Latest news with #ex-Canucks
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former 2023–24 Canucks Regular Season Review
Dec 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) and center Elias Lindholm (28) celebrate a goal by center Charlie Coyle (13) during the third period against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images From the end of the 2023–24 regular season to now, nine Vancouver Canucks have departed the team's lineup whether by trade, free agency, or otherwise. With the 2024–25 regular season now wrapped up, let's take a look at how some of these ex-Canucks from last season performed with their new clubs. Advertisement Latest From THN's Vancouver Canucks Site: Canucks' Filip Chytil Aims To Be "100% Ready" For 2025-26 3 Takeaways From The Abbotsford Canucks First Two Games Of The 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs What Went Wrong For The 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks: Problems In Overtime Carson Soucy New York Rangers 1G, 2A in 16GP The most recent Canucks departure compared to the rest of this list, Soucy was moved the day before the 2025 Trade Deadline. Notably, he scored goals in both his last game with the Canucks on March 5 and his first game with the Rangers on March 8. In his first 16 games with the Rangers, Soucy notably gave the puck away 13 times. He faced the same issue of being able to hold onto the puck in Vancouver as well, as he had 65 giveaways in the 59 games he played with the Canucks this season as well. Soucy will enter the final year of his three-year contract in 2025–26 — whether he remains with the Rangers for the rest of it or not is yet to be determined. Casey DeSmith Dallas Stars Advertisement 2.59 GAA, .915 SV% 14–8–2 As a member of De Stars, DeSmith has done well as a reliable backup to Jake Oettinger. He nabbed two shutouts during the regular season and even had an assist in the team's 4–2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on December 31. Interestingly, in the 10 losses he started in both in regulation and in overtime, the lowest amount of shots he faced was 24. In his last three losses of the regular season, he stopped 34, 32, and 39 shots against, giving up five, six, and four goals respectively. One of these losses was Vancouver's 6–5 overtime comeback win on April 8. DeSmith has two more years left on his contract and will be 35 when it expires. Elias Lindholm Boston Bruins Advertisement 17G, 30A in 82GP Many fans were upset when two of the team's biggest free agents from 2023–24 walked for nothing. Elias Lindholm, who was brought into the Canucks organization at the end of January 2024, ultimately signed a seven-year, $7.75M AAV deal with the Bruins during the 2024 free agency period. The start of his first season with Boston got off to a rocky start, as he had seven goals and 13 assists in the first half of 2024–25. While he experienced a couple of slow stretches after this point, Lindholm managed to slightly pick up his pace offensively speaking, adding another 10 goals and 17 assists to his season total. He finished the final 10 games of the season with four goals and six assists. Ian Cole Utah Hockey Club Advertisement 1G, 16A in 82GP While Vancouver seemed to have found their replacement for Cole in Derek Forbort, the current Utah defender had the kind of season that would make a team regret letting him go. A shot-blocking machine, Cole led the NHL in blocked shots this season with 211. The Canuck with the closest amount to this was Tyler Myers with 125. One caveat on Cole's season was that, like Soucy, he was prone to giveaways. He surrendered the puck to the opposition 118 times this season, which ties him with David Pastrnak and Thomas Harley at 11th in the league. On March 5, he signed a one-year contract extension with Utah that will pay him $2.8M. Ilya Mikheyev Chicago Blackhawks Advertisement 20G, 14A in 80GP Vancouver let Mikheyev go via trade after a disappointing 2023–24 season that saw him go goalless for 34 games. It was fitting, of course, that he scored a goal in his first visit back to Rogers Arena after being traded. Mikheyev registered his first point with the Blackhawks in his 10th game with the team. He had 10 rush attempts on the season with Chicago, which would have tied him with Brock Boeser for third on the Canucks. His four-year, $4.75M AAV contract expires after the 2025–26 season. J.T. Miller New York Rangers 13G, 22A in 32GP Miller's time with the Canucks officially ended on January 31 when he was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a 2025 1st Round Pick. As many Vancouver fans heard, Miller's first game back with New York resulted in the forward scoring two goals. After competing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Faceoff, Miller returned to the Rangers and put up five goals and five assists in six games. In his final six games of 2024–25, he registered three goals and six assists. While some have pointed out that the defensive woes in Miller's game seem to have surfaced in New York, offensively speaking, it looks as though the ex-Canuck has continued to perform at the level many know he is capable of. Miller's current deal expires in 2030, during which he'll be 37. Nikita Zadorov Boston Bruins Advertisement 4G, 18A in 81GP For Canucks fans, Zadorov's departure may have been one of the most upsetting of players who left Vancouver during the 2024 free agency period. The hulking defenseman endeared himself to Canucks fans with his on-ice toughness and off-ice humour. While not known for his offensive prowess, Zadorov still had 22 points with the Bruins this season, finishing third on his team in points by a defenseman behind Charlie McAvoy and Mason Lohrei. Unsurprisingly, Zadorov led the NHL in penalty minutes with 145. After this season, Zadorov has five years left on his contract with Boston. Sam Lafferty Buffalo Sabres Advertisement 4G, 3A in 60GP Lafferty had a career year with the Canucks last season, setting new personal records in goals (13) and points (24). He tied his season assist record with 11 in 79 games played. The speedy forward was due to hit free agency in July 2024, but was dealt to the Blackhawks by the Canucks as part of the Mikheyev trade. He went on to sign a two-year contract with Buffalo, where he missed a month of play in the fall due to a lower body injury. He also sustained a groin injury in March that kept him out of the lineup for four games. Lafferty faced a bit of offensive regression with the Sabres, as he didn't score his first point of the season until November 7. After the 2025–26 season, Lafferty will be a free agent. Vasily Podkolzin Edmonton Oilers Advertisement 8G, 16A in 82GP When Podkolzin was picked 10th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, some Canucks fans were confused. His KHL contract made it so he wouldn't be able to join Vancouver until two years after he was drafted. The forward joined the Canucks in the 2021–22 season, putting up 14 goals and 12 assists in 79 games played. After a couple of disappointing seasons that ultimately resulted in him being sent down to the Abbotsford Canucks, Podkolzin was traded to the Oilers for a fourth-round pick. Since joining Edmonton, Podkolzin has earned himself a roster spot by putting his hard work on display. As well, he has provided Edmonton with more of a physical presence in their bottom six, as he quietly led his team with 210 hits during the regular season. Podkolzin, who is still an RFA, will need to sign a new deal with the Oilers after the 2025–26 season. Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Canucks 2024-25 report cards: Grading the performance of every defender, goalie
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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)
New York Times
16-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Canucks offense breaks out in rout of Blackhawks: 3 takeaways
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks took care of business without drama or suspense Saturday night, soundly defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2. The Blackhawks are, to their credit, a more well-drilled and professional-looking side than what we saw earlier in the year. Saturday night, however, they still dressed an obvious rebuilding lineup dotted with players under the age of 25 with just a few veterans — and ex-Canucks skaters like Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Dickinson — dotting their roster. Ten skaters in the Blackhawks lineup Saturday night, for example, were born after the year 2000 (in comparison, only three Canucks skaters were). Advertisement Chicago pushed Vancouver a bit in the opening frame, as the Canucks characteristically struggled to translate their edge in zone time into shots on goal and scoring opportunities. Still, Vancouver was never under duress, and the result was rarely in doubt, especially after Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers scored on back-to-back shifts late in the first period. Those two goals, near carbon copies of one another, weren't all of the cushion that Vancouver needed Saturday night, but despite scoring a few in the second half of the game, the Canucks took care not to slip and decisively defeated a team they should win against on a night when they needed to beat them. Here are three takeaways from Saturday night's game. Vancouver caught something of a break before the puck even dropped Saturday night, as Chicago elected not to start Spencer Knight in the building he was drafted in, turning instead to Arvid Soderblom. Now, Soderblom doesn't have Knight's ceiling, but he's a solid NHL goaltender who has outperformed his environment throughout this season. Shooting glove side on him isn't typically the solution Myers and Hughes made it look like late in the first period Saturday night when they scored identical goals. Credit Vancouver's defenders, however, they found two key goals when their club needed it and ensured much of the rest of the proceedings would unfold without too much stress for the home side. The similarity of the goals, meanwhile, was downright, Dolly-the-sheep-level uncanny: The Captain calls the shots. 😤 — Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 16, 2025 And just like that, Tyler Myers makes it 2-0 for the Canucks ✌️ — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 16, 2025 The Canucks weren't great in the first period despite the 2-0 lead they were able to build. The truth is, the Canucks managed just two shots on goal in 17 minutes and then scored on their third and fourth shots. That's not a recipe for success the club should be looking to lean on down the stretch here. Advertisement In the second frame, however, Vancouver played with commendable speed despite having the lead. They were quick in engineering exits with possession out of the defensive zone, and sharp through the neutral zone as they maintained pressure on the Blackhawks. Their success in transition in the second frame was rewarded when a makeshift forward line of Nils Höglander, Pius Suter and Conor Garland combined for two dynamic rush sequences in a row and capitalized off of the second of those sequences to spot Vancouver a 3-to-0 lead. It was probably the most sightly goal Garland was scored all season: Vancouver goal! Scored by Conor Garland with 11:52 remaining in the 2nd period. Assisted by Pius Suter and Nils Hoglander. Vancouver: 3Chicago: 0#CHIvsVAN #Canucks #Blackhawks — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 16, 2025 Höglander and Garland have had some success as linemates in the past, especially early on this season or for a two-game sequence in which they were centred by Sheldon Dries during the Bruce Boudreau era. It takes some guts and commitment from coaches to play two undersized wingers on the same line, but when it's been done, it has typically worked. It was only one shift, but based on how electric it was, and based on how desperate this team should be for any sense of electricity, here's hoping it's something we see again soon. Entering the third period with a 3-1 lead, the only real suspense was whether or not Arturs Silovs might struggle enough to permit the Blackhawks to get back into the game. Silovs, who recorded his second win of the campaign Saturday night, with both of his wins coming against the Blackhawks, ultimately did permit a gimme goal against in the final frame off the rush. By that time, however, the rout was on, and the Canucks had significant margin for error as a result of a peculiar, incredible shift from Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander. Advertisement On that shift, Pettersson scored, but only he really knew the puck had beaten Soderblom and ricocheted quickly out of the net. As a general rule though, when a goal scorer calls it in real time — as Jonathan Huberdeau did against the Canucks earlier this week as well — you can be assured they know. In any event, the officials missed it, and play went on, only for Höglander to score — and his goal was indisputable — six seconds later. Pettersson ultimately received credit for the goal on review, but when you're scoring two goals on a single shift on your way to a convincing win with margin, you know it's been a good night at the office for your hockey club. Vancouver goal! Scored by Elias Pettersson with 15:59 remaining in the 3rd period. Assisted by Nils Hoglander. Vancouver: 4Chicago: 1#CHIvsVAN #Canucks #Blackhawks — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 16, 2025 (Photo of Pius Suter: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)
