For the first time in over a decade, the Vancouver Canucks are entering the season with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.
Say it with us now:
THE BOYS ARE BACKāļø pic.twitter.com/Gwz147vk1S
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 5, 2024
There’s always pressure when playing in front of a rabid fanbase like the Canucks have, but the intensity in this market will be turned up a few notches with heightened expectations.
Good thing Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet kept telling his players last season to “meet pressure with pressure.”
Here are six Canucks who should be under the most pressure entering the 2024-25 campaign.
1. Elias Pettersson
No Canucks player is facing more pressure right now than Elias Pettersson.
Pettersson was on pace for a career year last season. He was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Month in January after scoring 13 goals in 14 games. At the All Star break, he was on pace for 107 points.
His game preceded to plummet, and he looked like a shell of himself in the postseason.
Not only did Pettersson’s poor finish leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths, but he also signed an eight-year extension worth $11.6 million per season, which begins now.
So, is Pettersson the superstar center who’s averaged more than a point per game throughout his NHL career? Or was his subpar finish a sign of things to come?
Fans should be inclined to believe the former, especially since he wasn’t fully healthy towards the end of the year. However, until we see a return to form, pressure on the Canucks’ highest-paid player will be intense.
2. Arturs Silovs
Although Thatcher Demko seems to be progressing in the right direction, it doesn’t appear as though he’s entering the season with full health.
That means the Canucks need Silovs, who is battling his own health issues, to be a difference-maker.
Silovs proved in last year’s playoffs that he can handle his own in high-pressure situations. Although the Latvian has just 19 combined regular season and playoff starts in the NHL, the Canucks will likely need him to start at least 30 games. Is he up for the challenge?
3. Carson Soucy
The Canucks improved up front this offseason, but on paper, their defence got worse.
Nikita Zadorov left the Canucks in free agency and wasn’t replaced. Ian Cole is also gone. The Canucks did add bottom-pairing defenders in Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais, but this team could certainly use another top-four defender.
For now, Carson Soucy is the de facto #3 defenceman on this team.
That’s a big jump up the lineup for the Viking, Alberta native. He was fifth among Canucks defencemen in ice time last season, and he’s never averaged more than 17:40 in a single season.
Injuries limited Soucy to 40 regular-season games last year, but he was rock solid in the lineup. Still, jumping up the lineup from being a bottom-pairing guy to arguably the team’s number three defenceman is a big ask.
4. Adam Foote
There’s no sugarcoating it. Adam Foote worked miracles for the Canucks’ defence last season.
As the team’s only full-time assistant in charge of the defence, Foote took over a blueline in 2022-23 that was one of the most permissive units in the NHL.
The defence was then overhauled, and Foote got the best out of virtually everyone.
Tyler Myers went from a chaotic liability to a relatively solid top-four option. Quinn Hughes levelled up. Nikita Zadorov became a force after a couple of months under Foote. Soucy’s defensive game was nearly flawless. Even Noah Juulsen, who looked lost during his first handful of games last season, blossomed into a dependable lineup regular.
Foote will be under pressure to elevate this Canucks blueline once again. This is a thinner group than last year, with Soucy in particular expected to take on a bigger role. Forbort and Desharnais are flawed players who need a little Foote bump to overcome their deficiencies.
The defence, as currently constructed, could be the Canucks kryptonite unless Foote can work his magic again.
5. Nils Hƶglander
Last year was a breakout campaign for Nils Hƶglander. The youngest regular on the roster last season finished fourth on the Canucks with 24 goals, all of them at even-strength.
However, his game tailed off in the postseason. His ice time plummeted, and he was even a healthy scratch for a contest.
General manager Patrik Allvin added four NHL-calibre wingers to the roster, meaning thatĀ Hƶglander will have to level up if he wants to stay in the top six and cement himself as a long-term fixture on this team.
6. Jake DeBrusk
Jake DeBrusk will begin his Canucks career after signing a seven-year deal worth $5.5 million per season.
While there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about DeBrusk’s impact, one of his biggest flaws is that he can disappear for large stretches of games.
He’s also tended to start slow, with just 11 goals in 57 games during the month of October in his career.
Last season, for instance, he had just one goal and five points in his first 14 games despite averaging nearly 17:30 per contest.
With all eyes on DeBrusk, pressure on him will intensify with a slow start, especially if he’s slotted next to either Pettersson or J.T. Miller.
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