The NHL offseason has only really just begun, but already thoughts are turning to the start of the 2024-25 season even though it's still effectively three months away. Along these lines, the league's official site has been busy rating the teams, including the Vancouver Canucks.
More specifically, NHL.com has unveiled their first Super 16 power rankings of the offseason. They understandably take into account all the recently moves made at the beginning of free agency, to help determine how strong each of the 32 teams are.
For what it's worth, 26 of the 32 NHL teams received at least one vote for a place in the Super 16. The six which didn't receive any votes included two of the Canadian sides - the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens.
Of course, what most people reading this site want to know, is where the Canucks were placed? Well, they've done well, but you can make an argument that they should have been ranked higher.
Drum roll ...
We can announce that the Canucks have been ranked eighth in the NHL's Super 16 power rankings. NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen was tasked with explaining the ranking, with him having plenty of positive things to say about the off-season additions the team has brought in.
The Canucks' top two blue-liners Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek proved to be a focal point of Rosen's write up. Hughes, because of his recent comments regarding how the Canucks learned a lot this past season about what it takes to win and become a contender, and Hronek, because of the importance of getting him re-signed for the long-term.
Despite all this, Rosen still couldn't justify ranking the Canucks any higher than eighth. Although he did -- sort of -- hedge his bets, as he said: "... they could find their way into the top five quickly. The Canucks are for real. They know it and now the rest of the NHL does too."
That's great and all, but any move into the top five is a could rather than a should, so not exactly the most concrete of endorsements. We hope that down the road there will be no comments along the lines of 'I told you so', if and when the Canucks do move up the rankings!
So where SHOULD the Canucks be ranked?
In this respect, we would have placed the Canucks higher in the Super 16 rankings, probably around sixth place. This is a team which has had an excellent offseason so far, with general manager Patrik Allvin and the rest of the front office worthy of a B+ for everything they've done.
Some may contend the Cancucks roster hasn't actually improved overall since free agency started, but worst case scenario, they certainly didn't get worse. Regardless, this is still the bulk of the same team which is coming off the third-best regular season in team history, which included ranking sixth-best in the NHL in respect of goals scored and allowed.
The Canucks have a Vezina Trophy finalist in Thatcher Demko, a top-10 scorer in J.T. Miller and the NHL's best defenceman points producer in Quinn Hughes. They have a general manager almost obsessed with building a long-term contender, and a head coach who has the best winning percentage in team history, albeit with only 118 games in charge.
A little more luck on the injury front
As much as the Canucks should be ranked higher, what they do need is some more luck, which isn't asking for too much in the grand scheme of things. Certainly they endured some ill-timed poor fortune towards the end of the 2023-24 season, in respect of two of their best players.
We're talking specifically about Demko's knee injuries that all but took away the final two months of his season, and Brock Boeser's blood clot, which saw him miss game seven in the second round of the playoffs. The Canucks were extremely unlucky to lose that second round series, versus an Edmonton Oilers team which progressed to the Stanley Cup Final - who knows how it would have all played out if Demko and Broeser had been healthy and available?
This alludes to how close the Canucks are to the (current) best team in the Western Conference, who NHL.com placed second in their Super 16 power rankings. Of note, the Toronto Maple Leafs were ranked right behind the Canucks at ninth, while the Winnipeg Jets were ranked 13th.
Overall, we appreciate that these power rankings are a fun task, influenced by a certain amount of subjectivity, together with the reality that just because something looks good on paper, it doesn't mean it's going to translate to the ice. In any event, the Canucks have a young, strong roster with plenty of potential, which will be aiming to prove they are even better than where they are currently ranked, when the real action begins.