Are the Canucks Built for the Playoffs?

Depth

A characteristic of every Stanley Cup-winning team is depth: Do most of their goals come from a few players, or is their scoring well-rounded? When somebody gets injured, does it leave a gaping hole in the roster, or can someone else step in to fill that role?

It’s well documented that the Lightning couldn’t get over the playoff hump until they added third-liners Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow prior to the 2020 playoffs. They went on to win the Stanley Cup two years in a row.

So, how deep are the Canucks?

The “Motte-O-Line” of Tyler Motte, Juho Lammikko, and Matthew Highmore is one of the best fourth lines in the NHL right now. In addition to normal fourth line duties such as killing penalties and playing physically, they contribute goals regularly. When the Canucks need a goal, Boudreau has the luxury of three lines to choose from.

This year is an odd one for the Canucks because they haven’t suffered an absurd amount of injuries like they usually do. (Though there a lot of players out on the COVID-19 protocol.) That being said, if a key player were to get hurt, would they be able to fill that gap?

The Canucks have five players on pace for 20 goals or more. They get occasional goals from defensemen and bottom-six forwards. While J.T. Miller’s success is nothing to downplay, they would still survive offensively if anything were to happen to a top-six forward.

Quinn Hughes, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Tyler Myers are all performing at their best this year, which makes it easier for guys like Schenn, Burroughs, and Brad Hunt to be successful. With Travis Hamonic and Tucker Poolman missing significant portions of the season, the Canucks are able to throw depth guys in to plug those holes.

Spencer Martin shocked the hockey world with a few stellar performances in an emergency situation earlier this year. He posted a .958 save percentage and a 1.59 goals against average over his three games, earning one win and two overtime losses. While it’s a small sample size, Martin showed that he’s a good option, should anything happen to Thatcher Demko or Jaroslav Halak.

Are the Canucks Built for the Playoffs?

The Canucks aren’t a Stanley Cup team yet. They’re tough, they’re deep, and they’re resilient. But it’s all relative. There are other teams out there that are tougher, deeper, and more resilient. If they can squeeze their way into the playoffs, however, they might give a few teams a run for their money.