Free agency has come and gone for the NHL and the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver was busy as Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood and Derek Forbort were among the names that signed. With the dust settled on free agency for the Canucks, (for now) fans of the team are wondering if the team is better and can do deeper in 2024-25. So let’s take a look at the roster after free agency. Are the Vancouver Canucks better?
Are the Vancouver Canucks Deeper at Forward?
Here is the projected opening night lineup for the forwards:
Danton Heinen-JT Miller-Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk-Elias Pettersson–Nils Höglander
Conor Garland–Teddy Blueger–Dakota Joshua
Kiefer Sherwood-Pius Suter–Vasily Podkolzin
Extras: Phil Di Giuseppe, Nils Åman
So after playing with the likes of Ilya Mikheyev and Sam Lafferty, Elias Pettersson has a proper winger that can score. That is DeBrusk as he signed a seven-year deal worth 5.5 million dollars per year. The term is a bit much but DeBrusk brings what they need: goals, speed, grit and an excellent net front presence. While he can go quiet at times, DeBrusk is a proven top-six forward.
They are also counting on Pettersson to have a bounce back season. If he is healthy, there is no reason why he can’t, especially if he finds chemistry with DeBrusk.
Heinen also played with DeBrusk in Boston. The Langley BC native is a versatile winger that providing grit and some offence. Sherwood was 15th in the NHL in hits and was a pain for the Canucks when he played against them for the Nashville Predators in the playoffs.
With the Canucks also bringing back Joshua andBlueger, the third line with Garland is back together.
With the new additions, the Canucks forward group is tougher.
Are they better with their Defence?
Projected Canucks defensive pairings for opening night.
Derek Forbort- Vincent Desharnais
Extras: Noah Juulsen, Mark Friedman
The Canucks bulked up their blueline, literally.
First they re-signed Tyler Myers to a three-year deal. Myers of course, is the tallest active player in the NHL standing at 6’8″.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin decided to build a forest. He brought in two more tall defenceman.
The first was Forbort. He comes in at 6’4″ and 214 pounds. Then there was Desharnais who comes in at 6’7′ and 226 pounds.
Both Forbort and Desharnais are both phyical defenceman and can help the penalty kill. They are bottom pairing defenceman and nothing more.
But there is a problem with the projected Canucks defence. Hughes and Hronek are the only puck movers and they are on the same pairing. It makes sense to keep them together as the two had chemistry last season. There is also nothing wrong with signing big and physical stay-at-home defenceman, especially for the bottom pair.
However, the lack of a puck-moving defenceman in the bottom four can be a problem. Myers can move the puck but not as well as the Canucks would like.
It is also worth mentioning that other than Hughes, there is a lack of speed on the blueline.
Is the Goaltending Better?
Hopefully, Thatcher Demko can have a healthy 2024-25. Arturs Silov’s impressive playoff performance gives him a strong case to be Demko’s backup. At the time of this writing, Silovs has not signed a new contract but have extended his qualifying offer on June 30.
The Canucks also signed Jiří Patera to
So are the Vancouver Canucks better?
To be honest, the question isn’t a straighforward yes or no answer.
The Canucks forward group is better. There is more grit, speed, tenacity and potential for more goals. The defence? Not so much. While Forbort and Desharnais replace Nikita Zadorov‘s physicality but not his puck-moving skill. It also isn’t ideal that Tyler Myers is on the second pair. While he did have probably his best season as a Canucks in 2023-24, it is clear he is more suited for the bottom pair.
Looking at the roster before the start of the 2023-24, the current roster takes the edge. But is it better than the team that lost in Game 7 to the Oilers? Probably not. Zadorov’s puck-moving presence is glaring and there is a bit of depth lost with Elias Lindholm‘s depature. But letting them both go was the right move.
The Canucks didn’t get worse but they didn’t take a big step in getting better. But we could likely see a move or two to get a puck-moving defenceman later this summer or sometime next season. At this rate, the 2025 first round pick could be in play for something big that could take the Canucks to greater heights.
It was not a perfect free agency by the Canucks by any means, but it is clear that Allvin is building a team to compete for next season.
Main Photo: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
