with above 20 minutes played when attempting to even the score with an empty net. Garland leads in minutes with 28:16, but comes fourth in shots produced in this scenario with five on the season. Pettersson is second on the team in minutes played while the net is empty with 24:12, and has a team-high six shots to show for it. Hughes has played 20:40 during this situation, and is tied with Pettersson with six shots taken. Boeser, who has played only 11 seconds shy of 20 minutes with the net empty, is also tied with Hughes and Pettersson in shots.
In terms of shots-for, the leaderboard is relatively similar, but shows the offensive impact some players may have regardless of whether they were the ones to actually shoot the puck or not. In all situations, Hughes leads the Canucks in this stat with 724. Garland (562), Boeser (491), Pettersson (484), and DeBrusk 473) round out the top five. Myers (429) and Filip Hronek (418) take sixth and seventh respectively.
The tale for shots-for on 5-on-5 takes a bit of an interesting turn. Hughes’ shots-for of 505 is over 100 more than the next player, Myers, who has 377. The defense has contributed a lot to the Canucks’ 5-on-5 shots-for, as Hronek and Soucy have the fourth and sixth most on the team with 339 and 316 respectively. Garland (352) and DeBrusk (326) also crack the top six.
Shots-for on the power play have generally been produced by the usual members of the top unit, as expected. First on the list is Hughes (167), then Garland (158), Pettersson (147), Boeser (146), and DeBrusk (117).
Looking at the past nine games, there is one clear leader in shots taken, especially given the fact that Hughes has only played in three of them. Newcomer Filip Chytil has the most shots since joining the team on February 2, registering 27 in that span of time. After that, DeBrusk and Garland are tied for second with 18. Drew O’Connor and Hronek close out the top five with 17 and 16 shots each. On 5-on-5 during the same span, Chytil (21), Sherwood (15), Garland (14), O’Connor (14), and Hronek (13) crack the top five in shots.
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