Vancouver Canucks continue to slide down in power rankings
By Alex Hoegler
With a frustrating start to the month, the Vancouver Canucks continue to free fall in NHL power rankings across the web. We take a look at where they stand heading into mid-February.
It’s always an adventure for the Vancouver Canucks at this time of the year. Back in the days when they were playoff contenders, fans always got excited about which players former general manager Mike Gillis would trade for.
But for the fourth time in five years, the Canucks look destined to sell. That’s fine, because being a “seller” last year netted young talents in Nikolay Goldobin and Jonathan Dahlen. We can only hope general manager Jim Benning can bring in such assets at this year’s deadline.
Things also got testy on Friday when Jacob Markstrom called out the team after its 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes:
The Canucks did defeat the Dallas Stars 6-0 on Sunday, but the last two weeks have been arguably the team’s worst stretch of the season, and it’s only led to going down in power rankings across the web.
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- CBS Sports: Cody Benjamin has the Canucks ranked 28th. Only the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes are worse.
- Sportsnet: Luke Fox placed the Canucks 27th in his “Greatest Trade Needs Edition,” power rankings. He pointed out that the Canucks must trade Erik Gudbranson and Thomas Vanek, while adding “the future is increasingly bright.”
- Toronto Star: Michael Traikos puts Vancouver in the 30th spot, only ahead of the lowly Arizona Coyotes. Perhaps the improved play of the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators influenced Traikos’ decision to have the Canucks below them
- Buffalo News: Mike Harrington concurs with Benjamin and has the Canucks sitting at 28th on his list. “Sedins need to decide status for next season,” he writes.
The Canucks currently sit at 28th overall in the league standings — three points ahead of Ottawa and eight up on Buffalo. Vancouver is also tied with the equally struggling Edmonton Oilers with 50 points.
But don’t get too excited about this team picking in the top-three just yet. The 22nd-place Chicago Blackhawks have just 56 points, and could (remarkably), finish as a bottom-four team this season. Who saw that coming?
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It’s been another tough year in Vancouver, but Benning has the chance to salvage something positive at the deadline. Should the Canucks also land another high draft pick, the rebuild could turn a corner quickly. For now, they have two months left of hockey before a long offseason.