Vancouver Canucks season preview
It was somewhat of an ugly season last year in Vancouver, but the team had some improvements toward the back end of the season that they can build on going into 2023-24. It will be Rick Tocchet’s first full season behind the bench for the Canucks after finishing 20-12-4 last season when he replaced Bruce Boudreau. This team has the potential to sneak into the playoffs, but consistency will be their biggest task.
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Offense
Scoring goals wasn’t one of the main concerns for the Canucks last season. Elias Petterson, J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, and Andrei Kuzmenko can all be relied upon to post at least 70+ points, but one guy who is going to need more of a boost this season is Brock Boeser. Vancouver finished 13th in goals per game last season (3.29), but 19th in creating high-danger chances per 60 minutes. Their power play was crucial and kept them in games, but there is still room to improve on their man-advantage.
Defense
The Canucks defense absolutely killed them last season and one of their main focuses this offseason was to make their blue line stronger. They brought in some veteran presences on the backend like Ian Cole and Carson Soucy, so they are hopeful that will strengthen this team’s play in their own end. The Canucks finished in the bottom 10 for goals against per game (3.61), and their penalty kill was last in the league, skating to a 71.6% success rate. They need their man-down unit to step it up if they want to compete for a playoff spot.