Analytics suggest the Vancouver Canucks are the NHL's worst team
The Adam Foote era is off to a rough start.
Just 15 games into the season, there’s been nothing to suggest that the Vancouver Canucks are going to be better this season.
If anything, the numbers suggest that they’re actually worse.
Heading into the season, the concern was that the Canucks would struggle to score goals and create offence.
That fear has been validated. Vancouver currently ranks 23rd overall in shots per game and 27th in actual goals scored.
Inept offence from the Canucks isn’t a surprise, but a leaky defence? That wasn’t supposed to happen.
So far this season, Vancouver has allowed the third-most scoring chances in the entire league at 5-on-5. Only the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks have been more permissive.
The heroics of Thatcher Demko have only helped so much, as Vancouver has allowed the seventh-most goals in the league.
So, they’re below average offensively, and their defensive performance has been ghastly. That’s led the Canucks to having the worst expected goals-for total in the entire NHL at even-strength.
The Canucks are at the bottom of the NHL in terms of expected goals percentage. (Advanced Hockey Stats)
A top-three of Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek and Marcus Pettersson was supposed to give the Canucks an edge on defence.
So, what gives?
Vancouver’s struggles to generate much in the offensive zone invite the other team to counter with their own attack, so that doesn’t help Vancouver’s possession numbers.
However, some of their key defenders have taken a step back from last year.
Hughes has been a rock defensively for the Canucks, especially over the last two seasons. This year, however, he’s been on the ice for 3.2 expected goals against per-60. That’s the worst mark on the team aside from Evander Kane and Victor Mancini.
It’s not just Hughes, though. Aside from Marcus Pettersson, every Canucks defender has taken a notable step back defensively. Forwards like Jake DeBrusk and newcomer Lukas Reichel have also been shelled in terms of possession metrics.
The only Canucks who have an expected goals above 50 per cent this season are Tom Willander and Filip Chytil.
Those are all from the publicly available numbers. According to JFresh, the private analytic models think the Canucks are even worse.
A quick look at all situations xGoals differential in the SportLogiq vs. TopDown model.
Common for there to be a decent bit of deviation early on, esp thanks to special teams.
Biggest takeaway is that public models think the Canucks are bad, but SL thinks they're BAD bad pic.twitter.com/5v3roEE7XE
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 3, 2025
All of this suggests that the Canucks are relatively fortunate to have a 7-8 record. That good fortune currently has them 26th overall in the NHL standings.