The Vancouver Canucks have dealt with some major blows lately, but they continue to fight and remain in the early stages of the playoff hunt.
The Vancouver Canucks should be struggling through a season full of injuries and misfortune in every way, shape, and form. This is a team that lost players like J.T. Miller, Derek Forbort, Thatcher Demko, Dakota Joshua, and Brock Boeser at one point or another, just to name a few.
Yeah, the Understatement of the Year would claim that the Canucks have had it bad, because when you lose so many impact players to injury so early or in Demko’s case, dating back to last year, you’re poised for a meltdown, right? And we haven’t even talked about the Calgary Flames, who nobody thought was going to do anything, and here they are, enjoying surprise team status. That should have been a hindrance to Vancouver.
All of that said, the Canucks are playing good hockey, and it’s a testament to head coach Rick Tocchet for keeping this team together through some tough moments. Overall, the Canucks shouldn’t be anywhere near contender status, but here they are, with a 13-7-4 record and 30 points at that.
Players like Elias Pettersson have stepped up and played elite hockey lately, so that’s stemmed the bleeding some. They also brought in players like Jake DeBrusk and Kevin Lankinen, both of whom have been resounding successes so far.
Vancouver Canucks aren’t playing their best hockey, but…
A team with so many setbacks just shouldn’t be playing such inspiring hockey, but here are the Canucks, looking like a group ready and raring to prove even the most notorious naysayers wrong. And you can’t help but enjoy it as they slowly start getting healthier and back to 100 percent.
No, they’re not in first place in the Pacific, and, really, the Edmonton Oilers are creeping up on them fast. But considering the circumstances, the Canucks may have been a good team when fully healthy yet with a bad points total because nobody’s healthy.
However, it hasn’t been the case, so through their first two months of 2024-25, I have no choice but to give this team an ‘A,’ both for effort and for moderate success against the worst hand someone could have dealt them. Yeah, the Canucks earn a well-deserved ‘A’ in my book, and I’m looking forward to what they’ll do when everyone is back and at full go.
If last season indicated anything, a healthy Canucks team will end up in the playoffs, if not surpass their competition and win the Pacific. From there, and if they stay healthy, this squad will be surefire Stanley Cup contenders, barring a complete meltdown.