Lot to like at that center position.

Then you look at the blue line and it looks really brutal.

Unfortunately in today’s nhl, good does not guarantee playoffs. Think it will be tough for Canucks - Oil & Flames clearly better so they will have to battle Kings and Vegas (& Central teams) for 3rd or wildcard.

That blue line somehow let in the 8th fewest goals against last season. 3rd fewest at 5v5. Demko is hard carrying

Ya. Demko is good. I said the blue line sucks. That’s because they suck.

That’s true, however Demko should be able to bail them out enough that goals against isn’t the biggest liability

Right, so same as last year?

I think it’s better than people want to give credit for. Hughes is elite, OEL is very good, Myers and schenn are serviceable, Stillman/Dermott is a perfectly fine 3rd pair. Certainly lots of room to improve but also not bottom 10 in the league like people would want you to think

above average forwards
above average starter, essentially a rookie backup
below average defense-- if Hughes gets injured, it looks really bad

unless they improve the defense, they won't make it far in the playoffs-- still a borderline team imo

OEL is very good? Leaving aside that disaster of a contract (easily top 5 worst in nhl), he is far from very good

Hughes is very good on the powerplay. Everything else he isn’t just not elite, he’s not even good. OEL and Myers are a really bad second pair.

OEL greatly improved his defensive game this season. Atrocious contract, decent player

Well our “defense” was technically top 10 last year. We improved our forwards so I don’t see why we won’t be better than last year

Above average starter seems insulting. Would you consider Saros as an above average starter?

Well, “your,” defense is all well and good, but i said blue line.

The blue line stinks. Is Mikheyev the improvement to, “your,” forwards? Is that really what you’re going to try to hang your hat on?

It’s the same team as last year. I expect a similar result. Playoff bubble, probably on the wrong side of it, but could sneak in. Scares no one.

Even if hughes is healthy it looks really bad.

Two extremely incorrect takes the clearly indicate lack of comprehension from the posters, not lack of skill from the players.

Hughes is a top 10 defenseman. OEL is a solid #3. I guess you will have some excuse that the Canucks are lucky or something when they finish top in the Pacific this year

I’ll be sure to put that on my calendar, next to cold fusion & when pigs fly

I’m not expecting them to contend, but there are many factors to reasons why the Canucks will be better than last year.

1. Full year with new coach
2. Mikheyev, Lazar improved our PK which was our biggest weakness last season
3. Boeser and Pettersson should bounce back
4. Mikheyev and Kuzmenko could potentially provide more offense

Okay, so a guy with a career high of 32 points, and a guy with zero North American games (in fairness, i think he’ll be good) are the reason the forwards will be better. That and the vague notion that two guys should just be better because why not. Gotcha.

I’ll stick with he bubble team scenario because it seems like the only objective conclusion

Hahahahah me thinks the lady doth protest too much.

Cmon, a top 10 rating for hughes? Even in the rosiest of scenarios, that’s absurd. He’s useless at best defensively, can’t play the PK, and was 15th in even strength points. The guy had 29 secondary assists, and that’s the only reason he’s even talked about. Pardon me if poor defensive play and secondary assists don’t get me excited

I said they could potentially improve our offense. Nothing is for sure obviously, but I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t. Surely they are better than Alex Chiasson. Realistically, the Canucks either finish 3rd, or are a wildcard

He’s good defensively, the best PK defender on the team. 5v5 he allowed the fewest CA/60 on the Canucks last season. Play is heavily tilted in his favour when he is one the ice. To suggest otherwise is just ignoring reality.

Also, his 31 primary assists were 6th among all defenseman in the NHL. 2 more primary assists than Makar in one less game (same number of secondary assists for both players). Obviously, Quinn Hughes is not as good as makar, doesn’t have the same game breaking ability, but he is comprable as a playmaker no question.

You’re reaching a lot to undermine Hughes’s effectiveness and tbh it comes off as being bitter and jealous

If he’s the best pk d man on the team why was he 8th among defensemen in Vancouver for short handed toi?