North Division: How the Canucks stack up versus the Jets

The Vancouver Canucks have been placed in an all Canadian division for the upcoming season, but how do they compare against the Winnipeg Jets?

With the Canadian division officially set, The Canuck Way will be taking a look at how Vancouver stacks up against every other team in the division over the next several days.

The Vancouver Canucks are set to play all their games against Canadian teams this season, and there’s no doubt that they’ll be jockeying with the Winnipeg Jets for a playoff berth in the 2021 postseason.

Both clubs made the play-in tournament last year and had almost identical records, as the Canucks sported a .565% winning percentage while Winnipeg was only slightly lower at .563.

With such similar records, we need to dive deeper into the construction of each team to see if a clear winner can be determined, starting with their respective offences.

How their offence stacks up

In 2019-20, the Canucks scored an average of 3.25 goals per game, which ranked eighth in the league. Meanwhile, the Jets scored 3.00 per game, which came in at 17th overall.

However, it’s important to note that Vancouver also lost Tyler Toffoli in free agency during the offseason, which will hurt the team up front. The good news is that some of his offence will be replaced on the backend by Nate Schmidt, who has averaged about half a point per game over the past three years and gives the Canucks another scoring threat on the blueline other than Quinn Hughes.

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

The Jets also made additions to their forward group by trading for Paul Statsny, which gives them a legitimate second-line centre to play alongside their many talented wingers. Statsny isn’t the player he once was, but is still good enough to provide solid depth for a Winnipeg team that was a bit top-heavy last season.

Looking at these moves, I would give a slight edge to the Canucks given that their core forwards are a bit younger than Winnipeg’s and the Statsny acquisition likely won’t be able to make up for the difference.

How their defence stacks up

Everyone knows that Vancouver has one of the weaker bluelines in the league, but Winnipeg’s is somehow worse.

The Jets lost their entire right side defence corps last offseason, leaving not much left in its wake. They tried to patch things up by acquiring Dylan Demelo at the trade deadline, but it still wasn’t enough to cover up a backend that was once among the NHL’s best.

Meanwhile, the Canucks lost some depth on their blueline with the departure of some free agents but the acquisition of Schmidt has bolstered the team’s top four. Vancouver also has Hughes, who’s arguably the best defenceman in all of Canada. The bottom pair is still a work in progress, but there’s no doubt that the team’s backend is still better than Winnipeg’s.