Canucks' biggest surprise, disappointment to start 2024-25 season
The Vancouver Canucks entered the 2024-25 NHL season with understandably lofty expectations. After all, they were coming off their first division championship in several years in 2022-23 while also advancing to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Despite bowing out against the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver can be excused if they pointed to some untimely luck that helped cause their undoing in the postseason.
Not only was Canucks starting goaltender Thatcher Demko unavailable after Game One of the opening round against the Nashville Predators, but they also lost leading goal scorer Brock Boeser on the eve of the decisive Game Seven against the Oilers due to a blood clotting issue.
Regardless, the new campaign brought renewed hope in British Columbia that Vancouver would not only continue the success of the previous year, but build on it with the help of reigning Jack Adams Trophy winning head coach Rick Tocchet.
With a 9-5-3 record through the first 17 games of the new campaign, Vancouver finds themselves in third place in the Pacific Division. So, what are the biggest surprises and disappointments thus far?
Canucks' biggest surprise to start the 2024-25 NHL season
A signing that seemingly came out of nowhere and has reaped tremendous benefits, the Canucks decided to sign Kevin Lankinen to an inexpensive one-year contract thanks to the struggles of Arturs Silovs as well as the delayed return of Demko.
And he made the most of his time with the team, stepping into the starter's role and giving the team a solid and reliable option. The transition to Vancouver was a relatively easy one , as he explained via NHL.com.
"As a goalie, it's probably easier because you're just stopping the puck. That's the job," he said with a laugh. "At the end of the day there's a lot more that goes into it as well, the off-ice stuff, the chemistry and getting to know everybody and feeling comfortable. Everyone's been doing a really good job to make me feel good and comfortable. That's helped me to perform at my best level here."
Additionally, he was singled out for praise by Tocchet, who noted his calmness between the pipes.
"I like the fact that he's a pretty unflappable guy but I really like his puck skills," Tocchet said. "I mean, it's an underrated thing but it really helps our defensive structure, on breakouts.
"Teams in the past used to rim pucks out on us a lot. Now I find the last couple of games 'Lanks' was in net, they're not rimming as much because they know he's going to stop the puck. That's a bonus for us."
While Lankinen has suddenly faced a bout of inconsistency in his last handful of outings, he still sports a record of 8-3-2 with a goals-against average of 2.71 and a .901 save percentage – numbers that the team will gladly take as they await the inevitable return of Demko.
Canucks' biggest disappointment to start the 2024-25 NHL season
The good news for Vancouver is that forward Elias Pettersson has heated up of late, having scored five goals in his last seven games. The bad news is that he was a tremendous disappointment in the first five weeks of the campaign.
He wasn't living up to the hefty eight-year, $92.80 million contract that he agreed to, keeping him in Vancouver for the long term. He only scored once in his first 10 games, and was clearly showing signs of frustration.
This didn't go unnoticed by former Canucks coach and current analyst Bruce Boudreau, who opined that the Swedish forward didn't look like he was having fun playing and was quick to get down on himself, via The Province.
"He doesn't look excited when he plays and gets frustrated very easily," Boudreau said earlier in November. "I've always said when you're a coach, you're also like a psychiatrist. Your job is to see what makes 23 guys tick."
While Pettersson's play has improved of late, he'll need to keep it going in order to justify his AAV of $11.6 million.
Surprise trade!
The Canucks raised more than a few eyebrows when they decided to ship forward Daniel Sprong, who they signed to an inexpensive one-year contract, to the Seattle Kraken earlier in the month.
Sprong, who was signed to bring valuable scoring depth, had only tallied once in nine games with the club after registering 18 goals with the Detroit Red Wings last season. In return for Sprong, the Canucks received nothing but future considerations from Seattle.
The Canucks return to action on Tuesday night, hoping to bounce back from their loss on Sunday against the Nashville Predators when they host the New York Rangers at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver. The puck is scheduled to drop at 10:00 PM EST.
