Playoffs?! Canucks 2023-24 season predictions

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Just about everybody looks at the Vancouver Canucks and thinks them improved. But how improved?

Here are my Canucks predictions for the 2023-24 season.

Canucks point total: 90

They missed the playoffs by 12 points last year, finishing behind two other non-qualifiers.

Healthy/better goaltending and penalty-killing will go a long way towards the improvement. But will they score as much (either at even-strength or on the power play)? And will they stay healthy?

We saw how crippling a Thatcher Demko injury was last year. A similar injury to Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes would be devastating. They were all blessed with good health last year, missing a combined eight games.

Wouldn’t surprise me if someone in their Core 4 misses significant time this year. And they don’t have the depth to withstand that.

Predicted finish: 6th in Pacific (miss playoffs)

Edmonton and Vegas are locks to make the postseason, and LA isn’t too far behind.

I’m not sure how much staying power Seattle has because of its high team shooting percentage last year (11.6%, second in NHL). Also not sold on its goaltending. But the Kraken was 17 points better than Vancouver last year.

Calgary lost 30 one-goal games last season. Like Seattle’s shooting percentage, can’t see that happening again.

Think the Flames will benefit from not having Darryl Sutter behind the bench and a happier environment. They also have some important players playing for new contracts.

And if 33-year-old ex-Canuck Jacob Markstron struggles in goal, they have depth behind him.

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Canucks leading scorer: Elias Pettersson

Was tempted to go Miller or Hughes but we’ll save the bold predictions for later.

Pettersson records his second straight 100-point season and again finishes in the NHL top 10.

Give him 101 this season. Perhaps fewer even-strength goals and shorthanded points, but more power-play goals than last year.

Team MVP: Thatcher Demko

The most important player at the important position and the Canucks aren’t yet improved enough in personnel to make life easy on him.

Easier, perhaps, but not easy. That’ll lead to heroics and team MVP.

Bold prediction: Hughes leads NHL defencemen in scoring

He finished tied for second last year, and likely needs a Cale Makar injury to make this prediction come true.

Erik Karlsson is bound to come down (way down) from his 101 points last year because he’s on a better team and won’t have the freedom to explore offence at all times like last season in San Jose.

Hughes looked aggressive in preseason, particularly looking for his own shot. So I see an uptick in goals, not to mention more freedom with a better defensive partner — whomever that might be.