Vancouver Canucks: How many teams in the West are better?

The Vancouver Canucks will push for a playoff spot in 2020, but they’re considerably behind a handful of teams in the Western Conference.

After missing the playoffs by nine points last season, the Vancouver Canucks wasted no time addressing their weaknesses as they attempt to qualify for the big dance in 2020.

To complement the young core of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and Quinn Hughes, general manager Jim Benning added top six forwards J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland. He also bolstered the blue line by signing Tyler Myers, Jordie Benn and Oscar Fantenberg.

There’s no question the Canucks are better now than the squad that registered 81 points last season. I’ve said before that I’m expecting around 90 to 95 points this season, but that may not be enough in a stacked Western Conference.

The Colorado Avalanche earned the final playoff spot in the West this past season with 90 points. In 2018, the eighth-seeded Avalanche had 95 points. And in 2017, the Nashville Predators picked up the eighth seed with 94 points.

So yes, the Canucks would have to hit something close to the 90 to 95-point range if they want to nab a playoff spot in 2019-20. The West was surprisingly week in 2018-19, but we shouldn’t expect that to be the case next year.

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Nearly half the Western Conference teams are bonafide Stanley Cup contenders. This includes a trio of Pacific Division clubs — the Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights. Hard to see the Canucks catching either of those three teams in 2020.

Things get much more difficult in the Central Division. Obviously, you can’t count out the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. The star-studded Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are also playoff locks. And you cannot count out the young Colorado Avalanche, who fell just one game shy in reaching the Western Conference Final.

You can assume that at least six of those teams listed above will be playoff teams. The Dallas Stars were one goal away from the final four. They added Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry in the offseason. If Ben Bishop has another Vezina-like season, the Stars will likely finish higher than Vancouver.

I do think the Canucks are better than the retooling Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild. They should finish higher than the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings — teams full of flaws that are seemingly in rebuilding mode right now.

After missing out on the eighth seed by just four points last season, the Arizona Coyotes figure to push hard for a playoff spot. Adding Phil Kessel will help immensely, but it’s hard to see the goaltending duo of Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper masking all the flaws on a Coyotes team that lacks star power and scoring depth.

So here’s how I look at it: Calgary, San Jose, Vegas, St. Louis, Nashville, Winnipeg and Colorado are unquestionably better than Vancouver right now. The Stars look better on paper, and you can argue that Arizona has the better team.

Yes, it’s way too early to get into such predictions. But right now, the guess here is that the Canucks, Coyotes and Stars will be pushing for the final wild card spot throughout the season. It’s just hard to see the other seven Western Conference playoff teams from 2019 taking any major steps back.

But hey, nobody had the Blues winning the Stanley Cup at this point last offseason. Look what happened there. Offseason predictions are meaningless, and the Canucks have more than enough young star power and talent to surprise the hockey world big time 2019-20.