The Vancouver Canucks seem to be set on making the playoffs this year, but a few things will need to happen first.
Vancouver Canucks management seems to have this idea that the Canucks will somehow be able to make the playoffs this season. They made that quite apparent when they went out and signed Loui Eriksson to a six-year contract on July 1st and traded Jared McCann to the Florida Panthers for Erik Gudbranson.
So, let’s take a look at some things that have to happen if the Canucks plan to make the playoffs.
Loui Eriksson must reach 40 goals
When Brandon Sutter agreed to switch his jersey number so Loui Eriksson could wear 21, he told Eriksson he needs to score 40 goals or Sutter gets the number back next year. If the Canucks want to make the playoffs, Eriksson will have to do just that. In 10 NHL seasons Eriksson hasn’t hit the 40-goal plateau but he came close in 2008-09 when he had 36 for the Dallas Stars. He wouldn’t hit 30 goals again until last season with the Boston Bruins.
Sutter told Eriksson he has to score 40 goals this year or he gets the No. 21 back next season.
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 22, 2016
Now that he is set to play alongside the Sedins, 40 goals don’t seem like such a ludicrous expectation for Eriksson. Anson Carter, Alex Burrows and Radim Vrbata all had close to 35 goals while playing alongside the Sedins, and Eriksson is more skilled than those players.
Youth and Veterans must produce
Although Eriksson will be relied on for a lot of the offense, he won’t be able to do it all by himself. Sven Baertschi, Bo Horvat and Anton Rodin will all need to finish somewhere between 20 and 30 goals for the year. Jake Virtanen, Brandon Sutter and Alex Burrows will also need to be chipping in regularly throughout the year. Defenseman Ben Hutton led the Canucks blue line with 25 points last year, and the Canucks will likely be looking for more in that area as well. Hutton won’t be relied on for all the offense from the blue line, though, as Philip Larsen was brought in to quarterback the power play.
More from The Canuck Way
- Which team won the Bo Horvat trade?
- What to expect from newcomers Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty
- Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
- Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
- 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg
Brandon Sutter and Manny Malhotra must have an impact
The Canucks finished last year in last place in the face-off department as they only managed to win 45.4 percent of their draws. That number should improve with Sutter back and healthy this year. He has a 48.3 career face-off win percentage and won 52.2 percent of his draws in the 20 games he played for the Canucks last year.
Vancouver also brought in ex-Canuck Manny Malhotra to help coach the youth. It’s hard to win hockey games if you don’t have the puck and winning faceoffs is the easiest way to get the puck. That said, the Arizona Coyotes led the league in faceoffs last year and finished in 24th in the league.
Defense must be physical and offensive
Jim Benning believed the Canucks were too easy to play against last year, so he went out and acquired hulking defenseman Erik Gudbranson to solve that problem. At 6-foot-5 and 216 pounds, Gudbranson has a physical presence on the ice unlike most others. He’ll likely be paired with rookie sensation Ben Hutton and will provide a perfect contrast to Hutton’s offensive game.
Elsewhere, Chris Tanev spent time working with Steven Stamkos’ shooting instructor over the summer, as he looks to improve the one weak point of his game. Larsen was brought in to quarterback the power play and, although he hasn’t shown much in preseason, he also hasn’t had the opportunity to play with the Sedins yet. There’s also this kid named Troy Stecher you may have heard of that made waves in the preseason.
Next: Defining a Successful 2016-17 Season
They must stay healthy
If the Canucks can’t stay healthy this year, nothing else matters. Last year, the Canucks lost over 300 man games to injuries. Key players like Alex Edler, Sutter, Hamhuis, Tanev, Henrik Sedin and Jannik Hansen all missed at least eight games with an injury. It’s obviously impossible to predict whether or not this will happen again this season, but if it does, the Canucks can kiss all hopes of making the playoffs this year.