Fansided

Projecting every NHL team’s chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2019

By Griffin Youngs

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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29. Vancouver Canucks

It’s another year of the seemingly never ending rebuilding process for the Vancouver Canucks, and although things are getting better, they are not nearly good enough yet.

Last season, the Canucks finished 26th in the league with 73 points, and while improvement is on the horizon, I wouldn’t expect much more from this season quite yet.

Why they could win

Vancouver has accumulated elite young talent over the years, and a lot of them are ready to either graduate to the full time NHL action or have breakout seasons for the ones already on the team.

Brock Boeser should be fully recovered from his back injury by training camp, and if all goes right, he could possibly be in the running for the elite scorers of the league for the Rocket Richard trophy this season. Alongside him should be Bo Horvat, which will make for a deadly combination if he can stay healthy.

Some of the other young talent that will be ready to make the team includes Elias Petterson, who is considered the highest ceiling prospect of the 2017 NHL draft class. Jonathan Dahlen also seems ready for the NHL, and will bolster their depth on the wings.

Elite young talent is always a wild card for a team, and you never know if they can be good enough to sneak a team into the playoffs. The 2016-17 Toronto Maple Leafs were a team that was close where the Canucks are now and they were able to get in to the playoffs, though they had better supporting players around the youth than Vancouver does now.

Why they won’t win

The fact of the matter is that while the Canucks are getting better, they are not close to playoff contention yet. The Sedin twins are gone, their defensive prospects aren’t ready yet, and neither is goalie prospect Thatcher Demko.

The core around the young players like Boeser isn’t very good either. The best player over 25 on the team is Loui Eriksson, who has been on a serious decline since signing in free agency and is on an albatross six million dollar contract for the next five seasons. The rest of the supporting cast is role players who at best belong on a third line on better teams.

The Canucks’ best defense is also frankly one of the worst overall defenses in the league. Their best defender is Alex Edler, who is a solid second pair defenseman but not good enough to center a defense around. Chris Tanev isn’t bad, but thats where the real top four defenseman talent ends. Vancouver does have defensemen in the pipeline that will be ready soon, but they’ll have to be ready to allow a lot of goals for the time being.

Conclusion

Vancouver may be better then just hanging around the bottom five, but don’t expect it to be a lot more. The improvements are on the way, just not this season.

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