Are the Canucks just not good enough for the North division?

There comes a time when a team of hockey players has to take a hard look in the mirror and ask themselves what kind of team they want to be. Right now, the Vancouver Canucks are that team.

Coming off a successful playoff run that resulted in the Canucks outlasting any other Canadian team (and being 1 win away from the final 4), the expectations were most certainly higher coming into a new campaign. But as the Canucks already near the midway mark of this 56-game regular-season, those expectations haven’t been met, not by a long shot.

To put it into perspective a little, Vancouver is currently holding a record of 8-14-2 and freefalling. They lost all but two games in the month of February and are just three points ahead of being dead-last in the division.

From what they’ve displayed on the ice this year, they’re a shadow of their former selves and the time to turn things around is running out. Honestly, compared to the team they lived up to be last year, this team is a long way off. It’s like the Canucks have fallen off the face of the earth. In all reality, it really hasn’t been this bad since the Mark Messier Era.

So what seems to be the problem? People knew the Canucks were going to have to make adjustments after Jim Benning failed to re-sign Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli and Chris Tanev. But with a core of talented players like Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat, the expectation was that — although there would be speed bumps in the road — this group of players would eventually get the Canucks back on track and into playoff positioning. That hasn’t been the case.

Hockey is a team sport, but when the going gets tough, it’s the star players that are expected to pull their guys out of the mud. But are the Canucks’ big five really good enough to overcome the other powerful cores across the all-Canadian division?

As good as the Canucks’ best players seem to be, you can’t deny the talent that surrounds them on other teams. The Edmonton Oilers are the hottest team in the NHL right now. With 10 wins and two losses in their last 12, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl seem unstoppable. They’ve also got Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tyson Barrie and Mike Smith — a veteran goalie on a mission right now. They haven’t looked this good in a while and the Canucks haven’t been able to figure them out.

The Calgary Flames have had their own struggles this season, but still, their core matches up well against Vancouver. Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau are one thing, but before they can even get there, the Canucks have had enough difficulty in solving their former MVP goaltender. For the most part, Tanev and Markstrom have gotten the best of their former team and they’ve complemented Calgary in a major way. Especially against Vancouver.

The Winnipeg Jets are another big roadblock for the Canucks. For whatever reason, the Jets are a team Vancouver just doesn’t seem to be able to beat. The Jets have had their number for years and the trend doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop any time soon. A winning record on the season against Winnipeg would be the underdog story of the year.

As exciting as the Toronto Maple Leafs versus Canucks series could really be, so far it’s been all Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews is on the hot streak of his career and the roster talent doesn’t end there. Mitch Marner, John Taveres, William Nylander and Morgan Reilly make up a ton of offensive firepower. Plus having a veteran presence in guys like Jason Spezza and Joe Thornton has done them wonders.

The Montreal Canadiens have been a lot better against the Canucks than anyone could have honestly predicted. Actually, Toffoli has been above and beyond anything people could have possibly imagined, especially against Vancouver. Out with a vengeance against his former team, Toffoli has been a goal-scoring machine surrounded by an all-star goalie, a tremendous captain in Shea Weber, and a solid new-look offensive squad. They’ve been much better than Vancouver.

It’s really only the Ottawa Senators that the Canucks have been able to take advantage of. They’ve been on the upward trend lately and only trail the Canucks by three points with two games in hand. That is a scary thought. The Canucks are in serious jeopardy of being one of the NHL’s worst teams all over again.

As promising as the Canucks core seemed to be last year, the all-Canadian division has so far proven to be too much to handle. And it appears that Vancouver is further away from taking that next step than they were one year ago.

Vancouver is set to play the Winnipeg Jets in a two-game series on the road. The first of two meetings will take place at 5 PM Pacific time on Monday.