Vancouver Canucks: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

VANCOUVER, BC - April 3: Teammates look on as Daniel Sedin #22 and Henrik Sedin #33 of the Vancouver Canucks skate off the ice during their NHL game against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Arena April 3, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)"n /

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DALLAS, TX – MARCH 25: Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) makes the save against during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Vancouver Canucks on March 25, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Vancouver defeats Dallas 4-1. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Can Jacob Markstrom bounce back?

Saying that it wasn’t a good season for Markstrom would be putting it lightly. Last season was his first full season starting in Vancouver, and he didn’t even finish above .500. He went 23-26-7 in 57 starts with a .912 save percentage. He’s a career .908 goaltender and his overall save percentage in Vancouver is .911 through three years. Those numbers aren’t exactly enough to that he bounces back this year when he’s been a career backup. What’s interesting is that at 5v5 last year, he was .924, which is above league average among goaltenders.

They’re going to have to have a better version of Markstrom or he could get replaced by backup Anders Nilsson. He started 24 games last year and was 7-14-4 with a .901 save percentage. No team is going to win any games when both of their goaltenders have those kinds of numbers. It was surprising to see Vancouver not go after a goaltender this summer as Markstrom just isn’t likely the answer as a long-term number one goaltender there. He’s still signed for one more year after this season before he hits free agency. If he has another bad year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Canucks potentially dip their toes into the goaltender market if a team has a surplus of goaltending.

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