The 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks look a lot different than they did a couple of weeks ago. No longer are JT Miller, Erik Brannstrom, Danton Heinen or Vinny Desharnais part of the equation in British Columbia. Instead, it'll be Marcus Pettersson, Drew O'Connor and Filip Chytil joining the roster in its quest to advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time in over a decade.
After a magical season that saw the Canucks come within one victory of a trip to the Western Conference Final, this campaign has been anything but. The rumored rift between Elias Pettersson and Miller resulted in the latter being shipped back to Broadway, while multiple players across the lineup have failed to live up to the productive seasons they enjoyed in 2023-24.
The year was already off to a rocky start when it was announced that star goaltender Thatcher Demko would miss the first few months of the season. But the glaring problem during the first half was the play of the core, including Pettersson, who has somehow managed just 11 goals and 33 points in 48 games.
Brock Boeser, who scored 40 goals last year, has managed just 17 through 47 games. Jake DeBrusk was the big ticket free agent signing, but he's only chipped in 33 points in 54 games. And although Conor Garland is having a great year, the production just isn't nearly what it was last year.
But it looks like the Canucks have started to turn the corner after an up-and-down first half. With the Miller drama over — and Demko fully healthy — Vancouver has won two games in a row and five of seven dating back to January 25. Now 25-18-11 and back into the second wildcard berth in the Western Conference, this looks like a playoff team with 28 games left.
And a big part of that has been the new-look D-core.
Canucks have shored up defense in a big way
Of course, the Canucks are going to live and die by captain Quinn Hughes, who is the best player on the roster and not by a little. After winning the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman in 2023-24, he's again been one of the NHL's best blue liners, leading the team with an impressive 59 points in 47 games.
Although Hughes has missed the last couple of games, he could be an option for Saturday night's tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs — both team's last game before the 13-day 4 Nations Face-Off break. And he finally has some help back there after a couple of shrewd moves by the front office.
Pettersson has been one of the league's best defensive defensemen over the last few years, and he immediately elevates Vancouver's D-core in a big way. Filip Hronek getting healthy is also massive, as he's been a key piece since coming over from the Detroit Red Wings.
When Hughes, Pettersson and Hronek are all healthy, it turns the Canucks' defensive unit from what was once a patchwork core into an excellent blue line. And that's not even mentioning rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson (not to be confused with EP40), who doesn't look out of place at all over his first five NHL games.
The Canucks might have something in Pettersson, and they already have three fantastic defenseman in Hughes, Marcus Pettersson and Hronek. That's a huge reason why the second-half outlook is positive for this club. Just as importantly, Demko looks to have found his game after taking some time to shake off the rust.
Thatcher Demko looks to be back to form
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After returning from a rare knee injury in the middle of December, Demko struggled mightily off the hop and was mainly in a timeshare with free agent signing Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen was great for long stretches in 2024-25, and although he also struggled at times, he was one of the main players keeping this roster afloat through a couple of tough months.
But despite a 2.90 goals-against average and .889 save percentage through 16 games, Demko has been much better than that as of late. He's given up just five total goals over his last four starts — three of them wins — including an impressive 25-save shutout against the high-flying Colorado Avalanche.
With the defense all but fixed and Demko's goaltending starting to look like it did when he was a Vezina Trophy finalist last year, keeping the puck out of the net shouldn't be a massive problem for this roster going forward. But the fatal flaw that the front office must fix before the deadline is a glaring lack of weapons up front.
Canucks' fatal flaw is a lack of offensive weapons
Although both O'Connor and Chytil have played well in a short sample size in Vancouver, neither has the type of profile that Miller brought to the table. Even in a down year, the American was still a point-per-game player before getting traded, and he's fresh off a 103-point campaign in 2023-24.
For this team to make the playoffs and potentially be labelled Stanley Cup contenders again, the offense needs to improve. Boeser, Pettersson and DeBrusk all need to be better; the top-six is just not scoring enough goals. And it doesn't help that the depth is hurting big time this year, with guys like Nils Hoglander (12 points in 50 games), Dakota Joshua (five points in 29 games) and Teddy Blueger (17 points in 54 games) barely moving the needle.
What the Canucks could really use is another bonafide top-six scorer ahead of the stretch run. Last year, Vancouver averaged 3.40 goals per game in the regular-season, good for sixth league-wide. This year, they're 22nd with just 2.81 goals per game.
General manager Patrik Allvin should be looking for a proven scorer on the trade market between now and March 7. Maybe a player like New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson, or Chicago Blackhawks' Ryan Donato, the latter who is having a career year. Even a guy like Rickard Rakell could be a good fit, especially with the familiarity the Canucks and Penguins' front offices have with each other.
If Vancouver's top players were producing like they did last season, and the team's current defense and goaltending was intact, there would be virtually no doubt this is a playoff team. But the struggles continue for the forwards, and in the quest to fix that fatal flaw, the front office should remain busy and bring another scorer to BC ahead of the stretch run.
