This week is an important one for the Vancouver Canucks, as they begin what might be a season-defining five-game road trip with a matchup on Monday night against the Montreal Canadiens. It will also see them officially reach the halfway point of their 2024-25 regular season campaign.
Of course this is essentially the case for the league as a whole, with the likes of the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks actually having already passed the 41-game mark. In any event, The Athletic has released their midway point NHL report cards (subscription required), with grades for all 32 teams.
For a better understanding of the rationale behind how The Athletic determines the respective grades, they take into account expectations. Their NHL staff factors in what each team should focus on moving forward, i.e. either contending for Lord Stanley's Cup, short-term progress, or the long-term future.
A disappointing grade for the Canucks
For the Canucks specifically, they have been handed a C+ grade, which puts them on a par with the Anaheim Ducks and Utah Hockey Club, and in the bottom third of the NHL. Certainly, as Thomas Drance states, this is disappointing but also not surprising, given the expectations in Vancouver coming off a season where the team accrued the third-most points in franchise history.
Drance goes on to justify his grade for the Canucks, referencing factors such as offensive struggles, defensive regression from last season, and just general inconsistency of performance. However, before any Canucks fans consider heading to the nearest bar to commiserate with themselves, there is a glimmer of hope.
The Athletic's Drance also notes the internal issues the Canucks have had to contend with. Further, that the fact the team is still in a playoff spot -- as they are at the time of writing -- alludes to a strong roster quality.
We've referenced this adversity before, with the Canucks having to deal with long-term injuries to some of their key personnel at certain points in 2024-25, specifically including Filip Hronek currently and Thatcher Demko previously. They also had to deal with other absences due to a cancer diagnosis and surgery for Dakota Joshua, family bereavement for Derek Forbort, and a leave of absence due to personal reasons.
Arguably the biggest issue of all
That much publicised leave of absence was by J.T. Miller, which links to his heavily reported and much speculated rift with teammate Elias Pettersson. Despite their respective claims that the media is blowing it all out of proportion, we're at a point now where trading one of them is apparently very much on the table.
With all of this in mind, it's actually almost a minor miracle that the Canucks have a 18-12-8 record through 38 games, including an extremely impressive 11-4-2 mark on the road. Again, this alludes to an excellent roster quality, as well as a tough collective mental fortitude.
In terms of the NHL in general, The Athletic gives an A+ to the Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights, followed by an A for the Washington Capitals. At the other end, they give an F to the disappointing Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers, along with the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks.
Returning to the Canucks, Drance does expect more from them as we move forward, but this prediction should really come with a caveat. For example if Demko can't stay healthy and find his mojo, or if the Miller and Pettersson situation can't be resolved, then this team isn't going to make the playoffs no matter how much quality the roster has.