There may not be any contenders out there this season who have had it tougher than the Canucks, and it’s showing on the scoreboard more than anything else. Prior to Thursday night’s game slate, Vancouver was just 26th in goals scored with 130, which is nowhere near an acceptable number when you look at who’s currently playing for this team.
Yeah, I say currently because we have no idea what will become of J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson between now and the trade deadline, and perhaps a few more. There’s a chance both stick around in British Columbia and salvage what’s been a disappointing campaign, but they’ll need to start transforming back into the players they were in 2023-24 for that to even remotely occur.
Then, there’s the fact nobody on this team has scored 20 goals, and we’re inching dangerously close to the two-thirds mark of the season. So, is there anyone out there who will hit 20 in Vancouver?
Well, barring a serious injury, there’s one player getting close, which is better than the infamy of having nobody at all reach the mark. Jake DeBrusk, so far, has found twine 17 times, good for a shooting percentage of 18.1. Chances are, DeBrusk will get there at some point in February, but is it fair game behind him?
Jake DeBrusk may be the only Canucks player to hit 20 goals this season
There’s a chance that Jake DeBrusk flies solo in the goal-scoring category, but luckily for the Canucks, there are other takers. Brock Boeser has found the back of the net 19.5 percent of the time and has 15 goals in the process. But Boeser’s also been hurt and missed extended time this season. If he struggles with injuries, hitting 20 goals may be a tougher-than-expected endeavor.
Kiefer Sherwood and Quinn Hughes are another pair of players who could threaten 20 goals, as they have 13 and 12, respectively. Of the two, Sherwood is more likely to hit that number, given his 15.3 shooting percentage and the fact that Hughes is more of the playmaking type.
It’s crazy that we haven’t mentioned Elias Pettersson yet, but he’s back there a little with 11 goals, tied with Conor Garland and Pius Suter. It’s still early enough for this trio, should they remain in Vancouver, to get hot and surpass 20 goals as well.
So, reverting to the statement asked in this headline: There’s always the chance that nobody in Vancouver hits 20 goals until someone does. But that’s unlikely to happen. As many as seven players can realistically get to that number, but in reality, my projection rests between three and four.