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Canucks: How they compare to the rest of the Pacific Division

By Joshua Rey

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 13: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Vancouver Canucks clears the puck while being checked by Johnny Gaudreau #13 and Sam Bennett #93 of the Calgary Flames during NHL hockey action at Rogers Arena on February 13, 2021 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 13: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Vancouver Canucks clears the puck while being checked by Johnny Gaudreau #13 and Sam Bennett #93 of the Calgary Flames during NHL hockey action at Rogers Arena on February 13, 2021 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /
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EDMONTON, ALBERTA – SEPTEMBER 04: The Vancouver Canucks defend against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on September 04, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – SEPTEMBER 04: The Vancouver Canucks defend against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on September 04, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights are among the elite teams in the league and it’s hard not to see why just by looking at their depth chart. Mark Stone is one of the best two way players in the league. William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty are excellent scorers and the acquisitions of Nolan Patrick,Mattias Janmark and Evgeni Dadonov provide some good depth. Though Vegas is better in wingers, the Canucks have the best centre out of the two teams in Pettersson.

On defence, the Golden Knights have a formidable top four with Alex Martinez, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Mcnabb and Shea Theodore.

In terms of goaltending, Vegas traded Marc-Andre Fluery, the Vezina trophy winner for basically nothing. Now they have Robin Lehner as the starter and Laurent Brossoit as a serviceable backup. Demko is more suited to be a starter so that could give the Canucks the slight edge in goaltending.

Are the Golden Knights better than the Canucks? Yes they are without a doubt.

Conclusion

So the Canucks do seem to stack up well with most of the Pacific Division and it is a weak division after all. While their defence could be better, they got what could potentially be an exciting top nine and hopefully Demko continues to get better and learn under Ian Clark and Halak has proven in the past to be a serviceable backup. With the offseason acquisitions they made, I think the Canucks will be fighting for a playoff spot all season. My early prediction? The Canucks finish third in the Pacific behind the Oilers and Golden Knights and just ahead of the Flames and Kraken.

Next. Canucks: RFA Jason Dickinson files for salary arbitration. dark

A little announcement before this article ends. I am now an editor for this site or site expert as FanSided calls them. I along with Zaahid Lalani will be helping out editing these articles and expect to see many articles from myself as well as many other great contributors here at The Canuck Way!

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