NHL Preview - Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks

2015-16 season: 31-38-13, 75 points Did not qualify for playoffs	Head Coach: Willie Desjardins (2014)
6th Place Pacific Division	General Manager: Jim Benning (2014)
13th Place Western Conference	AHL Affiliate: Utica Comets ECHL Affiliate: Kalamazoo Wings
Cap Space: $4,178,752

News

• Traded C Jared McCann, 2016 2nd and 4th round draft picks to Florida for D Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 5th round pick

Players Lost in the Offseason

POS.	Player	New Team	Contract
LW	Chris Higgins	Calgary Flames	PTO
LW	Brandon Prust	Toronto Maples Leafs	PTO
C	Linden Vey	Calgary Flames	1 year, $700,000
RW	Radim Vrbata	Arizona Coyotes	1 year, $1,000,000
D	Dan Hamhuis	Dallas Stars	2 years, $7,500,000
D	Matt Bartkowski	Ottawa Senators	PTO
D	Yannik Weber	Nashville Predators	1 year, $575,000
D	Taylor Fedun	Buffalo Sabres	2 years, $1,200,000
G	Joe Cannata	Washington Capitals	1 year, $600,000

Incoming Free Agents

POS.	Player	Old Team	Contract
RW	Loui Eriksson	Boston Bruins	6 years, $36,000,000
RW	Jayson Megna	New York Rangers	1 year, $600,000
D	Philip Larsen	Jokerit Helsinki (KHL)	1 year, $1,025,000
D	Troy Stecher	Signed NCAA	2 years, $1,850,00

2016 Draft Picks

RD	Pick No.	POS.	Name	Junior/College/Club Team
1	5	D	Olli Juolevi	London Knights (OHL)
3	64	RW	William Lockwood	U.S. National Development Team (USHL)
5	140	D	Cole Candella	Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
6	154	LW	Jakub Stukel	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
7	184	C	Rodrigo Abols	Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
7	194	C	Brett McKenzie	North Bay Battalion (OHL)

Top Three Prospects

POS	Name	Draft Info	Current Team
G	Thatcher Demko	2014 2nd RD (36)	Boston College (Hockey East)
RW	Brock Boeser	2015 1st RD (23)	University of North Dakota (NCHC)
RW	Alexander Grenier	2011 3rd RD (90)	AHL/ECHL

Projected Lineup

Forwards

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
LW	(A) Daniel Sedin	36	Sweden	2018
C	(C) Henrik Sedin	36	Sweden	2018
RW	Loui Eriksson	31	Sweden	2022
LW	Markus Granlund	23	Finland	2018 (RFA)
C	Brandon Sutter	27	Canada	2021
RW	Jannik Hansen	30	Denmark	2018
LW	Sven Baertschi	24	Switzerland	2018 (RFA)
C	Bo Horvat	21	Canada	2017 (RFA)
RW	Jake Virtanen	20	Canada	2018 (RFA)
LW	Emerson Etem	24	USA	2017 (RFA)
C	Brendan Gaunce	22	Canada	2017 (RFA)
RW	Alexander Burrows	35	Canada	2017

Defensemen

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
D	Alexander Edler	30	Sweden	2019
D	Chris Tanev	26	Canada	2020
D	Ben Hutton	23	Canada	2017 (RFA)
D	Erik Gudbranson	24	Canada	2017 (RFA)
D	Luca Sbisa	26	Switzerland	2018
D	Philip Larsen	26	Denmark	2017

Goalies

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
G	Ryan Miller	36	USA	2017
G	Jacob Markstrom	26	Sweden	2020

Extra Skaters

POS	Name	Age	Nationality	Free Agent Year
RW	Derek Dorsett	29	Canada	2019
RW	Anton Rodin	25	Sweden	2017 (RFA)
D	Troy STecher	22	Canada	2018 (RFA)

Season Preview

• Vancouver has fallen a long way since losing in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins in 2011.  There really aren't many players left over from that Western Conference winning team that were still on last season's roster.  Ryan Kesler is gone, as are Dan Hamhuis, Roberto Luongo, and Kevin Bieksa.  Basically, the only players still on the Canucks are the Sedin twins and Alexandre Burrows.  They brought in Ryan Miller to fill the hole left when they traded away Luongo when they signed Miller to a three-year deal that expires afters this season.  Last year, the Canucks finished next-to-last both in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. They were really bad in all statistical areas and in their advanced metrics.  The only veterans who were actually good on last year's team were the Sedins, who have been the Canucks' best players for over a decade now.  They did have several young players who contributed a great deal in Bo Horvat (40 points) and Sven Baertschi (28 points).  Beyond those two, the 2015-16 season for the Canucks was largely forgettable, and the team was one of the worst in the league.

CAT.	Goals For	Goals Against	PP %	PK%	PDO	Corsi For	Corsi Against	Corsi For %	oZS%	dZS%
Stat	191	243	15.79	81.12	99.3	4216	4661	47.5	50.7	49.3
Canucks’ Rank	30th	25th	28th	18th	24th	27th	20th	25th	17th	17th

PDO= Even Strength Shooting Percentage + Even Strength Save Percentage

Corsi For= Shots + Blocks + Misses while in possession of puck

Crosi Against= Shots + Blocks + Misses while not in possession of puck

Corsi For %= Corsi For/(Corsi For+Corsi Against) -> Above 50% means that team controls play

oZS% = Offensive Zone Start Percentage

dZS% = Defensive Zone Start Percentage

• It's hard to determine what the leadership group in Vancouver thinks of itself and what their plan for the team is.  The Canucks are certainly one of the worst teams in the league, yet spent a substantial amount of money to sign winger Loui Eriksson.  They also have one of the league's worst forward groups that, outside of the top line, is rather forgettable.  Their defensive unit is also bad and will struggle to take pressure off goalie Ryan Miller, who has regressed significantly with age.  The Canucks appear to be a team on the cusp of change.  The Sedin twins are 36 and their contracts end after next season.  The question will be what the Canucks do with them, They'll be nearly 38 when their current contracts expire, and probably won't have much to offer in terms of production at that point in their careers.  However, the Canucks may also not be very good at that point and they could use the twins as a marketing draw by ensuring that they retire with Vancouver, the only team that either has ever played for in the NHL.  The leadership group will also have to answer the question of what their direction in net is. Current netminder Ryan Miller is 36 and will need a new contract to stay in Vancouver after this season. He has not been good, though, in recent years and probably won't be good enough to be a starter in the NHL after this season.  The problem for Vancouver is that there really isn't a prospect being groomed for the job after Miller leaves.  Backup Jacob Markstrom has been relatively unforgettable in the playing time he has received throughout his brief career. Vancouver also has a lackluster farm system, which is not a good sign for a team that has struggled to find success in recent seasons.  Two big questions linger for me regarding the Canucks for this coming season: Will head coach Willie Desjardins be on the hot seat this season? And are the Vancouver Canucks the worst team in the league?  It is very possible that they are.

Breakout Candidate

• C Bo Horvat - Last season was Horvat's second year at the NHL level and his first full year. He put up 40 points and and I think that he has the potential to take even another step in his development this year.

Regression Candidate

• RW Jannik Hansen - Hansen was on pace to have the best season of his NHL career last year, and he has averaged between 20 and 30 points each season during his career.  I think that he will regress back to his average for this coming year.

Bounceback Candidate

• G Ryan Miller - Ryan Miller had a bad year last season by his career's standards.  He had a losing record, a 2.60 GAA, and a .916 save percentage.  It's crazy to think that he was actually better in Buffalo, where his teams were worse for a majority of his career.  However, in Vancouver, the defense in front of him is atrocious and he has to stop a lot more shots than he should ever have to.  I think that Miller is better than he exhibited last season, though, and he'll bounce back to an extent and hopefully be good enough to garner another contract from a team next season.

*All statistics and information come from: rosterresource.com, thehockeywriters.com, hockeydb.com, hockey-reference.com, and generalfanager.com