The Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Division in 2023-24, but last year missed the playoffs and dealt with both on-ice and off the ice issues. The team traded JT Miller and then parted ways with coach Rick Tocchet. Now, the Nucks look to bounce back this season, but for that to happen, this X-factor needs to have a big year.
The Canucks finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 38-30-14, placing them in fifth place in the Pacific Division and six points out of a playoff spot. The major bright spot on the team was defenseman Quinn Hughes. He scored 16 goals while recording a team-leading 60 assists, totaling 76 points, the team's highest point total. He was also a major threat on the powerplay, with four goals and 25 helpers. The American blueliner missed games multiple times during the year due to injury, playing in just 68 games.
Regardless, he was the best offensive threat for Vancouver, while also being the top defender. One man cannot do everything all by himself in hockey. The Canucks regressed last season. In 2023-24, the team was seventh in the NHL with 279 goals scored. Last season, they dropped to 24th in the NHL with just 236 goals scored. Moreover, the defense also took a step back. The Canucks went from fifth in the NHL, allowing 223 goals in 2023-24, to 18th in the NHL, allowing 253 goals. This took the team from a plus-56 goal differential to a negative-17, a total difference of 73 goals.
Part of the issue for the team was injuries, and part was players not playing to their potential. If the team is going to return to the playoffs in 2025-26, two players in particular need to rebound.
Thatcher Demko needs to stay healthy and play well
Thatcher Demko is the primary goaltender for the Canucks. He missed a bunch of time last year, opening the season on injured reserve and missing 24 games. Then he missed another 15 games later in the season due to a lower-body injury. The team believes the netminder can return to quality play, as shown by a contract extension given to Demko this past summer.
Last season was one of the worst of the career of the American netminder. While playing in just 23 games, he was 10-8-3 with a 2.90 goals agaisnt average and a .889 save percentage. This is not the first time Demko has had a rough season clouded by injuries. In 2021-22, the goalie was amazing, going 33-22-7 with a 2.72 goals agaisnt average and a .915 save percentage. Still, the next season was filled with injuries as he went 14-14-4 with a 3.16 goals agaisnt average and a .901 save percentage.
Demko returned to his former self the next season, playing in 51 games, with a 35-14-2 record, a 2.45 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage. He has shown the ability to rebound from a difficult campaign and be an elite goaltender again. He was a 2024 all-star coming off a disappointing effort the year prior. Now, if the Canucks want to make another playoff run, Demko needs to not only rebound but also stay healthy enough to do so. Regardless, the drop on defense was not as stark as the one on the offensive end of the ice, which leads to the Canucks X-factor this season.
A Canucks rebound starts with Elias Pettersson
One of the most disappointing players on the roster last year was Elias Pettersson. Now, Pettersson has revenge on his mind as he prepares to return to his former dominant self. The Swede was the fifth overall selection of the Canucks in the 2017 NHL Draft. He started his NHL career in the 2018-19 campaign, amassing 66 points in 71 games. The next year, he would compile another 66 points in just 68 games while also adding 18 points in 17 playoff games.
The center missed time in 2020-21, playing just 26 games, but still producing when on the ice, finding the point-sheet 21 times. His major breakout came in 2022-23. Pettersson found the back of the net 39 times while adding 63 helpers, giving him his first 100-plus point season. The former first-round pick then followed up with a 34-goal, 55-assist campaign in 2023-24.
Last year was a disaster. While playing in just 64 games, he beat the goaltender just 15 times while adding only 30 assists. That took him from a high of 1.28 points per game in 2022-23 to just .7 points per game last year. Regardless, his advanced statistics show he can rebound.
It starts with shooting. Pettersson took just 1.70 shots per game this past season. He was averaging over 2.5 shots per game in the prior two years. With that, his shooting percentage also went down, but he also never found the volume to get into a rhythm. If he can get more shots off, he should find that groove and see his goal total rebound as well. Even with the lack of shooting, his individual point percentage did not decline at a drastic rate. Neither did his creation of high-danger scoring opportunities.
His linemate, Brock Boeser, was also struggling in the shooting department last season. If he can return to his higher level of goal scoring, while Jake DeBrusk continues his growth, the points will follow for Pettersson. If the center can get back to the 90-point range, the Canucks will be making a playoff run, and the offensive resurgence will be a major reason why. This all makes Pettersson the X-factor for the Canucks in 2025-26.
