The Vancouver Canucks are going into this season with greater expectations, each as a staff and individually. They completed with their second-highest level complete in franchise historical past, and plenty of of their star gamers posted career-highs in objectives and factors. As such, it will likely be robust for everybody to duplicate their success from final season. Hopefully, they don’t regress an excessive amount of and Canucks followers will see the same old suspects cleared the path once more in 2024-25. With that mentioned, let’s do some prognosticating for a number of the main stat classes.
Targets: Brock Boeser
Brock Boeser‘s 2023-24 season couldn’t have began any higher as he notched 4 objectives in Sport 1 towards the Edmonton Oilers, together with a pure hat trick. After that, he and the Canucks simply stored on rolling, culminating in his first 40-goal marketing campaign and a career-high 73 factors. He didn’t decelerate within the playoffs both, scoring a dramatic third-period hat trick in Sport 4 towards the Nashville Predators when he potted two objectives in a matter of minutes to tie the sport and ship it to time beyond regulation. Elias Lindholm completed the job, however he was the catalyst, popping in his hat trick purpose with simply eight seconds remaining within the third interval.
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Boeser, sadly, noticed his postseason get minimize brief by a blood clot in his leg heading into Sport 7 towards the Oilers, however nonetheless completed with seven objectives and 12 factors. He’s reportedly wholesome and able to go for coaching camp, so barring any setbacks throughout the season, he ought to cleared the path in objectives once more.
Assists: Quinn Hughes
Quinn Hughes was past a beast final season ending with a career-high 92 factors and strolling away with the Norris Trophy by a large margin of 172 first-place votes. Roman Josi was a distant second, grabbing solely 12. He’s now 77 factors away from passing Alex Edler for the all-time lead in factors, and he’s solely 24 years outdated. He’s by far already the Canucks’ greatest defenceman in franchise historical past and will probably be gentle years forward of Edler when he retires. He led the staff in assists with 75 final season, 9 forward of second-place JT Miller, and will accomplish that once more in 2024-25.
Hughes even thinks there’s one other stage to his recreation, saying, “I felt like I missed lots of scoring alternatives final yr…And though my goal-scoring spiked, I believe it may possibly spike once more. This complete summer season, I labored on purpose scoring — purpose scoring from the dot, purpose scoring from the highest of the circles. So I believe I can rating extra. I believe that I can rating 20 objectives. So far as the opposite factor (100 factors), I’m unsure. For me, I’m going to attempt to be aggressive each single evening and push the tempo, push my recreation, after which wherever that takes me, it takes me.”
Hughes is rarely happy, and that ought to scare opposing groups going into the season. If he can enhance his goalscoring to the 20 or extra mark, he’ll change into an much more harmful risk from the blue line – and he’s fairly deadly already. What extra can he do? It’s going to be thrilling to seek out out.
Elias Pettersson had a “down” season in accordance with many specialists, but he nonetheless completed with 34 objectives and 89 factors – the second-highest level complete of his profession. The “down” half comes from the second half of the season, particularly after he dominated the month of January with 14 objectives and 21 factors in 13 video games. He reportedly suffered an harm throughout that stretch, which nagged at him till the Canucks had been eradicated by the Oilers in Might. He solely had seven objectives and 21 factors to complete the season, and a paltry one purpose and 6 factors within the playoffs.
After an offseason of relaxation, Pettersson ought to be again to his regular self as soon as the puck drops on Oct. 9. He may even have some new linemates to cross to in (presumably) Jake DeBrusk, and both Nils Hoglander, Daniel Sprong or Danton Heinen. The hope is that he can construct the identical chemistry that Boeser has with Miller with not less than one of many newbies, and kind one other dynamic duo on the second line. If that occurs, he ought to see a rise in factors and possibly, simply possibly hit the century mark for the second time in three seasons. Miller, after all, may even be within the operating after main the staff with 103 factors final season, however I’m giving Pettersson the slight edge, extra so to ship some good vibes his approach going into 2024-25.
Energy Play Targets: Brock Boeser
This can be a toss-up between Boeser, Pettersson, and Miller, however I’m going with Boeser once more to guide the staff in power-play objectives. He had 16 final season, three forward of Pettersson and 6 forward of Miller, and together with his newfound prowess in entrance of the online, he ought to have the ability to rating not less than that many once more. Based on NHL EDGE, he scored 22 objectives in both the crease (5) or the center quadrant in entrance of the online (17), which ranked within the 98th percentile of the league. He has change into very proficient within the high-danger areas of the ice, which ought to serve him effectively on the facility play once more this season.
Hits: Dakota Joshua or Kiefer Sherwood
Dakota Joshua led the way in which on this division final season, throwing his weight round to the tune of 245 hits. Coming in second was Miller with 217, however contemplating Joshua solely performed 63 video games to Miller’s 81, the small hole between the 2 is a bit inaccurate. Joshua averaged 3.88 hits per recreation, so over an 81-game season, he would have completed with 314 hits, far and away forward of Miller. All that to say is that Joshua will lead the staff in hits once more this season. The one man that has an opportunity to maintain tempo with him is fellow hit parade participant, Kiefer Sherwood, who completed with 234 hits over 68 video games with the Predators. When all is alleged and achieved, if each of them keep wholesome, the Canucks may have two gamers eclipse the 300-mark.
Common Time on Ice: Quinn Hughes
Hughes has been a workhorse on the blue line ever since he entered the league full-time in 2019-20. He has averaged 24:07 in time-on-ice over his profession up to now and has eclipsed the 25-minute mark in two of the final three seasons. He noticed a small dip in ice time final season to 24:41 in comparison with 25:40, however that distinction is negligible. Each head coach from Travis Inexperienced to Rick Tocchet has relied on him in each scenario, throwing him on the market at any time when they’ll. The now Canucks captain and EA Sports activities cowl athlete will probably be seen rather a lot once more this season as I don’t see Tocchet lowering his ice time anytime quickly.
Plus/Minus: Quinn Hughes
What have you learnt, it’s Hughes once more. With how a lot ice he carves on the market (in accordance with NHL EDGE he skated 289.33 miles in 2023-24) and the way a lot he’s concerned within the offence, it is smart that he would have a excessive plus/minus. He hasn’t at all times been proficient on this stat, however he’s come a good distance from the minus-24 that he posted in 2020-21 when individuals had been nonetheless questioning his defensive expertise. He led the staff with a gaudy plus-38 final season, which additionally ranked fourth within the league behind Mattias Ekholm, Dylan DeMelo and Gustav Forsling. If the Canucks sustain the identical structurally-sound system and get good goaltending this season, he ought to cleared the path on this stat once more.
Canucks’ Stars Ought to Have One other Productive Season
Total, the Canucks ought to have one other season with their stars making noise on the stats sheet. I don’t see the core of Miller, Boeser, Pettersson, and Hughes slowing down, and with the additions of Heinen, Sprong, DeBrusk and Sherwood, they need to have lots of scoring depth to assist them out. In any case, the season is simply across the nook, and Oct. 9 can’t come quickly sufficient!
