Vancouver Canucks not getting much respect in NHL expert predictions
Here’s some bulletin board material for the Vancouver Canucks locker room.
There are reasons for optimism surrounding the Canucks ahead of the 2025-26 season, but the experts aren’t buying it.
Many media outlets are predicting that Vancouver will miss the playoffs for the second straight season. If they do, that would be the ninth time in 11 seasons that they’ve failed to qualify for playoff hockey.
Missing the playoffs could have huge ramifications, considering that Elias Pettersson is in the second year of the biggest contract in franchise history. Patrik Allvin also just extended three other members of the core (Conor Garland, Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser) in the offseason.
And of course, the noise about Quinn Hughes leaving the Canucks will only intensify if they fail to make the postseason.
Two outlets that rely on analytics both have the Canucks on the outside of the playoff picture. The Athletic has Vancouver ranked as the 10th-best team in the Western Conference and the 20th-ranked team in the league.
Over at MoneyPuck, they have the Canucks ranked slightly higher as the 19th-best team in the league, but still the 10th-best team in the Conference.
Much like The Athletic, Money Puck has other Wild Card contenders such as the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, and Utah Mammoth all ranked ahead of the Canucks.
Sportsnet is lower on the Canucks than any other outlet, ranking them 11th in the Western Conference, with the aforementioned bubble teams and the Anaheim Ducks ranked ahead of them.
Can the Canucks stay ahead of the Anaheim Ducks in the standings? (Anne-Marie Sorvin/Imagn Images)
There’s not much love for the Canucks among the U.S. outlets either.
CBS Sports had two of its expert writers select the 16 playoff teams. Neither of them has the Canucks making it. USA Today, much like the other media outlets, has Vancouver finishing 10th overall in the West.
Despite widespread pessimism about the Canucks’ ability to bounce back, it wasn’t a clean sweep of experts who thought they’d miss the postseason. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN boldly predicted that the Canucks would make the playoffs.
So, how confident did he seem about his prediction?
“I have the Canucks in the playoffs because I’m taking the completely naĆÆve approach that everything will work itself out,” Wyshynski wrote.
Well then.
There is undoubtedly a wide range of outcomes for the Canucks. While it’s clear that Quinn Hughes is still one of the most impactful defenders in the game, questions remain about whether Pettersson can bounce back, whether Demko can stay healthy, and whether the team can score enough goals to make the playoffs.
“I believe in the team we have here,” Patrik Allvin said on Tuesday. “I’m very excited about the group we have, how they’ve come together, how they’ve bought into the coaches and how we want to play.”
“They seem to have enjoyed coming to the rink. There have been a lot of laughs and coming together as a team.”