Vancouver Canucks: 3 storylines to watch this season
theScore's NHL editors take a look at three storylines to watch for each NHL team heading into the regular season.
Under New Management
As an organization, the Vancouver Canucks have a habit of cleaning out the executive suite every time the club doesn't qualify for a postseason berth. This past spring the club fired general manager and president Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella, and replaced them with a hockey Cerebrus - president Trevor Linden, general manager Jim Benning, and head coach Willie Desjardins.
How will Vancouver's new brain trust fare in their first season? No one really thinks this is a club on the brink of seriously contending, they're more likely a playoff bubble team.
And if the club doesn't get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Will the Canucks' new management group be given the breathing space to rebuild if it becomes clear that, ultimately, it's what this franchise requires?
Life after Kesler
The Vancouver Canucks traded away Ryan Kesler this summer. Once a bona fide top-line quality center, Kesler's production and durability appear to be on the downswing, but the Canucks still lost an excellent player at a premium position.
It's nearly impossible to replace what a player like Kesler brings to a club, especially on special teams, but the Canucks will attempt to do so by committee.
Nick Bonino, the centerpiece of the return for Kesler, managed 48 points a year ago, but 20 of those points came on the power-play, where he mostly played the point and benefited enormously from Ryan Getzlaf's playmaking off of the half-wall.
The Canucks also acquired 23-year-old former WHL scoring champion Linden Vey from the Los Angeles Kings. Vey lit up the AHL while centering Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson with the Manchester Monarchs last season and impressed in limited NHL duty, but is he ready to hold down an everyday NHL job next season?
Finally, the Canucks have a couple of fall-back plans. Shawn Matthias, a big, talented offensive player, is running out of time to prove that he's a credible middle-line centermen. Brad Richardson is a steady bottom-six grinder, but is likely overmatched in an everyday third-line role. Finally, London Knights center Bo Horvat, 19, could be an option for the club, but despite his mature skill set he seems like a long shot to make the team.
The California Problem
In their first campaign since the disbandment of the Northwest Division, the Vancouver Canucks were flattened repeatedly by California-based NHL teams last season and it's unclear if they'll be able to keep up this year.
In 14 meetings against the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks last season, the Canucks amassed a brutal 2-9-3 record and were outscored 44 to 24 in those games. There isn't just a gap in quality between the Canucks and the kaiju in California, there's a vast chasm.
If the Canucks hope to scrape into the postseason, and that seems to be their stated goal, they'll need to do better against the coastal heavyweights. Much better.