Vancouver Canucks Stats, Odds, Standings and Schedule for NHL Season 2023

Vancouver Canucks Last Season Performance

The Canucks never quite recovered from a 0-5-2 start, although they showed improvement while going 14-5-2 to end 2022-23.

Vancouver was in the middle of the pack on offense, but its downfall was mostly on the defensive end, where the Canucks were 25th in the league in goals-against (3.61) and last in penalty killing (71.6 percent).

Center Elias Pettersson had a career year with 39 goals and 102 points, while J.T. Miller finished with 32 and 82, respectively.

Defenseman Quinn Hughes continued his progress with 69 assists and was ninth in the Norris Trophy voting. Forward Andrei Kuzmenko was also very productive (39 goals, 74 points) in his first NHL season at 27 years old.

The Canucks were hampered by No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko’s injury issues, which limited him to 32 games after winning 33 in 2021-22.

Offseason Changes

Key Additions

The Canucks tried to address some defensive concerns by signing Carson Soucy and veteran Ian Cole for their top six.

Soucy was +63 combined in his last four seasons with Minnesota and Seattle, while Cole has played 748 NHL games. Veteran defenseman Matt Irwin was also added for depth and Vancouver acquired Casey DeSmith recently in a trade to battle for the backup goalie spot.

Hard-working forward Teddy Blueger was also a key signing, while Pius Suter could help up front after scoring 43 goals combined in the last three seasons.

Key Subtractions

Vancouver acquired former first-round pick Vitali Kravtsov from the New York Rangers last season, but the forward did not resign after managing two points in 16 games.

Travis Dermott was let go. Fellow defenseman Ethan Bear has yet to sign a contract but could return to Vancouver.

Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Analysis

Rick Tocchet helped turn things around after taking over for Bruce Boudreau, leading the Canucks to a 20-12-4 record. He will have time to build on that.

The 59-year-old Tocchet scored 952 points in his NHL career and is 198-212-64 as a head coach in the league. He also spent two seasons as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and four with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes made the playoffs in the expanded format in 2020, but that is the only team he took to the postseason. Tocchet won the Cup as a player with Pittsburgh (1992) and as an assistant coach with the Penguins (2016, 17).

Vancouver Canucks Prediction for the 2023-24 Season

Tocchet appeared to make an impact, but this is a new season and the Canucks will have to prove themselves again.

If Demko can stay healthy and a revamped defense comes together quickly, Vancouver could be a factor in the playoff race. Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford told reporters recently his team is “in a better place,” than at the end of last season.

Pettersson leads the way up front along with Miller and Kuzmenko, but they will have to find more depth in the scoring department. Anthony Beauvillier, who was acquired in the Bo Horvat deal, Ilya Mikheyev (missed 36 games due to injury) and an improved Brock Boeser (18 goals in 2022-2023) would help in that endeavor.

Soucy and Cole join Hughes, Tyler Myers, and Filip Hronek in the defense corps. Hronek was acquired from Detroit at the deadline.

Demko (.915 save percentage in 2020-21 and 21-22) is +3000 to win the Vezina Trophy in the Las Vegas hockey odds. He is capable.

While Vancouver will not be an easy out, we think they are still a player or two away from being a playoff team. The Canucks are +150 to make it and -180 to miss the postseason in our NHL odds.

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