There is no doubt that the Vegas Golden Knights will have to keep a very close eye on the Vancouver Canucks in the Pacific Division throughout 2019-20.
Although the usual suspects, i.e. the San Jose Sharks and the Calgary Flames will pose the biggest threat to the Vegas Golden Knights this year, a new danger has emerged in the form of the Canucks and they should be taken seriously.
Now, we will preface this by stating that we will be doing a deep dive on the entire Pacific Division as a whole in the coming days, but for now we are going to turn the magnifying glass on Vancouver and why they should be considered a dark horse in 2019-20.
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First and foremost, they are fundamentally a better hockey team heading into training camp and they have the pieces in place, coupled with a rich pipeline, to eventually morph into a legit contender in the not too distant future.
For starters, they boast the reigning Calder Trophy winner in Elias Pettersson who carved out one hell of a rookie year in 2018-19, putting up 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, in addition to 22 power play points, seven game-winning goals and a winning percentage of 40.99 in the faceoff circle.
He was sensational and he is now the heartbeat of what is a young and exciting Canucks core, who look destined for a return to the playoffs in the immediate future. Also central to Vancouver’s hopes of success are center Bo Horvat and stud wing Brock Boeser, with the latter in particularly an elite stud in the making.
Horvat is an inspirational and respected leader in the making and given his size, 6-foot and 215 lb, can be used in a number of key matchup situations against other teams’ top lines and on the penalty kill. He also achieved career-highs in goals (27), assists (34), points (61) and power play points (18).
Boeser, meanwhile, is a high-end playmaker who can do a bit of everything and he also enjoyed a fruitful season last year, recording career-highs in assists (30), points (56) and faceoff winning percentage (43.33). There is also a lot more potential to be unlocked and the Canucks are now in the envious position of having three elite talents all under the age of 25.
In addition to all of that firepower at the top of their lineup, Vancouver also added depth and secondary scoring in the off-season after trading for J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning and signing power forward Micheal Ferland in free agency.
Miller is a proven commodity in the NHL and he can be used up and down the lineup, he’s effective on both the power play and the penalty kill and he has substantial playoff experience with both the Lightning and the New York Rangers. Miller had 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 75 regular season games for Tampa Bay last year while playing mostly on the third line, and he can also play both as a pivot or on the wing.
Ferland was also a smart pickup by the Canucks given his ability to provide an offensive punch lower down the lineup, coupled with the fact that he adds a huge dollop of grit and tenacity to this young team. He ranked third on the Carolina Hurricanes in hits in 2018-19 with 182, while he has recorded back-to-back seasons with at least 40 points.
Aside from the above, the Canucks are also loaded throughout the bottom six and have different options they can roll out with the likes of Tanner Pearson, Jake Virtanen, Tim Schaller, Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle on the roster.
And, not only do Vancouver boast a bucketload of offensive talent, but they also significantly upgraded their blueline in the summer too. They signed grizzled veteran Jordie Benn on the opening day of free agency and, while the Montreal Canadiens blueliner is more of a stay-at-home defenseman, he did achieve a career-high in points with 22 (five goals, 17 assists) in 2018-19.
The Canucks also signed Tyler Myers in free agency and the 6-foot-8, 229 lb defenseman will add a whole lot of size and physical presence to this blueline, which will now be built around young phenom Quinn Hughes, the brother of Jack Hughes, the No.1 pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Quinn Hughes, the No.7 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, is projected to be an elite defenseman and he burst onto the scene in the majors at the tail end of last year, potting three assists in five games. Having a veteran presence in the ilk of Myers or Benn alongside him should only help to accelerate Hughes’ development.
There are question marks hovering over this team, of course, including the power play which ranked tied for 22nd in the NHL in 2018-19 (17.1 percent). That will need to significantly improve if they are to bridge the gap to the playoffs this year, and the additions of Miller, Ferland and Myers should go some way to solving that particular problem.
Vancouver will also be hoping that goaltender Jacob Markstrom continues on his recent upward trend, given that the goalie enjoyed his best year in the NHL in 2018-19, setting career-highs in starts (60) and wins (28), in addition to carving out a .912 save percentage, a 2.77 goals against average and a record of 28-23-9.
All in all, the Vancouver Canucks are nearing the end of their rebuild and are on the cusp of entering playoff contender status. If they can get high-end goaltending from Markstrom, improvement from their special teams, secondary scoring and continued elite play from their holy trinity of stars in Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, then they will be a formidable force for the Vegas Golden Knights and the rest of the Pacific Division to contend with in 2019-20.