What a difference a year makes. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Vancouver Canucks were +2200 on the betting line to win the Stanley Cup. Now, they are +5000, and only the boldest of gamblers would be placing bets on them knocking the Florida Panthers off the throne they have sat in for the past two seasons.
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The fall from grace is well-documented around Canucks Nation, from the first collapse on opening night when they blew a 4-1 lead to the Calgary Flames to the drama surrounding two of their biggest stars in J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The season ultimately ended with Miller being traded back to the New York Rangers and the Canucks dropping 19 standings points and missing the playoffs. They also finished with one of the worst offences in the league and a horrible record on home ice.
So, what things need to change for the Canucks to charge back up the standings and retake their place among the NHL’s elite? Let’s dive in.
Rogers Arena Needs to Become Tough to Play In Again
Last season, the Canucks struggled mightily at home, finishing with a 17-16-8 record. Their fans left Rogers Arena disappointed 25 times and had to endure a lot of blowouts as well. Pick a stat, they were bad in it. From being outscored 127-112 and allowing 3.10 goals per game to losing eight times in overtime/shootout, it got to a point where being on the road was a blessing. Their Jekyll and Hyde performance continued through most of the season, as they looked like two totally different teams between home and the road.
It was a stark contrast to the previous season where the Canucks were nearly unbeatable on home ice, staying in the single digits in losses at 27-9-5. Their dominance within the walls of Rogers Arena was a huge reason why they not only made the playoffs but also won the Pacific Division over the Edmonton Oilers. If they can somehow recapture that, it will go a long way to putting the drama and disappointment of last season where it belongs, the past.
Elias Pettersson & Brock Boeser Need to Be Elite Players
Without Miller, the Canucks’ top-six doesn’t look nearly as formidable as it was back in 2023-24 when they were the talk of the league. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be solid this season and lead this team back to the playoffs. If Pettersson and Brock Boeser can rediscover their previous elite selves and hit 100 points and 40 goals again, respectively, that top-six transforms from average to borderline elite. Why? Because that also means Evander Kane or Jake DeBrusk probably has 30-35 goals as well, giving the Canucks three 30-goal scorers. And if a combination of Filip Chytil, Conor Garland, Nils Hoglander, and Kiefer Sherwood can round it out with at least a couple of them hitting 20 goals, the bottom-feeder offence of 2024-25 rises to the heights of 2023-24 rather quickly.
The bottom line is, Pettersson and Boeser need to return to being top-20 scorers in the NHL for the Canucks to have a sniff at the playoffs. If they don’t, and they resemble the players from last season (especially Pettersson, since Boeser still hit 25 goals), questions will grow louder on where this team is going. The duo is now locked in as their core forwards, with both of them signed until 2032. It’s time for them to be the leaders and faces of the Canucks, and help create a perennial playoff contender, similar to when Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi and Henrik and Daniel Sedin were in the same position during the 2000s and 2010s, respectively.
Thatcher Demko & Filip Chytil Need to Stay Healthy
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Canucks have two players who have huge question marks when it comes to their health: Chytil and Thatcher Demko. The good news is that both have reportedly been able to train properly without their previous injuries putting up roadblocks. Demko only appeared in 23 games last season, as he first battled back from the popliteus muscle injury that had plagued him all of last offseason and then dealt with back and lower-body injuries before finally being shut down for the season due to an illness. He posted a respectable 10-8-3 record with a 2.90 goals-against average (GAA) and .889 save percentage (SV%), but was clearly never 100 percent.
When Demko is healthy, he’s one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, as evidenced by his 2023-24 season when he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. If he can put his previous injury history behind him and start at least 50 games, with Kevin Lankinen taking the rest, the Canucks will have one of the top tandems in the league. His return to the crease full-time alone could push them back into the playoffs.
As for Chytil, he’s slotted as the second-line centre on the depth chart right now, and all indications are that he will stay there to start the season. He’s certainly capable of taking the opportunity and running with it, as he seemed to change the complexion of the Canucks’ attack for the better after he was acquired from the New York Rangers in February. His speed and transition game made the team look faster and much more dangerous off the rush, which will be key to competing in the tough Western Conference this season.
According to NHL Edge, Chytil ranked in the 90th percentile for top skating speed (23.15 mph) and the 93rd percentile for speed bursts over 20 mph (184), making him one of the fastest skaters on the roster. That type of speed will be invaluable to the top six if he can stay healthy for most of the season. That’s a big if, though, since the last time he played more than 70 games was back in 2002-23 when he hit career-highs in games played (74), goals (22), assists (23) and points (45). But if he does, and can replicate or exceed the offence he showed during that season, the Canucks won’t have a second-line centre problem anymore and will be that much closer to returning to the playoffs.
Canucks Could Surprise This Season
A lot of things need to go right for the Canucks to push their way back into the playoff conversation this season. While Pettersson and Boeser re-establishing themselves as top-20 scorers and Demko and Chytil staying healthy are admittedly optimistic and best-case scenarios, it’s not like it’s out of the realm of possibility. We could be surprised by the end of the season and see playoff hockey in Vancouver again in 2026.
