[Drance] Canucks roadmap to contention: What does Vancouver need to be more than a playoff team?

14 comments

1. 1. Maintain top-of-the-lineup edge

   2. Sustain elite defensive form

   3. Identify Bo Horvat’s replacement five-on-four

   4. Keep levelling up short-handed

   5. One surprise “pop” contributor from pipeline

2. Get Pettersson to take an off season conditioning session with the likes of Sidney Crosby
   Make sure Demko will actually play in the playoffs
   Add more Canadian depth at the blue line

3. No all star break and cup is ours.

4. 1. Pettersson needs to strengthen up for post-season play
   2. Top 6, bonafide winger
   3. Shore up defensive bot. pairing
   4. Lighten load on Demko now that we feel like/are a playoff team

5. I think the pieces are there. Now it’s just putting it all together. I think having a healthy Pettersson will help tremendously. Playing Demko a little less in the regular season, I think, will help in the long run. More consistency with the special teams. Both the power play and penalty kill had stretches of either being resply good or really bad with not much in between.

6. We don’t need to be ranked number one this year. As long as we know we are capable of doing that it’s good enough. Save all the gas for playoffs and key season games

7. Stay healthy, suter / blueger step up in the playoffs like Lindholm did for us, debrusk develop chemistry with Petey

8. The NHL has few elite goalies, a health Demko could have been the difference on his own.

9. Same as last season:

   – Top 6 winger
   – Top 4 defenceman

   If canucks can snag both of these they’ll be contenders. They already have solid forward depth. They just need need another stud or 2 in their D core, specifically a rhd. Playing Myers top 4 minutes at 5v5 isn’t a recipe for success.

10. Less injuries and more consistency. We have top tier/elite players at every position. This team with its 3rd string goalie manages to take the Oilers to 7.

11. Ensure we have consistent/reliable depth scoring. Really need points coming from all over the lineup.

12. This might sound like complete homerism, but we actually had a team that could win the Cup last year. I know injuries are part of the game, but Demko going into that final is better than Bob and Skinner.

    Loss of Boeser was unfortunate, but imagine Edmonton not having Hyman or Florida without Reinhart. That was a huge loss and I am happy he’s recovering.

    But last and most importantly not least, was our $11.6M guy had stage fright. Had he fired at PPG like his last few regular seasons, then we’re talking about Vancouver vs Florida and not McDavid going on a historic push.

    I believe in Petey. He’s a young star with a ton of 100+ pt seasons left, but I always wonder what if he scored a few more goals? He will be better this year. He has that pissed off demeanor of our the season ended.

    So we basically have an upgraded roster with support on the wings for Petey. Something he hasn’t had since Boeser. We also have more depth at forward. Defense is a wash as I think most people are enamored by Zadorov’s 10 games. Over the course of the season, I don’t think him and Cole are huge losses.

    Guys like Joshua got their raises, management will find that top 4D mid season and this could be our year.

13. Healthy productive Petey. We were inches from the third round and he was basically not present.

    Also though : if Lekkerimäki & Willander take a step real soon, that’d be ideal.

14. I think if we did what we did at the deadline again (adding top 9 forward + top 4 d) and a healthy roster, we will be in the finals.