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.
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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.
Goaltending comparison
Unfortunately for the Canucks, this section is a clear win in favour of Winnipeg.
Connor Hellebuyck ran away with the Vezina last season, and deservedly so. To put things into perspective, the Jets only allowed 2.83 goals per game last year, which was the 10th fewest in the league. Even with a superior blueline and an outstanding year from Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver gave up 3.10 goals per game, ranking 21st out of 31 teams.
The Jets might not have a backup as good as Thatcher Demko, but Helleybuck can singlehandedly drag his team through an entire season while playing behind a tattered defence corps, making Winnipeg the clear winner in this category.
Special teams
Both teams ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of their penalty kill last season, with the Canucks and Jets placing 16th and 22nd, respectively.
The bigger difference comes on the powerplay, as Vancouver converted on the man advantage 24.2% of the time, good for fourth overall. Winnipeg wasn’t bad either, scoring 20.5% of the time, but that was only the 15th ranked powerplay in 2019-20.
The Canucks’ penalty kill might take a step back this year due to the loss of Chris Tanev, but the gap between the two team’s powerplay prowess means that Vancouver is still likely to be better than the Jets when it comes to special teams.
Jets player to watch: Connor Helleybuck
Helleybuck is an obvious and uninteresting pick, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Jets season rides on his performance. Without him, Winnipeg would’ve finished well outside of the playoffs last year and might’ve been in the running for one of the top picks in the 2020 draft.
More importantly, there are still some questions about his consistency. Helleybuck was also nominated for the Vezina in 2017-18 but struggled the following season, before bouncing back and having a historic 2019-20 campaign. He was also subpar for his standards during the play-in tournament, so the Jets could be in a world of hurt if Helleybuck’s struggles with his consistency.
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Finally, it’s also worth noting that Winnipeg was 9-3 against Canadian teams last season, while the Canucks struggled to the tune of a 5-10 record against the same clubs. Even with this stark contrast, Vancouver should still be able to finish above the Jets this year given that they’re better in every aspect outside of goaltending. Let us know if you agree in the comments below!