The Petey era has begun. In a season where the Canucks weren’t expected to have many positives, Elias Pettersson lifted this team up and gave the fans something to cheer for. Despite his fantastic season, the Canucks were only able to crack 5th place in the Pacific, 23rd in the league, and missed the playoffs by 9 points.

Additions: Micheal Ferland, Tyler Myers, JT Miller, Jordie Benn 

Subtractions: Ryan Spooner, Derrick Pouliot, Ben Hutton, Markus Granlund, Luke Schenn

Forwards:

The Canucks made some interesting moves this offseason. First they gave up a first-round pick to acquire JT Miller, then they signed Micheal Ferland to a 4-year deal. Both Miller and Ferland can provide depth up and down their lineup but they just won’t move the needle enough for this team to expect much of a change. Their bottom-6 still ranks in the bottom-5 of the league and their top-6 still has plenty to prove.

Defense:

Adding Tyler Myers and Jordie Benn gives the Canucks some added depth but they’re still counting on Quinn Hughes to be a dominant player in his first pro season. He showed plenty of promise in his 5 game stint last season but it’s fair to be skeptical on whether or not he’ll be able to maintain a high level of play over and 82 game season.

Goalies:

Jacob Markstrom put together a solid season last year, finishing with the 16th best expected to actual goals against per game, saving over an extra two goals against every five games compared to league average goaltending. If he struggles they’ll have to turn to prospect Thatcher Demko who looked solid in his first stint with the team last year posting an almost identical expected to actual goals against per game as Markstrom.

The Point Prediction:

Even with the Canucks young studs we still have them as bottom-feeders this year. They’ll be finishing the year in 28th place overall but will actually be ahead of two other teams in their division. 

 

(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)