North Division: How the Canucks stack up against the Oilers

Goaltending comparison

This category should also favour Vancouver, although the margin might be closer than you think.

Both teams will be running a 1A/1B system in goal this season, but the Canucks’ pair is more experienced while also providing the higher upside.

Brayden Holtby is a former Vezina winner and Stanley Cup champion with almost 100 playoff games under his belt, and Thatcher Demko is the youngest of the bunch whose potential is still largely untapped.

Meanwhile, Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith are solid netminders who probably won’t see much improvement given their advanced age, as Koskinen is 32 and Smith will turn 39 during the season.

With that said, Koskinen is underrated by some fans considering he posted a .917 save percentage last season, which was by far the highest number out of all four goalies.

Even so, I’d still give the slight edge to Vancouver’s duo given Holtby’s experienced and Demko’s potential, but the separation between the two tandems is closer than you might think.

Special teams

Vancouver’s special teams were decent last season, as they finished fourth in powerplay percentage and 16th in penalty kill.

Edmonton, however, was on a whole different level.

The Oilers’ powerplay was the best in the NHL by a landslide, as they scored 29.5% of the time while the team who finished second only had a success rate of 25.2%. They also came second in penalty kill at 84.4%, which shows how dominant their special teams were.

It’s unrealistic to expect Edmonton to keep converting with the man advantage at such a ludicrous rate since that was one of the highest percentages in recent history. On the other hand, they probably won’t see a huge dropoff either, since Barrie is one of the best powerplay quarterbacks in the league.

Looking at these numbers, this section is a clear win for the Oilers, and it could become an even larger gap if Vancouver’s penalty kill struggles in the absence of Chris Tanev.

Oilers player to watch: Evan Bouchard

This pick might be a surprise to some of you, but Evan Bouchard’s development could greatly impact the Oilers in 2020-21.

Bouchard enjoyed a good first pro season in the AHL last year but has been absolutely lighting the SHL on fire this season. He currently has 17 points in only 23 games played, while also making strides in his defensive game.

If he could make Edmonton’s roster out of training camp and produce right away, then the Oilers won’t be impacted as much by Klefbom’s absence. Known for his offensive game, Bouchard will give an already lethal team even more scoring while also providing depth on their lacklustre blueline.

It’s also worth noting that both teams struggled against Canadian clubs last season, as the Canucks went 5-10-0 while Edmonton was slightly better with a 7-7-2 record. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues this year.

Putting this all together, I believe that Edmonton will finish slightly higher than the Canucks this season in the Canadian division. This is due to their elite special team units and the depth was added in the offseason on the wing, which has been their biggest weakness over the past few seasons. Let me know in the comments if you agree!