Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a team on the rise, and they have gotten better this offseason just like most of the division. The only major question mark for the Canucks is the fact that Thatcher Demko is still having health problems. When Demko is healthy he adds an extra level to this Canucks team, but with him being sidelined the Canucks lose a major part of their team.
After finishing at the top of the Pacific Division last season the Canucks ended up losing the Oilers in the Pacific Division final. It was a tight series that could have gone either way but the Oilers eventually got their game together and were able to defeat the Canucks. The main reason I think the Canucks lost was due to their goaltending and depth-scoring.
The Canucks did some work on their depth scoring by bringing Jake DeBrusk. He should add at least 20 goals to this Canucks team, which should help them in that area. For the goaltending though they are hoping that Demko gets healthy. While Silovs isn't a bad option in the net, Demko would be their preferred option, especially heading into the playoffs.
The Canucks should also be getting growth from within as their homegrown talent, like Hughes and Pettersson will be one more year older. Not only that they have now gotten some playoff experience under their belt. Some teams take a step back after their first playoff action, but I do not think that is going to be the case with the Canucks.
Prediction
I expect the Canucks to have similar success to last season, perhaps taking a bit of a step back due to not having Demko for the whole season. I also, do not expect them to win the Division this season, strictly because I expect the Edmonton Oilers to have an improved season. That being said I expect the Canucks and Oilers to finish within 5 points of each other again.