5 most important games on the Canucks 2024-25 schedule

Well Canucks fans, we finally made it. One of the most anticipated seasons in the team's history gets going Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

There are plenty of questions facing this team in 2024-25, including whether they can continue to win as consistently as last season? Does Brock Boeser have a second consecutive 40-goal campaign in him, will Elias Pettersson rebound from a poor second-half of last season, and can Thatcher Demko remain healthy whenever he finally returns from a rare injury?

Some will see those questions as representing uncertainty, while others will embrace them as part of the excitment surrounding the return of NHL hockey. Regardless, here are five games which stand out to us as the most important on the Canucks' schedule in 2024-25:

1) Start as you mean to go on

Full disclosure - we would have picked the first game of the 2024-25 campaign no matter who the Canucks were facing. It's important to start off the season on the right foot (skate), which means getting a win.

In any event, it's the Calgary Flames who serve as the Caucks' first opponent of this season. For what it's worth, the Cancuks won three of the four meetings between the two teams last season, including both home contests by a combined 8-3.

It's extremely unlikely, i.e. a one in a million shot, that the Canucks will see a repeat of last season, when they opened with a dominating 8-1 victory at Rogers Arena. In fairness, they'll just be looking for a win full stop, to get things going positively.

2) Revenge on the mind

On the subject of that 8-1 win, this brings us nicely to the first meeting in 2024-25 versus the Edmonton Oilers. The two Canadian teams will clash on Sat. Nov. 9 on national television, in the Canucks' 13th game of the season.

In some respects, you can contend it's a revenge game for both teams after last season. The Canucks won the regular season series and subsequently the Pacific Division, while the Oilers took their intense second round playoff series in seven games.

Regardless, this is an important test for the Canucks, in going up against a team which went all the way to game seven of the Stanley Cup Final last season. The game will be in Vancouver, to -- at least theoretically -- strengthen their chances of winning.

3) Facing the best of the best

In another nice little segue, last season's Stanley Cup Final brings us to another important game on the Canucks' schedule. More specifically versus the Florida Panthers, the reigning champions of hockey's Holy Grail.

There are actually some people who still question the Panthers' standing as one of the elite teams in the NHL. It's best to just ignore those folks however, when discussing a team with two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and one championship.

At least we know the Canucks won't be taking the Panthers for granted, especially with the game being played in Florida on Thur. Oct. 18. It will be just the fourth game of the season for Rick Tocchet and his players, potentially giving us some early indication of what they're capable of in 2024-25.

4) A favourite of many to win it all this season

There are a lot of people picking the Dallas Stars to become this season's Stanley Cup champions. For example, as we recently wrote about, NHL.com's panel of 15 experts saw six of them choosing the Stars to win it all, representing just as many selections as the Oilers.

Certainly you can appreciate why the Stars are receiving so much positive attention, with their 113 regular season points last season just one behind the New York Rangers for the Presidents' Trophy. They were favourites to advance to the Stanley Cup Final from the Western Conference, but Connor McDavid and company would just not be denied.

As for the Canucks, they held their own last season against the Stars, with a 1-1-1 record. They don't actually face off until the Canucks' 51st game of the season on Fri. Jan. 1 in Dallas, but it still stands out as a crucial fixture for Tocchet and his players.

5) The clash of Canada

Let's be clear in stating the Vancouver Canucks versus the Toronto Maple Leafs is always a significant deal, even if both teams are doing poorly in the standings. That's what happens when you have anything involving the respective two biggest cities in West and East Canada.

Not that either team is expected to struggle in 2024-25. The Canucks are headed in the right direction under Patrik Allvin and Tocchet, while the Leafs -- no matter how much they struggle when they actually get there -- seem all but certain to qualify for the playoffs.

Last season saw the teams split their two games, and with plenty of entertainment given there were a combined 17 goals. However, fans will have to wait until next year for the first meeting between them, which will take place in Toronto on Sat. Jan. 11.

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Overall, we fully appreciate there will be those who disagree with our five picks as the most important games on the Canucks' schedule, with plenty of alternative suggestions and for a variety of reasons. In any event, we can all agree that there is a lot of anticipation for the months ahead, as the Canucks aim to prove last season was the start of something special in Vancouver.