Vancouver Canucks: The Hockey News says their window is just opening

With an exciting young core to build around, The Hockey News believes the Vancouver Canucks’ championship window is just beginning to open.

The Vancouver Canucks have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons now — and in five of the last six overall — but the future on the west coast has never looked brighter.

Led by reigning Calder Trophy Elias Pettersson, sniper Brock Boeser, two-way centre Bo Horvat smooth-skating blueliner Quinn Hughes, the Canucks figure to rejoin the NHL’s elite in short time.

The Canucks probably won’t be a true Stanley Cup contender in 2019-20, but they should push hard for a playoff spot. And even if they don’t go far next season, this team is at least inching closer and closer to championship contention.

The Hockey News took a look at the Stanley Cup window for all 31 NHL teams, and they recently look at the Pacific Division clubs. When it came to discussing the Canucks, Matt Larkin explained why the team is under “window opening” status.”

"There’s a case for the Canucks belonging in the ‘Rebuilders’ category, but I’m predicting they graduate into real playoff contention this season…Over that stretch, they’ve stockpiled young, high-ceiling talent and have reached a critical mass big enough to call a “core.” Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat will anchor the middle for years to come…So Vancouver has an interesting core, and that doesn’t even factor in beastly Vasili Podkolzin once his KHL contract ends plus possible leaps in long-term development for the likes of Adam Gaudette and Kole Lind up front and Olli Juolevi on defense in seasons to come…And maybe Benning took a look at his youth core, and the fact the Pacific Division looks so weak this year, and figured it wouldn’t take too much to grow Vancouver into a top-four team in the division as early as this season. The playoffs aren’t a must, but it wouldn’t be a shock if Vancouver snagged the final wildcard spot."

In looking at the most competitive teams in the Pacific, Larkin placed the Calgary Flames and the Vegas Golden Knights in “window wide open” and the San Jose Sharks in “window closing.” The Arizona Coyotes were placed under the “window fogged up,” category, while the Edmonton Oilers were placed under “window smashed.”

Finally, the lowly Anaheim Ducks were placed under “rebuilder, while the long-time bully Los Angeles Kings “were placed under “window closed.”

Obviously, those two California teams figure to be out of the way from a competitive standpoint for the the Canucks over the long run.

No matter how you feel about general manager Jim Benning, you can’t deny that he’s done a remarkable job in shaping together an elite core that could take this team to new heights. Obviously, the goal for 2019-20 is the postseason, and the Canucks shouldn’t be worried about title contention yet. Teams never go from rebuilding one year to Stanley Cup champions the next.

When Benning took over for Mike Gillis in 2014, he was forced to work around a team whose window had long closed. Instead of full-on rebuilding, Benning tried forming a team that was competitive enough to at least make the postseason.

That obviously didn’t turn out so well, but Benning has made up for it with home run draft selections. Canucks fans just need to be patient and enjoy what should be a thrilling 2019-20 season.