The Vancouver Canucks are winning ugly but at the same pace as 2023-24
Recommended Videos
Did you know this season’s start is almost as hot?
Last season, they had 29 points after 22 games, off two more wins.
It’s a remarkable thing, given that in those 22 games this season the opposition has scored first 13 times. Seven times the Canucks had come back to win.
That’s a hard way to live. Coming back all the time wears you out.
Now, the Canucks have lots of good things in the underlying numbers. They’ve been defending well. They’ve been outshooting their opponents. They’ve been getting good goaltending. They’ve been finishing well, too.
It’s been the order of goals they’ve given up, more than anything.
That said, the bad starts are worrying. They need to stop doing that.
Musing a J.T. Miller move
His situation is unusual, as we know. A mental reset was needed. He’s been struggling with an ailment that’s apparently not serious enough to push him out of the lineup otherwise, something in his neck or perhaps upper back. A nerve issue then?
Anyway, he needed a break to get his emotions together. It would seem he’s not in the NHLPA’s player assistance program, generally those situations are acknowledged, though sometimes after the fact. There’s no minimum stay required, each situation is handled on a case-by-case basis, I’m told.
As best as we can gather, he’s away, getting himself sorted out.
Would a change in scenery improve things?
Would he even want to go? He and his family did pick Vancouver as the place they wanted to be. He chooses to commute over the Lions Gate Bridge, after all.
But let’s just say that, yes, he was keen to go back to where it all started.
The Canucks have talked to the Rangers before. They’ve been interested in the likes of Braeden Schneider and Alexis Lafrenière before. But both have solidified themselves as NHLers. The Rangers won’t want to move off their best young players. When the Canucks asked about Lafrenière, for instance, he was a young player who was struggling, the kind of player Patrick Allvin was targeting two seasons ago.
Obviously, there are other teams who would inquire; they figure the Canucks might be selling low.
But, as it stands, the Canucks aren’t looking to sell. They’re still looking to upgrade. They may be bruised, but they still believe.
The Nils Hoglander question
But he did score 24 goals last year. That’s not a fluke. There’s a player there that someone will want.