The Vancouver Canucks got off to a roaring start in 2023-24 and faced little to no adversity until Dakota Joshua got injured a little over halfway through the season. They also lost Thatcher Demko in March, but apart from those two, they were one of the luckiest teams when it came to the injury bug. Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and Conor Garland played all 82 games, and if not for head coach Rick Tocchet resting JT Miller, Brock Boeser, and Filip Hronek in the final game of the season, they would have played 82 as well.
This season, Lady Luck has not smiled down on the Canucks. Only 23 games into 2024-25, they have already had to deal with the losses of Demko, Joshua, Boeser, Miller, Hronek and Derek Forbort for various lengths of time. But sometimes adversity brings out the best in a team and can pay off down the road in the playoffs – but only if the players that remain in the lineup step up and lead the charge. Fortunately for the Canucks and their fans, they have had several do exactly that.
Kevin Lankinen
When it became clear that Demko was not going to be ready for training camp and opening night of the season, panic started to set in around Canucks Nation. The only goaltending depth the team had was rookie Arturs Silovs, Jiri Patera, and Nikita Tolopilo, three goalies who combined for 19 games of experience at the NHL level. While people were optimistic that Silovs could carry the mail after his brilliant performance in the 2024 Playoffs, Patera and Tolopilo did not breed as much confidence as his potential backups. There was also the question of whether Silovs was ready for a full slate of regular season games as an NHL starter, especially considering his struggles against the Edmonton Oilers tracking pucks from distance.
But then, general manager Patrik Allvin swooped in with a solution in established backup Kevin Lankinen. Signed during training camp to a one-year, $875,000 contract, he bolstered the depth chart on paper and provided hope that the Canucks could survive the early part of the season without Demko. He was coming off a good season with the Nashville Predators backing up Juuse Saros where he finished with an 11-6-0 record alongside a 2.82 goals-against average (GAA) and .908 save percentage (SV%). Expectations were that he could give the Canucks average goaltending to keep them in the hunt while Demko rehabbed his injury.
Fast forward to 23 games into the season, and I don’t think anyone could have expected what has transpired. Lankinen has not only given the Canucks solid goaltending, but Demko-esque, Vezina Trophy finalist-type performances – especially on the road where he is a perfect 10-0-0. He has filled Demko’s skates admirably since he joined the team and arguably is one of the reasons they sit in a playoff spot at this point of the season. It’s kind of scary to think where the Canucks would be if Silovs and Patera/Tolopilo were the tandem right now, considering Silovs’ ugly 4.11 GAA and .847 SV% in six starts so far.
Quinn Hughes
The Canucks’ captain has been his usual brilliant self yet again this season. He has led his team through this adversity with poise and grace using his smooth skating, elite edges and beyond-consistent game. Night in and night out, he plays at a high level, like every great Hall of Fame defenceman that has come before him. After winning the Norris Trophy last season, he has remained in the conversation with 28 points in 23 games, leading the blue line in ice time with an average of 24:52, including hitting the 30-minute mark for the second time in 2024-25 when he logged 31:04 against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
Hughes has been a workhorse first-pairing defender ever since he entered the NHL but has hit another level in the past couple of seasons. With his newfound elite shot paired with the already elite package of skating, passing, edgework and hockey IQ, he has become a generational talent in the realm of greats like Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque and Bobby Orr. Now the franchise leader in assists among defencemen with 313, and having hit 300 the third-fastest behind the aforementioned Orr and Brian Leetch, he could go down as one of the greatest players in Canucks history. And don’t forget, he’s only 25 years old. With how he’s playing right now, he should not only be in the running for the Norris but the Hart Trophy as well.
Elias Pettersson
There has been a lot of ink spilled about Pettersson’s struggles since he was named the NHL’s 3rd Star of the Month in January 2024. He had 14 goals and 21 points in 13 games and looked poised to eclipse 100 points for the second season in a row. But then, he fell off a cliff production-wise and only had seven goals and 25 points in 33 games the rest of the way. The struggles continued into the playoffs and October of this season as he started with only one goal and four points.
But, thanks to some new linemates and getting off social media, Pettersson has turned his game around in a big way since then. In November, he broke out and had six goals and 14 points in 13 games and has started December with a three-assist game. After being held off the scoreboard in five of nine games in October, he has been denied in only four in November and December so far. In that time, he also has six multi-point outings, after having zero before then. On top of that, he has stepped up and performed like a top-line center without Miller in the lineup, scoring two goals and 10 points in the six games since he left.
Conor Garland
If not for Garland becoming a proven top-six forward this season, the Canucks would be in trouble offensively. He is currently tied for second in points with 21, third in goals with eight and a four-way tie in game-winners with two. He has also been given a bump in ice time and is second only to Pettersson among forwards averaging 19:26 per game. He sees time on both special teams units – including the first-unit power play – and gives it his all every time he jumps over the boards. He has been the emotional heartbeat of the team since Miller left and the Canucks’ most consistent forward all season long. Basically, he’s the definition of the phrase, most valuable player. Without him, the team wouldn’t be where they are today.
Jake DeBrusk
Jake DeBrusk may be a streaky scorer, but he’s on a hot streak at the perfect time for the Canucks. After a disappointing October where he only had four assists in nine games, he flipped a switch in November and started filling the net. He had seven goals and 11 points in 13 games and has already started December with a bang scoring his second career hat trick against the Red Wings. Overall, he has seven goals in his past five games and now leads the team with 10 goals. He has also developed chemistry with Pettersson, the center he was signed to play with. Furthermore, he has stepped up offensively without Miller, potting seven goals since he left.
Pius Suter
Down their top-line center, Pettersson naturally stepped into that role. But there were question marks on who would fill in on the second line. Enter Swiss Army knife, Pius Suter. He has flown up and down the depth chart this season playing wing and center on various lines, but now is the Canucks’ de facto second-line center playing with his former linemates from the beginning of 2023-24, Garland and Joshua.
Suter is on pace for a career-high 33 goals and 51 points and has three goals in his last three games, averaging nearly 20 minutes a night. He has become a key penalty killer as well, logging the most ice time among forwards with 52:12 shorthanded and averaging 2:22 per game. While he’s not a long-term solution, he has more than filled the shoes of a second-line center so far and will only add offensive depth to the bottom-six (possibly even with his current linemates) when Miller eventually returns.
Kiefer Sherwood
Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t include the hit machine Kiefer Sherwood in this discussion. He might be one of the reasons Pettersson has returned to being the Pettersson of old, and why the Canucks were able to survive without the presence of Joshua early in the season. He has made the opposition move the puck quicker out of the defensive zone, knowing that the big truck of Sherwood was going to run into them. He leads the NHL in hits by a wide margin with 144, averaging over six per game. He already has four 10-plus hit games this season and has added some offence, too, with six goals and 12 points in 23 games. He has made the team tougher to play against and complemented players like Pettersson and DeBrusk, opening up the ice for their skill to take over.
These Performances Will Need to Continue Against the Wild
The Canucks will face their stiffest test of this current road trip on Tuesday when they go up against the Minnesota Wild, who are tied for first in the Western Conference with a 16-4-4 record. Luckily for the Canucks, three of the Wild’s four regulation losses have come on home ice where they are 6-3-1. The Canucks, meanwhile, hold one of the NHL’s best road records at 10-2-0 with a goalie, if he starts, riding a 10-game winning streak. They will need the above players to do what they have done best throughout the season and step up when the going gets tough if they hope to leave St. Paul with their fifth win on this road trip.
