Are the Vancouver Canucks for real?

On Oct. 9 2019, the Vancouver Canucks held a special ceremony to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season in the National Hockey League. Notable alumni were featured in their own uniforms and skated onto the ice of Rogers Arena. As the team brought Orland Kurtenbach and Henrik Sedin onto centre ice, the Canucks faithful cheered on as the 14th captain in history was announced. But how have the Canucks carried their opening 14 games of the 2019/20 season? Are the Vancouver Canucks for real?

Improvements

Defence

(Dinur Blum Photography)

One surprising factor that has walked into the Canucks season has been the team’s overall defence. With new additions such as highly anticipated Quinn Hughes, veterans Tyler Myers and Jordie Benn, the defensive side has looked very different and somewhat improved. In comparison to their last season, Vancouver had much different defensive stats. Through their opening 14 games of the 2018-19 season, the Canucks had 44 goals against, compared to their current 34 goals against. As a result, this gives the Canucks a current 9-3-2 record, in contrast to their previous 8-6-0 record. Vancouver is second in the pacific division with a game in hand to the leading Edmonton Oilers.

Character

With character, comes offence, the ability to keep leads through periods, and most importantly, the ability to come back throughout a game. The Canucks have shown just that through the opening frame of the 2019/20 regular season. On Oct. 22, 2019, as Vancouver fell down to 2-0 through the first two periods at Little Caesars Arena, they tallied five unanswered goals in the third period to steal the win from Detroit. Most importantly, Bo Horvat snatched his first hat-trick as a Canucks captain. Most of the victories are games which have been entertaining to watch with fast pace action. Both offence and defence, seem to work well together this season. Everything is clicking, we can see that team depth is playing a big role this season, so far.

Issues

Consistency

A similar spell to last season, the most recent example that comes to mind would be Vancouver’s game against the Washington Capitals on Friday, Oct. 25 2019. As the Canucks earned a 5-1 lead through the second period, the team somehow found itself in a hole by letting the Capitals coming back and tie the game at 5-5 in the third period. Both the Capitals and Canucks had decent chances of finishing their game in OT, but the Canucks would fall in a shootout fashion as Nicklas Backstrom ended up scoring the winner off the post. The team skated out with a visually disappointed and angry Jacob Markstrom. Some fans argue that the Canucks’ recipe for success only comes from playing against “non-contending” teams, but Vancouver proved doubters wrong by beating the Saint Louis Blues in a comeback and shootout victory on Oct. 17 2019.

No Hughes, no party?

Quinn Hughes practising at the Honda Center on Nov. 1 2019. Hughes left the game due to a lower-body injury, the Canucks announced that he is day-to-day. (Dinur Blum Photography)

On Nov. 1 2019, the Canucks battled against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center, to which they saw rookie sensation Hughes leave the game due to a lower-body injury. Hughes’ presence was immediately felt amongst the Canucks during that game against the Ducks. Powerplay zone entries were not as smooth, the defence looked disgruntled and rusty. However, the Canucks’ strong character showed itself when they beat the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center on a back-to-back night. With a final score of 5-2 without Hughes, Vancouver could maybe nail itself as an offensive juggernaut this NHL Season.

Verdict

So, how have the Canucks carried their opening 14 games of the 2019/20 season? What the Canucks need to do for the rest of the opening frame of the 2019/20 season is send a message to the teams across the league. Are they here to compete? A short playoff stint would be instrumental in the young core’s learning experience if they plan to have a successful and important future. With Horvat as the new captain of the franchise, the Canucks also need to find a team identity. Are they the cardiac kids? The young guns to keep an eye out for? Are they an army? Who knows, we will see alongside Mike Green and Jim Benning how the rest of the season pans out. 

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