Nothing makes you appreciate two back-to-back wins like seven consecutive losses. The Canucks’ season has been a mixed bag so far, to say the least. On the plus side, Elias Pettersson has been playing at a high level. Unfortunately, there have been a few key injuries like Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes keeping this team from icing their ideal roster, and Thatcher Demko has been playing uncharacteristically. This is not … Read More
If Garland and Höglander can be scratched, why can’t J.T. Miller?
On Tuesday, prior to the game in Columbus, the Canucks made it clear that Conor Garland would be a healthy scratch. He returned to the lineup on Thursday in Minnesota, while Nils Höglander tagged out and sat in the press box. Both of these lineup choices were met with criticism and head-scratching. If Garland and Höglander can be scratched, why can’t J.T. Miller? When Garland was scratched before the Columbus … Read More
Will Höglander Get a Spot on the Opening Night Lineup?
Two years ago, Nils Höglander was looked at as one of the budding stars for the Canucks moving forward. Fast forward to this year’s training camp and he’s starting on an AHL line. He found himself on the outside looking in, leaving both fans and media to discuss whether he could crack the Canucks opening night lineup. Höglander had a strong rookie year, putting up 27 points in a Covid-shortened … Read More
Three Canucks Who Need to Step Up Next Season
The Vancouver Canucks continue to stare in the face of sweeping changes. Some have come and gone, and others stand directly in the Canucks path through the offseason. The Canucks are expected to continue to evolve beyond this offseason and into the 2022/23 offseason as Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford continue to dismantle the old regime’s vision and start moulding their own. There are some players on the Canucks that … Read More
Is “Experience” a Worthy Cause to Chase the Playoffs?
There’s no doubt that the Canucks have been more exciting to watch, and more successful overall in the back half of their season to date. However, their sluggish start to the year revealed an overall weakness to the team, that although maybe less prominent on select nights, still exists as a problem that the organization has yet to solve. Their lack of defensive depth and continuing difficulty to kill penalties, … Read More
SCT Grab Bag: Special Teams, Pettersson and Höglander
The start of the season for the Vancouver Canucks has been less than ideal, granted, seemingly on the upswing now. There are a few key concerns and takeaways regarding Elias Pettersson, Nils Höglander and the special teams. Should You Be Worried about Pettersson? No. Elias Pettersson just has too much raw skill to take a sustained step back this drastic. This is not a player that had been punching out … Read More
What to expect with J.T Miller and Jordie Benn Out of the Line-Up
‘Twas the night before Hockey, it was finally back. Everyone was happy when suddenly, SMACK! The Hamonic signing was out, but the news didn’t stop. Fore it was time, for the other shoe to finally drop. The team was in Edmonton, but J.T. was at home. And Canucks fans had a bad feeling, deep in the bone. Just as the final piece to the puzzle was placed Tuesday evening with … Read More
Did the Off-Season Put the Canucks a step ahead, or behind?
It’s safe to say this offseason for the Canucks has had its ups and downs, with some high turnover of veterans and key players in the locker room. On the other hand, there were bullets dodged as far as UFA contracts go and there is potential young talent ready to make their mark on the NHL. In the first days of the summer the off-season it looked like the potential … Read More