Are the Vancouver Canucks at risk of ruining the tank?
The Vancouver Canucks entered uncharted territory this season, even before they traded Quinn Hughes away.
During the much-maligned Jim Benning era, the Canucks never sat at the bottom of the NHL standings. Although they were often close, another team was always worse.
A rash of injuries, a lack of structural amalgamation with their new head coach, and the fact that there are no true bottom-feeders in the NHL this season allowed the Canucks to occupy last place in the league for a matter of weeks in 2025-26.
Their place in the NHL basement has evaporated following the Quinn Hughes trade.
After trading their captain, the Canucks ripped off three straight road wins, defeating the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and New York Islanders. Those three wins vaulted them to 30th overall in the NHL.
Suddenly, they are six points out of a playoff spot.
Are the Canucks going to ruin the tank? (NHL)
Not only are they winning, but their upcoming schedule is relatively soft.
The Canucks have 23 games remaining before the Olympic break. Only 12 of those are against playoff teams.
Among those 12 games include two games against the Philadelphia Flyers, and another two against the San Jose Sharks.
Only five of their next 23 games are against teams currently in the top-10 of the NHL. Those teams are the Detroit Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, Devils, and Islanders.
The soft upcoming schedule could be a cause of concern for Canucks fans, and so could their recent form of improved defensive play.
Through the first two months of the season, the Canucks were allowing 63.9 shot attempts against per-60 at five-on-five. That was the second-worst mark in the league, behind only the San Jose Sharks.
They’ve cleaned that up significantly in December, allowing just 50.3 shot attempts against per-60 at five-on-five. That’s the third-lowest mark in the league since Dec. 1.
Not only are they better defensively, but Thatcher Demko is back in the net and providing Vezina-like goaltending.
The Canucks netminder just posted a shutout streak of over 150 minutes on the Canucks most recent winning-streak, the longest mark of his career.
If you’re looking for a tank-buster, look no further than Demko.
“I don’t think we were ever at a point thinking we weren’t a good hockey team,” Demko said on Friday following his third-straight win.
“We’re winning right now, and we like winning, so we’re going to try and keep that up.”
Vancouver’s win over the Islanders on Friday night looked exactly like the type of hockey Canucks fans should have expected entering the season.
Their defence was rock solid while playing in front of an elite goaltender. On offence, they were just good enough on the counter-attack to muster a few goals.
With a subpar forward group on paper, that was always going to be the recipe for success this season in Vancouver.
They also achieved their ideal result on Friday without Hughes or Elias Pettersson in the lineup.
Unfortunately for supporters of the tank, the team’s improved play is coming at a time when Canucks fans may be dreaming of a top-five pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Of course, subtracting players like Kiefer Sherwood following the roster freeze should improve the Canucks’ odds of maintaining their enviable draft position.