It’s been a great first-half of the season for hockey fans in Western Canada, with the Victoria Royals making a push for the playoffs and the Vancouver Canucks lighting up their league as well.
We’re almost two weeks into the new year, and the Vancouver Canucks are cruising along, currently holding the 1st position in the Pacific Division and ranking 2nd in both the entire league and Western Conference.
Exactly as we all anticipated, isn’t it?
If you had sat down in September and predicted that the Canucks would be near the top of the league, people would likely have accused you of being a homer.
If you had predicted that all four of JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes would be in the top 15 in league scoring, people surely would have suggested you were “drinking the kool-aid.”
Elias Pettersson becomes the first player in @NHL history to score the game-winning goal in four straight road games! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/49g1iEZk2z
— X – Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 12, 2024
And if you had thought that the Canucks would boast one of the best defensive groups in the entire NHL, people might have thought you were watching games with your eyes closed.
After last season, it would have seemed impossible for Tyler Myers to be a part of a championship-contending blue line.
Somehow, it has all come together perfectly this year. After being a complete embarrassment in October and November the previous two years, the Canucks are one of the best stories in the entire NHL.
Not just because they’re generating points. And not just because their stars are among the league leaders in key categories—it’s how they’re doing it.
They have looked completely dominant, coming at the opposition wave after wave and scoring highlight-reel stuff along the way, too.
There’s plenty of season left, but we have to ask the question:
Are the Vancouver Canucks Canada’s best shot at ending the 30-year Canadian team Cup drought?
Canucks have key pieces in critical positions
Realistically, there are four Canadian teams that have a shot at winning the Cup this year: the Canucks, the equally surprising Winnipeg Jets, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Edmonton Oilers.
The Leafs and especially the Oilers were favorite picks of pundits this year, anticipating that after years of knocking on the door, one of these teams would break through. Edmonton was particularly impressive after acquiring Mattias Ekholm last year and winning three series over the past three years.
Toronto, meanwhile, is firmly entrenched in a storyline we all are familiar with.
They have true superstar talent up front, especially with William Nylander’s offensive explosion this year. However, they are top-heavy in their salary cap structure and struggle to ice a team with much depth. Also, they’re 1-6 in playoff series since they rose back to relevance in 2016-17.
Both of those teams, however, have serious question marks when it comes to the goal crease, with Stuart Skinner and Joseph Woll currently projected to be their starters come April. They’ve played 118 NHL regular season games between them.
That’s where the Vancouver Canucks and their fans can take some confidence.
Thatcher Demko has been one of the best goalies in the league this year, calming the play around him with his precise, simple movements that give him great angles on nearly every shot. His .916 save percentage is tied for 5th among goaltenders with at least 20 appearances this season.
On defense, the Canucks have the best defenseman playing on one of Canada’s four Cup contenders. Quinn Hughes has continued to evolve and seems inspired rather than burdened by the challenge of wearing the “C” for a fishbowl Canadian market.
He’s taken massive strides defensively and has such a unique blend of skating and puck skills that he’s always creating offense or leading the breakout in ways only Quinn Hughes can do. He’s been remarkable.
Interestingly, though, all four of these Canadian teams have a top dog on the blueline. Hughes is pacing the entire league from the back end with 51 points, but Evan Bouchard (39 pts), Josh Morrissey (32 pts), and Morgan Reilly (32 pts) are all top 15 in defensemen scoring.
The Canucks have a second player in the category, thanks to Filip Hronek’s impeccable fit alongside Hughes. He has 36 points.
That being said, even before this season, most people would take Hughes over the rest. That’s only become even more true now. The Canucks have one of the best defensemen on the planet manning their blue line.
At forward is where the other Canadian teams offer stiffer competition. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid-Leon Draisatl duo doesn’t need much explanation, and the Leafs’ elite trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander has been terrorizing opposition defenses for a half-decade now.
In Winnipeg, the top of their forward group is definitely fourth best among these teams, with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Nikolaj Ehlers representing a very good but not amazing core.
If you were to draft these players today, McDavid, Draisatl, Matthews, Marner, and maybe Nylander would be selected before any Canucks players.
But after that, Elias Pettersson would likely go next (he could go ahead of Marner and Nylander too given that he’s a center), and JT Miller would have to be considered ahead of the Jets’ trio since he’s on pace to smash his career high of 99 points set a few years ago – a mark no Jets player has hit.
Though again, some people might prefer Scheifele due to him playing a premium position, or Connor because of his age and 50 goal potential.
Brock Boeser would be lower on the list based on his track record, but his resurgence this year has been awesome to watch given the challenges he faced outside of hockey last year. He’s an awesome story, and his 27 goals so far put him 4th in the league, well on pace for his first 40 goal season and—maybe—his first 50 goal season.
All of that was a long way to say that the Canucks’ spine of Pettersson-Hughes-Demko might be the best of the four Canadian contenders, primarily because of Hughes and Demko.
Hughes is the best defenseman, and Demko is the second-best goaltender behind Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck.
The Jets have a pretty strong case too, as Scheifele-Morrissey-Hellebuyck is darn good (in my opinion, Morrissey is the 2nd best defenseman after Hughes), but Scheifele is the worst center compared to the other teams. McDavid, Matthews, and Pettersson are at least a tier higher than him.
Regardless, that spine is what gives both the Canucks and Jets high optimism as the playoffs draw closer and closer. They have franchise-caliber goaltending and an elite number one defenseman. But championships aren’t won by just three players.
What else is going well for Vancouver?
Strong depth and commitment to the process
Part of what has helped the Canucks ice one of the most dangerous top lines in the league—the lotto line—has been the fact that their other lines have been consistently productive.
Coaches only have the luxury of stacking top lines when the rest of the squad carries their weight. The trio of Dakota Joshua, Teddy Blueger, and Connor Garland has been exceptional.
They’re hounds on the puck, with a great mix of hard-nosed, physical play (Joshua), responsible defensive awareness (Blueger), and skill and tenacity (Garland).
Blueger’s 17 points in 28 games put him well on his way to smashing his previous career high of 28, Joshua has already tied last year’s career high of 11 goals, and while Garland is averaging the lowest ice time of his career (other than his rookie season), it might be the most impactful he’s ever been.
This line has been one of the league’s best.
On the blue line is where the team has improved the most. After bringing in Filip Hronek last year, signing Ian Cole, Carson Soucy in the off-season, and acquiring Nikita Zadorov in a mid-season trade, only Hughes and Myers remain from last year’s team.
It’s amazing how much better Myers has been when playing with a better partner.
Hughes and Hronek have been a match made in heaven, while Zadorov and Myers have held their own at even strength, though Soucy has been paired with Myers since his return four games ago. Cole has been a great addition to the penalty kill, where he and Myers have generally been the first two over the boards.
These players finally put a depth guy like Noah Juulsen where he belongs, skating just 14 minutes per night. He is clearly number seven on the depth chart.
Where the Canucks really impress, though, is in their commitment to Rick Tocchet’s style of play and system. The Canucks are relentless on the forecheck, and more impressively, stick to the same style of play regardless of the score.
That type of play requires trust, consistency, and total buy-in through the lineup, which they appear to have.
Under Bruce Boudreau, that would never have happened, as he prefers a higher-risk style focused on outgunning opponents. Tocchet has brought plenty of accountability and has this group believing and playing some pretty darn good hockey.
The Canucks are well-coached, have excellent depth, an elite top line, an incredible top pairing, and a top 10 (5?) goaltender in the league.
Although the Jets are looking dangerous, and you can’t ever count out McDavid—and who knows, maybe the Leafs could break through their playoff bump at any moment—but as of right now, it just might be the Vancouver Canucks who are Canada’s best chance at a Stanley Cup.
Who do you think is?
