Quoting: CSStrowbridge
Definitely better than:
1 Anaheim Ducks
2 Chicago Blackhawks
3 Columbus Blue Jackets
4 San Jose Sharks
5 Montreal Canadiens
6 Arizona Coyotes
7 Philadelphia Flyers
8 Detroit Red Wings
Likely better than
9 St. Louis Blues
10 Washington Capitals
11 Seattle Kraken
Probably better than
12 Nashville Predators
13 Ottawa Senators
On par with
13 Buffalo Sabres
14 Florida Panthers
15 New York Islanders
16 Calgary Flames
17 Winnipeg Jets
Quoting: KSIxSKULLS
You a highly overrating them.
I put them in the 8-11 group (Add Detroit to that group). They aren't better than Nashville or Ottawa and aren't on par with those teams you mentioned.
Interesting debate about how good Vancouver is, and whether there’s any hope of them making the playoffs. The last two seasons they started off badly but played like a playoff team after a mid-season coaching change, so it seems like the key to their success is to figure out how to play like they have a new coach all year. Demko staying healthy would help too.
On the negative side, they’ve lost Horvat and it looks like the two prospects they got for him aren’t ready to make an impact yet – only Beauvillier is likely to be a starter. They brought in Suter and Blueger, but they’re not going to replace Horvat. Pettersson is coming off a career year that he probably needs to repeat for them to be a playoff team. However, I think there’s a chance that the rebuilt defence could make up for what they lose on offence.
I think their playoff chances actually have more to do with what happens with the other teams in the conference. Are Calgary and Winnipeg going to sell off more of their pending free agents? (They’ve already said goodbye to Toffoli and Dubois.) If so, that should leave one wild-card spot up for grabs, so who’s likely to get it? Are the big changes in Nashville going to get them back into the playoffs? I think it’s more likely they take a step back before they get better. Was last season an aberration for St. Louis or are their playoff years behind them? I see no reason to think they’ll be a better team this season. Is Seattle going to regress, and if so, how much? With all the questions around the other middle teams in the west, I could see how Vancouver could have a chance to sneak in. They may not be better than any of Buffalo, Florida, Ottawa, Detroit, Washington or the Islanders, but they don't have to be to make the playoffs.