Canucks 2024-25 report cards: Grading the performance of every defender, goalie

New York Times

24-04-2025

There is no local playoff excitement in Vancouver in the wake of a disappointing Canucks season, but, as usual, there's no shortage of topics of conversation.
As we await Rick Tocchet's decision, ponder Quinn Hughes' future, track the stalemate between the club and top prospect Tom Willander and watch a torrent of ex-Canucks skaters score key goals for their new clubs in the Stanley Cup playoffs, we know that there is more significant news to come. Big changes are ahead for an all-in club that intends to pick up the pieces quickly and be far more formidable next season.
As we begin to set the stakes and evaluate what the Canucks can, should and will accomplish this summer, let's continue to look at what each Canucks player contributed individually this past season. This is an exercise that we began on Wednesday with report cards grading every Canucks forward.
Tyler Myers: B
71 GP, 6-18-24
The first six weeks or so of Myers' season were a nightmare. He and Carson Soucy were almost unplayable together because of their inability to break the puck out and their uncharacteristic defensive mistakes; the Canucks controlled just 38 percent of scoring chances and were outscored 13-7 during their five-on-five minutes together. Soucy was definitely the bigger problem, but Myers wasn't performing up to standard either.
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Once Myers was separated from Soucy, however, his game completely turned around and he delivered legitimately valuable top-four play. Myers comfortably held his own, logging huge minutes and tough matchups. He was solid defensively and chipped in with critical secondary offence. He also did a splendid job of caddying Hughes on the top pair when Filip Hronek was out with injury. Myers also logged the most minutes of all Canucks' defencemen on the club's elite penalty kill this season.
Impressively, at 35, there are no obvious signs of physical decline in his game — he still skates well and hasn't performed any worse than in his first year in Vancouver, which was all the way back in 2019. Colleague Dom Luszczyszyn's Net Rating model estimated that Myers played at the level of a $5 million defenceman in 2024-25, which is strong value considering his cap hit is only $3 million.
Quinn Hughes: A+
68 GP, 16-60-76
For the first 47 games of Hughes' season, before he sustained an apparent core injury against the Dallas Stars on the same January evening that Vancouver traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers, the Canucks captain was a singularly dominant performer. He was as good and as impactful as any Canucks player has ever been, including Pavel Bure in 1994, Markus Näslund in 2000 and 2001, Roberto Luongo in 2008 and Henrik and Daniel Sedin in 2010 and 2011.
Through Hughes' first 47 games this season, he was on pace for over 20 goals and 100 points. The club was winning his minutes by a massive margin, outscoring opponents by 18 goals across nearly 1000 five-on-five minutes while ably controlling play.
After that Dallas game, however, Hughes' various ailments appeared to catch up with him. He missed an extended stretch of games and the Four Nations Face-Off, then had an attempted comeback scuttled by re-injury in late February. Over his final 21 games, Hughes only scored two goals, recorded less than a point per game and the club was — deeply uncharacteristically — outscored with the reigning Norris Trophy winner on the ice at five-on-five.
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The split that best summarizes Hughes' season speaks to the extent to which this team relied too much on the contributions of the greatest defender in Canucks franchise history this year. Hughes might be capable of single-handedly carrying a team's fortunes, but too much was asked of him by a club that provided Hughes with too little margin for error.
Filip Hronek: B
61 GP, 5-28-33
Hronek's offensive instincts and value as a top-pair workhorse are indispensable to this blue line — he's easily the team's second-best defenceman. Vancouver's back end was barely hanging on by a thread when he missed 21 games from late November to mid-January.
With all that said, Hronek's performance was a bit up-and-down compared to the extraordinarily high bar he set for himself in 2023-24, when he scored 48 points.
The good news is that Hronek drove a respectable 49.9 percent share of expected goals and a plus-six goal differential in the 527 five-on-five minutes he played away from Hughes this season. He kept racking up points even when Hughes was out of the lineup in early March.
Hronek's play with Hughes, however, wasn't as elite as last year. The two still drove a wicked 58.2 percent of scoring chances together, but they had some costly defensive lapses during the last several weeks and finished the season with an even goal differential. Hronek's slot coverage and rush defending was leaky down the stretch, with his 2.84 expected goals against per 60 rate and 3.33 actual goals against per 60 rate in the final 25 games ranking worst among Canucks blueliners. Hronek compensated for some of those late even-strength defensive flaws with strong penalty killing all season, but it's still noteworthy.
This was a good season for Hronek overall, but his defensive play could have been a bit more consistent post-injury.
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Derek Forbort: B-
54 GP, 2-9-11
Injuries and personal tragedy limited Forbort to just 54 games this season, but when he was in the Canucks lineup, he was a rock solid, highly professional defensive defender.
Forbort's ability to adapt to the Canucks' defensive system, and squeeze puck carriers at the blue line in particular, was excellent in his first Vancouver campaign. He also contributed enormously to the club's penalty kill, which became elite down the stretch with Forbort logging the most minutes among all Vancouver blueliners.
As the season wound down and injuries mounted for Vancouver up front, Forbort found ways to be more aggressive and productive offensively. All in all, it was a sturdy, impressive season from the pending unrestricted free agent blueliner.
Noah Juulsen: C
35 GP, 0-0-0
This was a challenging season for Juulsen on a couple of fronts. When he was healthy, he was thrust into handling tougher minutes because of Hronek's injury. The Canucks were able to shelter Juulsen last year, but 2024-25 matchup data shows that he faced tougher than league average competition this season.
Juulsen noticeably struggled under that heavier burden. He controlled just 43.5 percent of shot attempts and was outscored 23-13 during his five-on-five shifts. Juulsen was too mistake-prone with his turnovers and defensive positioning, but it's also not his fault that he was elevated into a non-sheltered role that he's simply not talented enough to thrive in.
The big, physical right-shot defender was legitimately good on the penalty kill, but it's noteworthy that Vancouver's PK didn't skip a beat when he went down with a season-ending injury in February. Juulsen can be a competent No.7/8 depth defender, but with the Canucks' upgraded defensive depth, and his pending unrestricted free-agent status, there isn't an obvious fit between him and the team moving forward.
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Marcus Pettersson: C+
31 GP, 1-10-11
Acquired at midseason in the second phase of the Miller trade and signed to a long-term extension just a week into his Vancouver tenure, Pettersson brought a steadying presence to the Vancouver back end.
Praised at length behind the scenes for helping replace the intensity and focus the club lost when Miller departed the organization, Pettersson immediately stepped into the Canucks lineup, played top-four minutes, was frequently entrusted with difficult matchups and helped the club win his minutes at five-on-five.
Pettersson's first 31 games represented a solid, if unremarkable, first impression from the capable top-four defender.
Elias Pettersson: A
28 GP, 1-2-3
Pettersson smashed all expectations in 2024-25. Simply earning a few NHL games would have been an achievement, considering this was his first full season of professional hockey in North America. That he not only earned the big-league opportunity but then knocked his audition out of the park is extremely encouraging.
Pettersson's ability to aggressively step up in the neutral and offensive zones to proactively break plays up stood out as an asset. He's a terrific skater with and without the puck. He showed precocious poise and a knack for making simple, heads-up plays on the breakout. His authoritative, mean physical game made him an instant fan favourite. He generally limited his loud mistakes with and without the puck, which is key for young defencemen trying to prove themselves as reliable, everyday players in the NHL.
Pettersson was heavily sheltered — he averaged just 12:49 per game and played soft matchups — but he did everything in his power to prove that he should stick with the big club next season.
Kevin Lankinen: B+
25-15-10, .902 SV%
Truthfully, the Canucks wouldn't have even been close to the playoff race without Lankinen. He wasn't elite — the 9.3 goals he saved above expected, according to Evolving-Hockey's model, ranked 22nd among NHL goaltenders who played at least 35 games. But his sturdy play was a huge upgrade compared to the alternative: relying on Artūrs Šilovs due to Thatcher Demko's injury woes.
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Lankinen's 25-15-10 record translates to a playoff-calibre 98-point pace over 82 games. The 29-year-old Finn's play certainly dipped down the stretch, as he posted an .889 save percentage and only won five of his final 14 starts, but he deserves some grace because he was clearly feeling the fatigue of playing a career-high 51 games.
Thatcher Demko: C+
10-8-3, .889 SV%
It was a challenging season for Demko, who dealt with three extended injury-related absences.
When he was active and in the blue paint, Demko was understandably inconsistent relative to his usual form. In fits and spurts, you could see the athleticism and confidence that have made Demko one of the league's most dominant puck stoppers. In other games, however, Demko seemed to be finding his rhythm and game and struggled accordingly.
Artūrs Šilovs: D
2-6-1, .861 SV%
It's amazing how quickly things can change. Šilovs went from being a cult hero during last year's Stanley Cup playoffs and Vancouver's opening night starter this season to being borderline unplayable at the NHL level.
Šilovs slumped to an .861 save percentage and won only two of his nine starts, both against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. His struggles navigating screens/traffic and stopping long-range point shots were routinely exposed. It was strange how he looked more comfortable stopping quality chances from the slot than he did handling low percentage shots.
(Top photo of Quinn Hughes: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)